Snapdragon Flowers & Gifts will soon be the newest business to join the Baltimore Ave shopping area in West Philly.

Owner Tolani Lightfoot resides in the Cedar Park neighborhood, where she settled and bought a house when she relocated from Portland, Oregon eight years ago. “I feel like West Philly is one of those wonderful neighborhoods where you have to live there and understand the neighborhood before opening a business,” she said.

Tolani, who has worked in the industry for 10 years, says she realized that there was a need for a florist shop with her creative vision after she was told that “she was too creative” at her former workplace at a traditional florist shop. The shop will offer a wide range of botanically inspired products, including ready-made floral arrangements. Snapdragon Flowers & Gifts will offer arrangements both for people and events. Some niche market arrangements will include small-scale urban gardens, living arrangements for the home, vertical gardens, Victorian inspired indoor gardens and terrariums along with drought-resistant plants. 

Photos courtesy Snapdragon Flowers

“We have several different sources,” said Lightfoot. “We like to work a lot with the farms out in Lancaster and some international sources. I’m very choosey about how my sources treat their workers and their environmental impact. Our goal is to stay as responsible as possible, and we have done a lot of research. All in all, our job is to support the local economy.”

The store will also offer handcrafted goods and even some occult goods. “I’m part (Nipmuc and Iroquois) Native American and I work with a lot of my friends all over the country. Dream catchers and beadings take a lot of work,” Lightfoot said.

Snapdragon Flowers & Gifts will open in mid-December at 5015 Baltimore Ave. and will be fully operational by Valentine’s Day. For updates, visit the shop’s Facebook page.

– Rana Fayez

UPDATE (12/21/2015): According to the Snapdragon Flowers website, the official store opening date is now Valentine’s Day 2016. Although it’s not currently open as a storefront, online, email and phone orders are being accepted. Click here for more information.