Business in Bloom

Louise Thackeray has always loved plants. Born and raised at her family’s farm on Wadmalaw Island, Thackeray’s talent for Lowcountry flora blossomed early. From braving the Carolina-summer heat to grow and pick vegetables with her sister, to the rewarding feeling of selling them at farmer’s markets across South Carolina, Thackeray says that dirt runs in her veins. But how did the owner of the Charleston Flower Market turn from farmer’s daughter to florist?  

When Thackeray was in her early twenties, she persuaded her dad to let her begin growing flowers on the family land. However, when these flowers started selling as well as their food at the farmer’s markets, Thackeray realized florals could be more than a hobby.  

By the mid-90s this budding passion had turned into twenty flourishing acres, but the growth didn’t stop there. In December of 1999, Louise Thackeray’s business bloomed, and Charleston Flower Market was born. 

Since then, the Flower Market has called 1952 Maybank Highway home. This brick building, just to the east of the Stono River, is filled with over 26 years of character. Far from your typical florist shop—where the work is done in backrooms and only the results are seen—Charleston Flower Market’s process is publicly accessible and part of its charm. Unpacking, processing, and arranging: you can watch it all happen. Want an even closer look? The designers are happy to work with you, letting you into the cooler to choose your own flowers!  

Thackeray describes Charleston Flower Market’s arrangements as “organic, rustic, and elegant with a twist.” We couldn’t agree more. From their whimsical Sunny Day Bouquet, framing Sunflowers with bright seasonal blooms, to their tasteful Classic Roses in a range of sizes and colors, they redefine your archetypal designs in the most charming ways.  

Charleston Flower Market’s care goes beyond the flowers. To solve the problem of car ride spillages and shattered vases, Thackeray and her team designed a custom box for transport. Not only does it keep your bouquets protected, but it’s also beautiful. In fact, some customers have liked the boxes perhaps a little too much, leaving the arrangements in them! 

 If this floral perfection wasn’t enough, Charleston Flower Market has curated their own gift shop, filled with everything from local products to international sensations. Unique art, greeting cards, Jellycats, trinkets, soaps and scents, 1952 Maybank is filled with joy. 

For all of your bouquet needs, Charleston Flower Market is the place to go. Weddings, funerals, graduations, and more—Louise Thackeray and her florists not only have you covered, they have you cared for.  

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