July Blooming Business of the Month

The Alva Garden Council has selected The Rusty Bucket as the Blooming Business of the Month for July. Owner Sherry Shklar is very excited to have her new location on the Alva square. The Rusty Bucket began three-and-a-half years ago on her farm with the name coming from an actual rusty bucket found in the barn. After 21 years as a cosmetologist, she decided to pursue her dream of being a florist. Shklar says that the business grew quickly, and she started looking for a larger space to rent. Since 90 percent of her business came from Alva and Cherokee, she decided to locate closer to her customers. Shklar loves her current location on the square, at the corner of Barnes and Fifth Street. Her business can be easily accessed via Fifth Street while Barnes is undergoing construction.

Shklar's favorite plants are hydrangeas, ferns and palms and she draws her design inspiration from the French country style. She designed her shop to have a flower-market feel, and her arrangements can be traditional, but she loves to incorporate newer designs as well. The Rusty Bucket provides flower arrangements for all occasions including weddings and funerals. Her shop features bedding plants in the spring, mums and pumpkins in the fall and poinsettias and Christmas greenery in the winter. If you have a planter that you can't decide how to fill, Shklar can help you with suggestions of season-appropriate plants. Currently, her most popular special is the $10 Friday bouquets.

When asked how other business owners could get started with a planter in front of their businesses in the hot summer months, Shklar recommended trying vincas, lantana, sweet potato vines, creeping Jenny, geraniums and various grasses because these plants can take the heat generated from hot sidewalks and buildings.

Shklar invites everyone to stop by The Rusty Bucket on Crazy Daze Saturday between 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and visit with Cherokee's only Kevin the Goat.