Ode à la Rose

Ode à la Rose is not a shop you wander into. It is a design atelier in Long Island City where florists hand-tie every bouquet and send it out the same day — so if you need flowers somewhere in Queens today, you order online or by phone rather than pick them off a shelf.

What occasions it is for

The company was started in 2012 by two Frenchmen, Louis Brunet and Olivier Plusquellec, who left banking careers in New York because they missed how flowers work in Paris: not as decoration but as a message, where the bloom and even the stem count say something. The catalog is still organized around reasons rather than bouquet sizes — an anniversary, a first date, an apology, a new baby, a thank-you to a colleague. Corporate and client gifting is a developed line of its own.

Weddings and large events go through a separate division. In 2019 Ode à la Rose acquired Bastille Flowers and Events, a New York event-design company, and its founder Emily Pinon took charge of creative design; that team covers everything from an intimate dinner to a gala of more than 1000 guests. Since 2020 the brand also sells preserved roses, for gifts meant to outlive the week.

Delivery and urgency

Delivery runs seven days a week across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens out of this one atelier, so a Queens address is the short leg of the route. For most of the borough the rule is simple: order by 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or by 11 a.m. on Sunday, and it goes out that day. Citywide there are three windows — an order by 10 a.m. can arrive in the early afternoon, one by 2 p.m. in the early evening, one by 5 p.m. late in the evening.

Coverage is genuinely borough-wide: Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside and Ridgewood in the west; Flushing, Forest Hills, Corona and Jackson Heights in the middle; Bayside, Little Neck and Queens Village in the east; Jamaica, Ozone Park and the JFK area in the south; and the Rockaways. Beyond the city, the brand ships nationwide next day.

What stands out

• A French reading of the bouquet — built as a message, not as a volume of flowers.
• Everything hand-tied on site, never routed to a partner shop elsewhere in the city.
• Recognizable packaging: natural paper, the signature pink box, a water sleeve on the stems.
• You see it before it travels — public reviews consistently note a photo of the finished bouquet sent before dispatch.
• A real events arm that grew out of an acquired company, not an extra page on the website.
• Preserved roses as a separate line for gifts that should last.

Where the flowers come from

There is no published supplier list; the company states only that it works directly with trusted farms, hand-selects every stem, and keeps the cold chain under its own control in its own climate-controlled vans up to the moment of hand-off.

The space, the service and what else they sell

This is a workshop, not a sales floor: no display case to browse, no counter to be talked through — the choosing happens in the online catalog. Pickup is possible on weekdays, but the time has to be arranged with the support team in advance; turning up unannounced will not work. Besides fresh bouquets there are preserved roses and gift add-ons chosen at checkout, plus sister ateliers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Austin and Miami.

When to order and how to get there

The atelier sits in Long Island City, one stop from Manhattan; the studio moved here from Chelsea for more production space and closer Queens and Brooklyn addresses. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the two dates that break every New York florist, and a studio that hand-ties each order feels them hardest — same-day windows tighten and the catalog thins. Order days ahead for those, and months ahead for a wedding.

Questions and answers

Can I just walk in and buy a bouquet?

No. This is a production atelier. Pickup is available on weekdays only if you arrange the time with support beforehand.

Will it really arrive today?

In most of Queens, yes, if you order by 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday or by 11 a.m. on Sunday. Later than that, it moves to tomorrow.

Do they cover all of Queens?

Effectively yes — from Astoria out to Queens Village, down to Jamaica and the JFK area, and as far as the Rockaways.

How do I know what the recipient gets?

Reviewers report that a photo of the finished arrangement is sent before it leaves the studio, so surprises get caught before delivery.

Do they do weddings?

Yes, through Ode Events, built on the acquired Bastille team — from small dinners to galas of over a thousand. Book well in advance.

Can I send flowers to another city?

Yes: the brand runs its own ateliers in five other cities and delivers nationwide next day.

Opening hours