If you drive around Santa Maria, you’ll run into buckets of flowers, tents and even flower stands.
One of those flower vendors is Karina Carranza.
“They see it and they're like, ‘Oh, you know, I have to buy a gift for my mother, it's Mother's Day,'" Carranza said. “A lot of people are used to celebrating on the 14th, but [...] Hispanics are used to celebrating it on the 10th. ”
That is because countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize celebrate Mother’s Day on May 10.
Ofelia Lopez had a 'proud mom' moment after her daughter Jocelyn made bracelets for her at school.
Lopez said Jocelyn insisted on buying flowers with her own allowance at Carranza’s stand.
Lopez said she sent money to her mom in Mexico, so she could also celebrate.
Ten de Mayo, or May 10, is one of the biggest sources of income for flower shops like Ramirez Flowers and Party Supplies on Main Street in Santa Maria.
Miguel Ramirez said customers have been buying flowers since Tuesday. He said they received orders for about 50 arrangements, but they have many more on display outside the store.
It was also a busy day at Francia’s Flowers on Lincoln Street in Santa Maria.
“All of our flowers are bigger than last year, that's what I noticed,” said Eliza Salvador, the owner of Francia’s Flowers. “They are fresher compared to last year to this Mother's Day.”
Supply does not seem to be an issue this year.
“Last year, we were out of sunflowers; there was no gerberas, we struggled finding those,” explained Salvador. “This year, thankfully, we were able to get all of our orders in. ”
Both Ramirez and Salvador said they didn’t see a big difference in price from their suppliers compared to last year.
“A few items: it was like 50 cents more, a dollar more, it doesn't really make that big of a deal,” said Salvador. “Once you add all 50 cents, 50 cents, 50 cents, it really adds up to a large number, […] but we try to keep the prices the same. ”
There are options, some starting prices for arrangements and bouquets are $10.
Business owners are hoping to get another round of sales this weekend.
“More than half of our orders are for today and then the rest are for Sunday,” added Salvador. “I know some people are buying twice, so I'm like maybe they might come again.”
Flower shops do recommend ordering arrangements ahead of time because of the high demand. Some places even offer delivery options such as Doordash.
