May/June 2007

One Great Bud

Wayne Jones has been helping the Hampton Roads community blossom for more than three decades.

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

Before the day has even begun to bloom for most people, Wayne Jones is up and on the phone, dialing for dahlias.

It's 5:15 a.m., and the owner of Flowers -- Wayne Jones checks a list of botanical needs. He must get his orders in the market early to assure the snapdragons are snazzy and the roses rock. Some, from local wholesalers, will be delivered today, others in the next day or so.

Fifteen minutes later, he's on the phone, talking to petal pushers across Hampton Roads and in Richmond, as well as in such far-flung places as Miami, California, Ecuador and Holland.

"I always talk to a real person," says Jones, who has owned his Virginia Beach floral shop since 1972. "I don't like to leave an order on a recording or use the computer. I want to make sure they are sending everything I need, and if they are out of something, that I can pick [a substitute.]"

The commute for Jones, who lives near Virginia Beach's Hilltop area, isn't far. After a quick stop at the 7-Eleven for half a cup of coffee -- only half; doctor's orders -- he arrives at his Laskin Road shop ready to begin checking the computer for any overnight orders to add to the list off arrangements he's making today.

Depending on the time of year and what special events are going on in the area, the list can be long. Although he has four assistants and drivers, Jones remains the sole designer. He has a 12-hour day ahead of him -- pulling roses from large, walk-in refrigerators; snipping stems on irises; and composing color, texture and height to mark occasions from birth to death.

HOW IT ALL SPROUTED

Jones has been a budding success for 50-some years. He started by tending to two rows of flower in his father's garden at his family's home in Hamilton, N.C.

"Snapdragons, zinnias, gladiolus. I grew them and sold them to people passing on the road," he says.

In 1954, at age 9, he got his first commission for a wedding on Valentine's Day. Five heart-shaped bouquets were made for each of the bridesmaids. he also began working as an apprentice at Ward's Florist in town.

"I've always loved flowers," says Jones, noting each variety's uniqueness. "And I've always known I've wanted to be a florist."

Just after high school, he married Louinda Hollis on Sept. 26, 1965; the couple has two daughters, Alice and Ruth. A letter from Uncle Sam brought the Joneses to Hampton Roads area as residents in 1966, and Jones spent all three years of his Navy service in Norfolk.

After the Navy, he returned to flowers, working with Herbert Harrell, a well-known florist at the time. Three years later, he decided it was time to open his own shop.

Jones picked a former Laundromat near the Oceanfront for the site. Located at the end of a small strip of shops, Flowers -- Wayne Jones opened on Dec. 1, 1972. Almost 35 years later, it's still in the same location. Throughout the years, Jones opened other shops, too, but in the end sold of them to employees in order to focus on his first.

The shop offers a mishmash of floral items, from potted orchids (including one named after Jones -- The Daniel Wayne Jones Orchid, or phalaenopsis) to empty baskets and vases waiting to be filled to refrigerated units humming along, keeping sprays of roses and buckets of tulips chilled out. A small, cluttered counter, a dozen-plus steps from the front door and across green shag carpet, is used for folks placing arrangement orders. A light floral fragrance hangs in the air, a blend of all the offerings in the shop.

For the rest of this story, see the May/June issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.