POCATELLO — Beginning in 1987, local resident L.D. Wolfley purchased a downtown shop called Flowers by Ferrera and began his career as a budding florist.

Decades later, Wolfley’s shop, Flowers By L.D., continues to furnish the Gate City area and beyond with a wide assortment of stunning and exotic flowers from across the globe, providing a rich tapestry of flora and fauna that weave themselves into the lives of all the store's patrons.

“(It’s) been an amazing life,” Wolfley said. “We've had lots of wonderful experiences being in Pocatello and being downtown. I started (being involved with) flowers in September of 1967. I started as a young boy, working for Dellart Floral on Center Street.”

In celebration of the 37th anniversary, which will officially happen on May 21, Wolfley has plenty of ideas to make the day special. In addition to the likelihood that there will be flower giveaways or special discounts, Confections Bakery, headed by professional baker Nathan Chandler, will be providing sweet delights and goodies on the day of the celebration.

At 68 years old, Wolfley has long been integrated in the downtown community and has seen a variety of businesses come and go. Over his many years as a florist, he has seen industries change and has maintained his blossoming business by supplying stunning and oftentimes rare or unique specimens to the residents of Southeast Idaho.

“I've had a lot of experience in the floral industry, and it has truly changed,” Wolfley said. “Now we get most of our flowers from Bogota, Colombia, and Quito, Ecuador, and I've been to those places several times. We buy directly from the farms and it has been amazing the quality of different types of flowers. I feel that we are very fortunate in Pocatello to have such beautiful flowers and (to have) the quality and the uniqueness of our flowers.”

Through a group of florists, wholesalers and growers in Utah, Wolfley had the opportunity to visit the stunning vistas of South America with a yearly trip to either Bogota or Quito for their worldwide floral conventions.

“We go visit all these different farms every time that we're down there and you find a new product, new colors, new variety, and it's been amazing,” Wolfley said. “It truly is very unique. I'm glad that I can do that. Not a lot of florists get to see the farmers like I've been able to do.”

Wolfley continued, “We have a beautiful farm that we've dealt with that's in San Diego that brings in the most beautiful protea and different types of fillers. So that's very, very unique. We're the only ones in the state of Idaho and I think Utah that get flowers from this particular farm in San Diego.”

Other places of interest that Flowers By L.D. source from are places like Holland and Australia, permitting the floral fixture to have an extensive array of diversity and variance for the discerning consumer.

When it comes to favorite flowers, Wolfley has a hard time choosing one in particular but this year there are a few that stand out.

“We just got (flowers from) that farm in Ecuador, the most gorgeous large white calla lilies and then there's some roses that we've been getting in that are just absolutely gorgeous,” Wolfley said. “A lot of the roses even look like an open peony and they have great fragrance. I would be hard pressed to say what's my favorite but I love them all.”

For Wolfley, there is a certain vigor and fervor surrounding the botanical beauties he curates, an intimate understanding that a flower can illicit strong emotions among his clientele.

“I just love flowers, I love (having) passion and creating and I really feel that flowers have energy and power,” Wolfley said. “They're very emotional. They create emotion for funerals, for weddings, for birthdays and for anniversaries. They are very, very powerful. I think we really need that in our world today, to give you hope, color and freshness and something that's alive and beautiful.”

Whether you are looking for a charming bouquet for that meaningful person in your life, celebrating a momentous occasion or simply want to add a dash of vivid verdure to a home or office space, Flowers By L.D. has been carefully cultivating flowers and greenery for the entire Gem State for decades.

“We'd like to thank Pocatello for supporting us all these years and we're looking forward to the future,” Wolfley said. “This is such an amazing industry. We're very fortunate. We've employed a lot of people and they're all my family. We're very fortunate to be here. Thanks to the city of Pocatello and surrounding areas for letting us create beautiful emotions through flowers.”