Go inside the Mother’s Day rush at Kansas City floral shop ran by two mothers
Inside Lily Floral Collective at 922 E. 5th St., the phones are ranging steadily as bouquets moved from design tables to delivery cars as customers hope to get last-minute Mother’s Day arrangements.
For co-owners Betsy Ford and Lily Williams, the days leading into Mother’s Day represent the busiest stretch of the year for the Kansas City floral business they built together in 2020. The holiday brings a surge of pickups, deliveries and walk-in customers, all while the two balance operating a growing company with raising children of their own.
“We are not open on Sunday because we’re both moms,” Ford said. “So we try to take the day with our kids.”
The business, originally launched as Lily Floral Designs before rebranding as Lily Floral Collective, was formed shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the wedding and events industry. Ford had recently moved back to Kansas City from Charleston, South Carolina, after having a baby, while Williams had already begun building a client base through a floral side business she operated out of her studio apartment.
Both women had years of industry experience before launching the company. Ford had spent more than a decade in floral design, while Williams entered the industry during college after taking a job at a flower shop in Pittsburg, Kansas.
The business began in a small Brookside studio focused primarily on weddings and elopements. Over time, the company expanded into daily deliveries, subscription services and larger-scale events. Ford said the growth came alongside a growing confidence in their work and identity as designers.
“As a new business, we kind of had that imposter syndrome a little bit of like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we doing here?’” Ford said. “And then once we started realizing that people trusted us and they loved what we were doing, we started booking bigger events.”
That identity now centers heavily on locally sourced flowers and custom arrangements. The shop’s tagline, “floral design done differently,” reflects an emphasis on seasonal blooms, organic styling and arrangements that avoid traditional grocery-store aesthetics.
For Mother’s Day this year, the company sourced all of its flowers from local growers, including a cooperative of 22 farms and regional flower producers.
“All of our flowers right now are locally grown by female farmers,” Ford said. “We have the most incredible peonies and snapdragons, ranunculus, larkspur, clematis, really beautiful stuff.”
Williams said the shop gravitates toward flowers that are naturally in season rather than forcing specific looks year-round. Their arrangements often highlight visible stem structures and softer, more organic designs.
“Some florists are very rigid and maybe referred to as contemporary,” Williams said. “But ours is more loose and organic, letting the flowers stand on their own.”
The Mother’s Day rush dramatically increases the workload inside the shop. Ford estimated the business typically handles between 30 and 50 deliveries during an average week, but Mother’s Day week can push that total to 100 to 150 pickups, deliveries and walk-in orders combined.
The pace is fueled partly by customers who wait until the last minute.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh no, Mother’s Day is this weekend,’” Williams said. “So we have to prepare for the unexpected a little bit.”
Even amid the holiday rush, both owners said motherhood shapes the way they approach the business and the emotional meaning behind the arrangements they create.
Ford and Williams are both single mothers, and both described Mother’s Day as more personal because of that experience. The card messages attached to bouquets, the customers trying to celebrate family members and the effort people make to send flowers all carry additional weight during the holiday.
“I think that moms are underappreciated,” Williams said. “And it’s nice to be able to show moms that they are loved at this time of year.”
Williams described flowers as temporary but emotionally powerful objects that encourage people to slow down and appreciate a moment, something she compared to parenting itself.
“Flowers are something that is not long lasting,” she said. “You enjoy things in the moment and it kind of goes hand in hand with being a mom. Everything is changing all the time.”
The business also allows both women a level of flexibility they said they would not have had working for larger floral companies. While event work can demand long hours and strict schedules, owning the business allows them to structure parts of their lives around their children.
Ford said being self-employed means she can pick her daughter up from school each day, while Williams can adjust around family obligations as needed.
“In the past, my business partner and I have both worked for large-scale florists,” Ford said. “And as moms, we would have missed milestones with our kids working for somebody else.”
The company currently operates with a small core team and freelance support. The owners are also preparing to purchase their business space later this year, a move Ford described as both an investment in the company and in their children’s futures.
For now, though, the focus remains on fulfilling the final Mother’s Day orders moving through the shop before the holiday arrives.
By the end of the week, most of the flowers filling the coolers and design tables are expected to be gone.
“I think we’re going to sell out today,” Williams said. “Which is great.”
