Blooming in Cattle Country

A childhood fascination with flowers leads to a colorful career

By Dianna Troyer

The exterior of Kathy Boden’s flower shop is misleading. It looks like a typical tan metal-sided ranch shop.

Inside, with the variety of gifts and floral arrangements, it seems like her business belongs in a city instead of in cattle country tucked between ranches where she and her husband, Eric, grew up as neighborhood friends.

“People don’t mind driving 30 miles from Burley just to come here,” Kathy says of her business at Conner Creek. “I think it’s because whatever I do, I personalize it.”

She doesn’t have set hours at Kathy’s Flowers and Wedding Décor.

“If I’m home, I’m open,” she says. “People text me all the time to see if I’m here. If I’m not and they need to pick up an order, I’ll put it in a cooler outside so they can get it and pay with Venmo.”

In her shop, a wooden framed inspirational plaque with the words “What a Wonderful Life” sums up her 29-year career as a florist.

“I’ve been blessed to create flower arrangements that people appreciate at milestones in their lives,” she says. Those milestones have included weddings, funerals, holidays, proms, birthdays and family celebrations.

“Flowers put people in a good mood,” she says.

Kathy says she is grateful for decades of community support from customers and friends helping at busy times.

“RB Higgins helped us build the shop,” she says, pointing to a wood plaque with his initials over a door.

Her busiest time of year is April to September, with proms and weddings as far as Boise, Salt Lake City and Provo.

“It seems like prom season lasted a month with kids from all the high schools around here placing orders,” Kathy says. “They like that I personalized each boutonniere and corsage to match the colors of the dress.”

Despite living in a rural area, her sales volume is so high that a flower delivery truck driver often stops twice while on his route.

No matter how much she plans based on the previous year, Kathy usually runs out of flowers on Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a driver from Provo delivers fresh cut flowers to Kathy in the morning then finishes his route to Burley, Twin Falls and Sun Valley.

“In the afternoon, on the way back to Utah, he sometimes stops a second time to replenish my stock,” Kathy says. “To keep up at Valentine’s Day, I have about 10 people helping me.”

Kathy’s lifelong love of flowers took root during childhood.

“When I was 12, I’d help Carolyn Heaton with whatever she needed at her wedding and floral shop in Malta,” she says. “Being around flowers made me happy.”

That joy led her to earn an associate degree in floral design at Rick’s College. To have another career choice, she graduated from Idaho State University with an elementary education degree.

“My heart was in raising our kids, so I opened the flower shop instead of working as a teacher,” she says. “It gave me the flexibility to be here for them and to go to their school activities while also running a business.”

Sometimes, the shop became an informal pre-school.

“I never had to use day care, either,” she says. “If I had orders, I could bring our kids into the shop, and they could play or learn to count or help.”

Those children have since grown up, and are now 14 to 27 years old.

“Of course I did their flowers when they got married,” Kathy says.

For years, her longtime friend, Jennifer Spencer, has helped Thursdays to make wedding arrangements. She brought her children along, too.

“They were never bored here,” Jennifer says. “Sometimes they’d help fill water tubes or play with the floral foam or sweep the floor.”

When Kathy’s daughters, Libby and Carlee, learned to drive, they helped deliver flowers. After they moved away, her niece, Ryan Udy, who lives nearby, began helping with deliveries. Ryan’s sister, Laynee, helps Kathy with various tasks in the shop.

Kathy’s husband, Eric, principal at nearby Raft River High School, pitches in with deliveries.

“For some people, it’s closer to pick up the flowers at school instead of coming by here,” Kathy says.

Her children’s activities are still a priority.

“Sometimes that means I’ll be out here until 1 a.m. finishing an order, but that’s fine with me,” she says. “Eric keeps me company and relaxes in his comfortable upholstered chair.”

Along with flowers for special events, Kathy provides decorative items and furnishings, such as backdrops, table cloths, tables, chairs, gift carts and a gazebo.

“It’s gratifying to brighten people’s lives with flowers—whatever the occasion,” she says. “Other times, people just like to buy fresh flowers to cheer up their homes.”