Local florists have not only had to adapt to the pandemic, but have also worked through winter weather conditions over the past few weeks.

And now it’s the busiest time of the year for the industry. Valentine’s Day.

“People have been very understanding and cooperative,” said Denise Sebelin, owner of Deezines Flowers & Gifts in Jim Thorpe.

“I think the pandemic has made people kinder. People are not getting their way all of the time and now they see that maybe they can’t have their way all of the time, and they’re being a bit more understanding.”

Sebelin said she asked customers not to be too particular in regard to which day the flowers would get delivered. Her shop delivers countywide.

“People have been pretty cooperative with that. … We’re kind of doing whenever weather permits,” she added.

Orders have been coming in for over a week as the popular holiday approaches.

“I’m kind of feeling like it’s going to be more of a spread-out holiday,” Sebelin said. “We have people picking up on Friday already. I feel like it’s going to be not as chaotic as normal - I think it’ll be a good thing spread out over a few days.”

The Flower Patch & Gift Shoppe in Lehighton is also having a busy week. Much like Sebelin, owner Yvonne Reeser and her customers have had to adapt to the pandemic’s new way of doing business.

“In the very beginning, when all of the restrictions were on with absolutely no contact, we had to drop the (flowers and items) and put them by the doors,” Reeser said.

“We had to call and make arrangements before we left to make sure people were home. That was a little bit of a chore to arrange to call.”

The shop’s doors were closed through Mother’s Day. “We were only allowed to do delivery or arrange for curbside and bring them out to the cars,” Reeser said.

The Lehighton business delivers countywide, and as far as parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties.

“We can usually do same-day delivery, depending on weather or something weird,” said Reeser. “Valentine’s Day - we’re doing the best that we can. We’re still accepting orders (as of Wednesday), until we get to a certain point and sell out kind of thing.”

As of Thursday, the local forecast looks mild compared to what models anticipated earlier in the week.

“We are out delivering, we have four-wheel drive vehicles, and we’re going to get them there one way or another,” said Heidi Devlin, new owner of Petal Pushers Floral Co. in Tamaqua.

“We wear masks, we have sanitizer and we try to do as much of a contactless delivery as we can. We try to stay as safe as we possibly can.”

Petal Pushers delivers from the outskirts of Lehighton all the way to Hazleton.

“We do see a lot of walk-ins and we’re seeing a lot of pickups this year for Valentine’s Day,” Devlin said. “We have a note on the door to please wear a mask. I think it’s pretty much an understanding, society has been doing this for so long now.”

But the holiday is still a two days away, and the forecast could change - for better or worse.

“We’re taking it day by day and planning around it,” Reeser said. “Obviously if we get that much snow, we can’t deliver in it.

“You never want to have someone hurt delivering on the roads and driving and things like that - it sets everything back. But as soon as the roads clear and we’re good, we’ll get out on the road and do the best we can to catch up. We’ll send several drivers out and do the best we can.”