Located on 5th Ave., Vonda’s Flowers and Gifts, an independently owned flower shop, brings joy and creativity to the Grinnell community. Inside, there are not just flowers but also handcrafted art pieces and décor, all made by owner Vonda Earnhart. 

Earnhart said she owned three flower shops before moving to Grinnell and opening her current store in April 2015. She said one of her inspirations for opening this store was her love of creativity. “I’ve been creating and making things since I was probably two years old. I just love making people happy,” said Earnhart. 

 Earnhart said that she provides flowers for weddings, funerals, proms and any other occasion where one might need flowers. She said that flowers are a powerful thing to help bring out emotions. For these events, Earnhart asks what the customer wants, and then she makes a design that speaks to the individuality of the person. 

Earnhart said she gets fresh flowers from many different wholesalers, and she often creates the designs the day she receives the flowers. She offers deliveries to Grinnell and the surrounding communities including Newton. All the flowers arrive fresh, regardless of whether a customer has them delivered or picked up in the store, said Earnhart.

One occasion that stuck out to Earnhart was when Grinnell College asked her to provide flowers for the inauguration of new College President Anne Harris. Earnhart said, “They [the College] came to me and asked me to do the flowers on the stage. They let me be creative, and they got the most beautiful experience for her inauguration.”

Earnhart said she also remembers when people send messages post-event expressing their love of the designs and of the flowers in general.

Along with providing flowers, Earnhart offers other products to her customers. “I have candy bouquets. My daughter does tie-dye shirts. I’m an artist, I have drawings that I custom draw for people,” Earnhart said.

 Along with these items, there are handmade designs from her husband that include bottles from local businesses turned into vases and other containers.

All of the products offered by Earnhart are handmade and designed by her and her family. She said she does not belong to any national flower organization which uses pre-made designs. “I don’t do cookie-cutter designs. I let them [the customers] tell me what they’re looking for. Every design is individually designed for that person, even if it’s only one flower,” said Earnhart.

Overall, Vonda’s Flowers and Gifts is a great example of what the Grinnell community has to offer. By selling more than just flowers, Earnhart has created a business that offers joy and creativity to all people in the community.

The store is located at 811 5th Ave. and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday. Earnhart accepts orders for a multitude of occasions.