Pictured outside the more than 200-year-old Old Tindall Farm, now Petal Pushers, are (back) Dawn Roehr, Karen Vernon-Stewart and Lee Buente; (front) Kristen Morgan and Erica Vogt. (Staff photo by Norine Longo.)
By Norine Longo
For the Petal Pushers flower shop, home is a more than 200-year-old farm house. Karen Vernon-Stewart, owner of Petal Pushers, purchased the Old Tindall Farm in July 1989 and converted it into a flower shop, after moving from her former location on Nottingham Way under the name Carol Lynn’s Village Florist, which she started in 1987.
“I love this house,” she said, “It’s quaint and unique.”
Now the farm house is adorned with arrangements, flowers and antiques to give it its own style and identity and really make it Petal Pushers.
Vernon-Stewart said she has always had an interest in plants and landscaping.
She trained at the Floral Arts and Design School in Toms River and worked locally in flower shops to gain experience, at shops like Makrancy’s and Joseph’s.
She attributes much of her success operating in the past years to her employees, who make customer service a priority and add their own touch to everything they do.
“I work with a great group of people,” she said. “We enjoy what we do – the colors, the fragrances – we love it all.”
Dawn Roehr has been with Petal Pushers for 20 years, beginning work out of high school as a designer and now as a manager. Kristen Morgan is a junior designer who attended Burlington County Institute of Technology for floral design and will have worked at the shop for 5 years in October.
Liz Funk underwent training in New York and helps with event planning. Erica Vogt started work at the shop after high school and is joined by her mother Lois Vogt, both of whom were trained by Vernon-Stewart and Roehr. And Lee Buente helps with customer service and bookkeeping. Several local retirees rotate as the driver for delivery orders.
Vernon-Stewart said each day at the shop presents them with opportunities to try something new, especially with arrangements.
Many of their plants come from South America, Florida and California. Stewart said very few places grow their own any more.
Among Stewart’s favorite flowers are genestra, a filler flower often found in arrangements, tulips, lilacs and ranunculus, which have more than 400 different types that include buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
Among their most popular arrangements are colored cubes, which include cube vases and arrangements and citrus colored flowers, especially the colors chartreuse, green and orange.
Stewart said their biggest holiday is Valentine’s Day, second is Mother’s Day and third is Christmas, although they are a popular place come prom season and for weddings. They also provide arrangements for wakes and funerals.
She said many people don’t realize they also offer fruit and gourmet baskets and have started carrying giftware and antiques. They deliver all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania, though most of their business takes place in Mercer County.
In May, Petal Pushers will remain open on Mother’s Day, a holiday the shop usually closes for, and will offer a wide selection of patio gardens, deck pots and hanging baskets. Petal Pushers is located at 2632 Whitehorse-Hamilton Square Road in Hamilton Square and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except for Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (609) 890-1166, visit mypetalpushers.com or e-mail mypetalpushers@yahoo.com.
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