Stanford Florists

Shop is c-​l-​o-​s-​e-​d for good!!!

During the holidays, the sign, «ORCHIDS SALE!!» drew me into the store because who doesn’t love happy orchids? :) After entering the store, I realized that this was a very special store with lots of personality. In fact, the store reminded me a lot of Berkeley (GO BEARS!) — the two individuals who worked in the back (a very sweet elderly gentlemen and an elderly lady) looked very free-​spirited, chill and cool (I’m sure they got their fill of the hippie culture, haha), and there’s a huge banner that hangs from the ceiling that defiantly wards off any real estate sharks looking to buy out the store property. The sign reads something to the effect, «Real estate agents should leave because there is no way in #ell this store is selling itself and that they’ll always, always remain here as Stanford Florists until the end of time.» A florist with beautiful flowers, cool owners AND some personality and invested roots in the neighborhood? AWESOME! Plus, there was an orchid labeled for $ 1,000 near the cash register. I wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not, but that was pretty cool. :) More brownie points to this cheeky florist shop. :)
ORCHIDS: Absolutely gorgeous. I felt like I was in a tropical jungle with all the beautiful orchids that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The orchids, on sale, were about $ 20, which is a great price because I’ve seen the same variety and size sold at Whole Foods and Safeway for $ 30 – 40. You should definitely check out the sale during the holidays– the orchids are basically spilling out of the store. They have so many to choose from!
FLORIST: They have a ton of flowers AND plants. They have a bunch of vases, stuffed animals and trinkets to pair with your floral arrangements in the event you’re ordering a bouquet of flowers. I didn’t see any plants (like a nursery or gardening-​type selection), but that’s fine because it was a huge store that was focused on floral arrangements rather than gardening.
SERVICE /​OWNERS: Very sweet, inviting and funny. I remember saying I wanted to pick up some orchids for my seester (Love you, Rachel L.!), and the guy said to buy them all for her and if she didn’t like or want any, I could always bring them back the next day. Awwwwww :)
I think I came into the shop after hours, so I was looking pretty beaten from work. The elderly gentleman was so nice that he gave me a pot of cute orchids! So nice! He just told me to take them home, and that totally brightened my day. I wasn’t expecting it, and it made all the work thoughts I had to deal with disappear. :) So sweet.
Please come visit and support this store! I definitely will.

I had a wonderful time buying a beautiful tiny healthy orchid here tonight. :)
I stopped at this shop tonight because of the HUGE black-​and-​white signs hanging inside «This building is *NOT* for sale. Stanford Florists will never be closed. Real estate agents keep out of the building.» Once I stopped, I noticed the beautiful orchids filling an entire enormous window.
I wasn’t sure the store was open because I couldn’t see anyone inside, but all the lights were on so I tried the door. It turned out there was an older gentleman at the very back of the store.
He let me select one of his superbly healthy orchids, and gave me an instruction sheet to help keep them alive. When I read the sheet, I realized at once why my orchids (but not my other plants) die: my home is too cold, and my office is too bright. But I’m okay re-​buying an orchid every few months, especially if it’s at a store as charming as this one.
Something about this store and the older gentleman (the proprietor?) made me really happy! It wasn’t frilly, but the orchids were so healthy, and the rooms they were in were so clean and well-​maintained. You could tell it was a business that cares about plants, not just about making a sale. I felt more relaxed and happy after buying an orchid here.
Give this place a shot!

My girlfriend never got her flowers on Valentine’s day. The order had been placed a couple days in advance. Can I give no stars?

Wow, A+++ for their dedication to customer satisfaction. Stanford Florist reached out to me after reading my review to apologize for arrangement I received the other week. Today, they assured me that they want all their customers to be completely happy with their purchases and also sent me a beautiful orchid.

Wonderful place to order flowers. I’ve never had any problems with them and I placed my order well in advanced for my Valentine’s Day flowers.

These negative reviews fascinate me because they relate to Valentine’s Day.
Perhaps these customers are not taking into account the fact that this is a busy day for florists, and perhaps they need to adjust their expectations accordingly. One has to wonder how far in advance they placed their orders; or were these the classic last-​minute orders from husbands who had forgotten? Yes, I realize that this should not, in an ideal world, be the customers’ problem … but we live in the REAL world, people.
Mind you, we’re talking about Palo Alto here. Perhaps not QUITE the real world!
Nonetheless, this is a perfectly fine florist which does not deserve this nonsensical ranting.

Very rare that I write a review but then it’s rare when I find such excellent customer service. Even with all the Valentine’s Day craziness going on, the employees here were so patient and helpful! Couldn’t believe it when the flowers I ordered were delivered at EXACTLY the time they promised and were absolutely beautiful. Who ever did the arrangement obviously takes pride in their craft… THANK YOU!!! Your great work made me look good. :)

I was traveling for work and needed to get some flowers STAT. I called Stanford florists at 3:30 PM and I got a thank you call from my wife by 5 PM. The flowers were great and the service was awesome.

Hi Unilocalers,
I received a bouquet of flowers delivered by Stanford Florists on Wednesday. Although the bouquet delivered was lovely and very fragrant, I am VERY disappointed in the quality of the arrangement, and the judgment of the florist that created it.
A substitution was made — and it was a COMPLETELY different bouquet (A less expensive one, with less expensive flowers),
–Some of the flowers were not fresh;
–Most of the opened lilies stamens’ were cut off (which means that they’ve been around awhile),
–Two of the un-​bloomed pods turned yellow the same day as delivery,
–Three of the lilies were wilted today (the second day after delivery),
–No flower food was included,
–The vase (a very tall and less modern one) was substituted.
The person placing the order had difficulties with it; it was difficult to get spelling, numbers, and information across/​correctly to the person taking the order (all, I guess, except for the charge).
.
Environment and care of the flowers are not the factors; I changed the water/​clipped the stems, and they’ve been in a cool environment. What I received were very pretty, but old, flowers.
I would complain directly, but don’t want to step on the toes of the person who ordered them. Still, I’d like to make sure that none of you are subject to poor quality.
Here’s an URL — compare for yourself:
The «Fashionista Blooms» ($ 62.95) were ordered, but a cross between the: «Isle of White» ($ 45) and «Arrive In Style» ($ 45) was delivered in a tall, wide vase, that’s not pictured in ANY of the arrangements. I couldn’t find it on the site.
The ironic thing is that I inherited some flowers (mostly daisies — a $ 5 arrangement from a grocery store) from a gathering TWO weeks ago (purchased on Friday 1÷7÷11) that are STILL fresh and pretty. Go figure.
Save some cash, and go with another florist…

Great place for indoor plants.
The name florists is somewhat deceptive, since the inside of the store has many more plants than cut flowers.
As a plant lover I had driven all over the Peninsula looking for good indoor plants — I know Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Safeway do have some, but my interest in plants goes far beyond the supermarket.
This store is all indoors so there is no second guessing about whether or not your plant might be an indoor or outdoor plant. Nice people, reasonable prices, and great plants. I’m very happy to have found this store. It would also be an excellent place to buy a gift as they have vast numbers of decorative pots in stock.

I wouldn’t order an arrangement from here (don’t trust their artistic ability) but often buy orchids as gifts. I find I always have to ask «can you add moss, can you give me some raffia so I can change the ugly clips that hold the stems, etc.» The owner is pretty gruff. They do have a NICE selection of orchids at reasonable prices.

The service was fine, but WOW was it expensive! The lady quoted me 3x the price other places quoted me for my wedding bridal bouquet– I don’t want any thing big or fancy or out of season and it was ¹⁄₃ of my wedding flowers. I’d recommend Michaela’s instead.

In a word, inexperienced… I really don’t want to hear about someone’s personal life whom which I am attempting to give my order to over the phone. I wanted flowers sent to NYC for sympathy and they couldn’t get it together! I called a friend in NY to do it for me, what a hassle.

nice selection, great prices on orchids and other plants. very creative work with corsages as well. i like the staff.

New management, beautiful flowers, and excellent service!
I called in an order to be delivered same day and it arrived right on time and it was GORGEOUS! Everything was handled perfectly and they had excellent customer service everyone was so polite. They told me they were going to take care of me and they really did! At first when I called I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to order and they kindly guided me through some suggestions to help me find the perfect bouquet and at a great price. I highly recommend taking your business here.

They have beautiful orchids, at the lowest available price in Palo Alto. They always have many on sale. The lady may seem a little rude but she is helpful.

NEVER USE THIS PLACE FOR YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS!
I cannot express my disappointment with Stanford Florists vehemently enough. I met with a florist named Ruth who essentially ruined my wedding bouquet. She did not honor our contract — and never even gave me warning. We chose out crème/​white roses and when I got my bouquet the morning of my wedding I had a DAMAGED bunch of PEACH colored roses. Also, the stems had not been wrapped, as we had agreed during our consultation. My maid of honor had to scramble to find some tulle to finish the bouquet. My bouquet was an overpriced, disappointing disaster. I didn’t even carry it around with me during the wedding because it made me want to cry.
Also — They didn’t even know the name of one of their potted plants.

This PLACE SUCKS!
It’s my birthday, all I wanted were tulips. Nothing else! Did I get my tulips? No. Why did she not get flowers you might ask? Was it because her husband didn’t pick up on the major hints she was dropping and never called to order them? Nope. He did!
I didn’t get my flowers because my husband requested they be delivered before 4:00pm. When he called me at 3:45 to see if anything special had been delivered to my office, and I said no, he called Stanford Florist. The owner was extremely rude, canceled the order and called the driver to turn around. Did I mention we saw the driver, with the back of his white van door open, with my red tulips sitting there, in my parking lot? So they got here, but because she was a total a*hole on the phone with my husband and canceled his order, I didn’t get my birthday flowers.
My coworker called the florist to try to get the driver to come back and she was hung up on THREE times. She spoke to the owner and two other employees all whom gave her serious attitude and wouldn’t do anything to get the driver to turn around. This all occurred in the course of 10 minutes… something tells me the driver wasn’t far enough away that he couldn’t turn around and bring them back. Oh wait, maybe he was back at the shop already… four miles away from our office.
DO NOT EVER ORDER FLOWERS FROM THIS COMPANY. I guarantee, if I go to their shop tomorrow, my tulips will be sitting there, half-​price because the owner and staff are pompous a*holes who have nothing better to do but stick flowers up their a$$es.
If you’re looking for great service and beautiful flowers in the area, try: Blooms Floral Design in PA or Fleurty in Mountain View.

This place has a large selection of orchids with a lot of unusual varieties. I think most of them cost about $ 30 but they always have discounted ones that are $ 20 or less (many in full bloom).