A mother’s love blooms in Island Park

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“Mother’s Day is our number-one biggest holiday,” said Doris Gralitzer of the eponymously named Doris the Florist in Island Park, adding that it was even bigger than Valentine’s Day for her business because after all, “Everyone has a mother, or at least someone who they consider like a

mother.”

With 34 years in the florist industry and 11 in business in Island Park, Gralitzer said preparation for the mega holiday was a weeks-long process, with a necessary blitz of arrangement preparation in the last week to ensure freshness.

The flowers come from all corners of the globe, from California, to Ecuader and Holland, Gralitzer said, wherever she can get the most competitive prices from flower farms. But when they begin to arrive around May 7, then comes the marathon process of cleaning and designing the flowers, she said, “a lot of care goes into that.”

That care, Gralitzer explained, sets Doris the Florist apart from various online flower services currently on the rise, because with her shop customers have wide freedom to customize their orders for any occasion and, she said, “you know what you’re going to get.”

Gralitzer, an East Rockaway resident, said the tight-knit community nature of Island Park was a good fit for her business, and that she has a large group of loyal customers. “The people of Island Park,” she said, “keep the business in Island Park.”