A Whole Bunch Flower Market Offers Quality, Fresh Blooms for Your Home

, 326 Cambridge St., has a combination of what the florist and the super market have to offer. The big difference at Whole Bunch is that service, quality and price are combined to offer the consumer a good product grown under an ideal situation at a fair price.

Flowers offered at a very low price may be compromised in some way. They were stored for a long time or maybe the grower wasn’t paid or it was an overstocked item and not shipped properly. Whole Bunch makes sure that they know their suppliers and how the flowers are grown and that they are shipped in a timely manner under conditions that will keep the flowers fresh.

John Belmonte and Shannon Guthrie own A Whole Bunch Flower Market. They both have degrees in horticulture and have been in the flower business for a long time. Belmonte was a regional director for Whole Foods for 15 years working with Guthrie. He traveled a great deal to open stores in various states and to research flower and plant suppliers in Europe. Finally, he decided the traveling had to end. Although he never thought he’d be in the retail business he did want to work close to home – the solution- his own flower shop with Guthrie.  

A Whole Bunch is a European style flower market. This means that oversized bunches of flowers are cut at a 45 degree angle and tied in bunches making it easy for the customer to display the flowers and change the water in the vase. It’s a neat way to display flowers without extra leaves and vines. Quality plant food from Holland is included with the flowers. When Guthrie and Belmonte traveled to Europe they learned that flowers are presented and sold this way, in bunches, oversized and ready to go.

Belmonte and Guthrie are environmentally conscious when it comes to how their flowers are grown and where they come from. Belmonte has visited all his growers to make sure their growing methods are environmentally safe and up to acceptable standards. A Whole Bunch believes in fair trade. This means compensating suppliers/ growers fairly and in turn selling flowers at a fair price.

Hydrangeas come from Columbia, Orchids are from New York and New Jersey, Lilies are from right here in Massachusetts and Roses are from Ecuador. It takes 7 years for an orchid to bloom and they are not as hard to grow or delicate as some people might think. Orchids can bloom every year with the right care.

Roses are shipped in special long boxes with an air hole cut in either side allowing stale air to be removed and fresh air to be blown in. Roses are hydrated and stacked in such a way that they insulate each other protecting them from temperature changes during transport and insuring fresh flowers on arrival to the store.

A Whole Bunch gives back to the community, donating 5% of its sales to the Perkins School for the Blind. Belmonte and Guthrie also donate flowers for special events at the school.  Perkins has a large horticultural center giving students an opportunity to grow plants and flowers enriching their education.  

Guthrie and Belmonte do and have done speaking engagements with various women’s clubs and garden clubs of Burlington and surrounding towns demonstrating flower arranging at many of the events.

“Everyone likes flowers,” says Belmonte.

Once a customer comes in to buy flowers for that special gift he keeps coming back because he’s found a good resource. The website is www.awholebunch.com.