Bouquets & Baskets: A City-Sized Holiday Florist in Jersey City
Located at 548 Jersey Avenue, just up Newark Avenue and around the corner from the Grove Street PATH station, Bouquets & Baskets caters to those looking to celebrate the holidays in town. Arrangements, decorations, and most of the gifts are city-sized, which is a boon considering most New York-area tree vendors still assume spaces with nine-foot ceilings and big banks of windows. However, Bouquets & Baskets offers a wide selection of mini-poinsettias perfect for windowsills or tabletops, as well as Christmas trees small enough to tuck into a corner next to a bookshelf or by the door of a cramped studio. In addition, they sell many of these smaller trees pre-potted, allowing purchasers to take them out and plant them post-New Year’s. Potted trees also spare one the hassle of bagging up their tree and hauling it down a few flights of stairs to the curb, and they also eliminate much of the needle clean-up. Despite the Bouquets & Basket’s small size, the shop also features an excellent selection of wreaths, and in fact is known in downtown’s fashionable Van Vorst and Hamilton Park neighborhoods as the best spot to find a holiday door hanging or garland for the railing.
As with their traditional, year-round arrangements, all of Bouquets & Baskets plantings, from cut trees to potted plants, are of the highest quality and will last for weeks or longer if properly cared for.
Bouquets & Baskets also adds a great deal of seasonal merchandise for the holidays not commonly found at the local florist. Their selection includes nutcrackers, delicate and detailed tree ornaments, and a handful of plush stuffed animals. Also available are ribbons and bows by the rackful, and even a few tasteful holiday cards. Depending on their stock on a given day, they also carry advent calendars.
For those looking to browse over racks of snow globes, endless boxes of colored glass balls, and row upon row of trees Bouquets & Baskets is not a good choice. A true city florist, the shop space is limited and their outdoor tree selection is restricted to a long sliver of the sidewalk. Another problem is the shop’s own reputation and the crowds it creates: on winter weekends especially, the store is packed and help can be hard to come by. The same goes double for those picking a tree outside the shop. Shoppers looking to take their time either picking out a wreath or sizing up a tree at Bouquets & Baskets are advised to visit during the week, and in the early evening if possible.
Being a florist first and a gift shop second, Bouquets & Baskets offers a full range of flowers and fruit baskets for delivery as well as their seasonal offerings. They deliver to all of Jersey City, Hoboken, Secaucus, West New York, North Bergen, Guttenberg, Union City, and Bayonne. Their online selection, which is somewhat generic compared to what is available in-store, is available at www.bouquetsbaskets.net. They can also be reached at 800.934.7673 or locally at 201.216.1188. The shop is open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturday, and from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on Sunday.
