A Summers Garden is a full service florist and gift shop in the heart of Downtown Kenosha. No matter the occasion: weddings, funerals, anniversaries, birthdays and the best occasion of all, just because – make your stop at A Summer’s Garden, 5617 Sixth Ave. Visit their website here for more!
Q. Can you tell us a bit about the history and background of A Summers Garden Florist? What inspired you both to start this business?
A. A Summer’s Garden was started around 30 years ago by a man named Gene Summers and changed hands a few times. Fast forward to 16 years ago when we found out it was for sale and it was the perfect time for us to go out on our own.
Q. You are more than a flower shop, what else we could find inside your store?
A. Beauty lies inside. From day one, we have sold beautiful flowers, lovely plants and fun gifts. We have so much more than flowers and plants; we love fun and sassy items. We have an extensive gifts shop: cards, hand towels, incense, jewelry, vintage items, antique furniture, painted furniture, sage bundles and so many more home decor items.
Q. What sets your flower shop apart from others in the area?
A. Customer service is extremely important to us. Our customers become our friends. Each order is handled by the owners of the business. We pay attention to details.
Q, How do you decide on the selection of flowers and arrangements you offer?
A. We like to stock our shop with beautiful, seasonal favorites, and bring in new and unusual varieties of flowers. Pastels are a favorite in spring while bright pops of color will bring in the summer season. Fall will blow in with reds, oranges, and golds until winter holiday season rings in brightly with the red, white, green and burgundy colors. The designs we create come from our imagination and interpretation of current floral trends. We are constantly looking for new ideas to bring to our customers, and love to collaborate with our customers to bring their ideas to life.
Q. How is it working with your significant other?
A. We met while working at a flower shop 30 years ago.So we’ve basically been working together since day one. 16 years ago we bought A Summer’s Garden Florist and we are still working together. We talk all day, every day. You’d think we would have run out of things to talk about after being married for 27 years, but we haven’t. We are each working with our best friend.
Q, What are some of the newest trends in the floral business?
A. Just like in trends of clothes and music, floral trends are recycled, reinterpreted and freshened up trends from past generations. We do not belong to any of the wire services like Teleflora and FTD; their official designs are very ordinary. We are able to custom tailor our arrangements for the individual customer whether they stop in or call us from across the county.
Q. What do you love about having your business in Downtown Kenosha?
A. Downtown Kenosha is a community of business owners that look out for each other like family. We have been downtown for 16 years and have witnessed so much positive growth.
Q. When was the last time you had Valentines Day off?
A. It’s been since the mid-1980’s for Kevin. The was a couple years off for Lyna but not many since 1993.
Q. Does A Summers Garden also deliver?
A. We do deliver in the Kenosha, Somers and Pleasant Prairie areas for all occasions.
Q. What does being a florist mean to you?
A. Sometimes it feels like long hours and no holidays but then we are reminded that flowers make people smile, feel love, receive comfort and so many more emotions. This keeps us going, knowing that our flowers are decorating and commemorating important life moments.
Q. When not working, where do you like to eat or drink in Downtown Kenosha?
A. We are well known at The Buzz for getting a caffeine boost from their delicious coffee! Downtown has so many amazing restaurants.
Q. What is something people might be surprised to know about you?
A. Kevin is from a teeny tiny little town in Upper Michigan. His school district covered 500 square miles! Lyna was born in Kenosha and has only had two addresses her entire life.
A Summer’s Garden Florist & Gifts
5617 Sixth Ave
(262) 657-7673
Visit their website here, and follow them on Facebook!
Photos and Q&A by Donny Stancato • Edits and layout by Jason Hedman •
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(This article first appeared in Vol 16. #3 2023 Go Downtown Kenosha Magazine)
