Head Designer Tracy Garner was born in Amherst Nova Scotia, and raised in Waverley. Following her heart took her to the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, where she completed Levels One and Two in Floral Design, and she has never looked back. Tracy has worked in numerous flower shops throughout Nova Scotia, but says she has never been happier than she is now, lending her design abilities to Dean’s Flowers. Tracy’s background includes florals designed for Prince Edward and Sophie, the television show “Lex,” and the movie “The Shipping News.”

Tracy’s approaches floral design very organically, and she demonstrates a refreshing sensitivity in all of her work. Tracy pays tremendous attention to every detail, and the outcome is always spectacular. Says Tracy, she really has no preference when it comes to design, but she enjoys “just working with flowers and creating beautiful arrangements that bring people happiness on a special occasion, or provide comfort in sad times.” Tracy is a tremendously well-grounded individual, who keeps it together like none other when the going gets tough, and we at Dean’s Flowers would be lost without her. We count ourselves very lucky indeed to have her in our midst.

Dean's Flowers has the unique pleasure of working with a talented European floral designer Yuliya Ursatiy. Yuliya, along with husband Igor and son Arthur, comes to us from the Ukraine, where she achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Artistic Design and Decoration at the Art Institute in Odessa, followed by study at the international floral school NIcole, in Moscow, Russia.  In addition to  being a fantastic floral designer, Yuliya is an accomplished painter, and in fact, if you drop by our shop you will see her gorgeous work among the paintings adorning our walls.

Yuliya's floral design experience is vast,  Her hand-tied bouquets are extraordinary, and her design flare is self evident.  Whether she is designing a massive arrangement for a hotel lobby or a tiny corsage, she adds a special touch of just a little something both unexpected and truly wonderful.  At Dean's Flowers we have all benefited greatly from seeing things through Yuliya's design point of view, and we continue to learn from her daily.

In this photograph, Yuliya is holding one of the official bouquets that she designed for Queen Elizabeth II when the Queen recently visited Halifax.

E is for Efficiency, and also for Elaine, and the two go hand in hand. Our Administrator Elaine Meredith keeps us creative types on the straight and narrow with her natural ability to keep order. Elaine is the voice on the phone that provides such exceptional customer service and problem solving, and she keeps things running smoothly from the first ring of the phone in the morning until the last customer leaves at the end of the day.

Elaine was born and raised in Halifax, and she has already had a career in Real Estate that spanned a several of years. In fact, Elaine initially came to us as a favour to help out with the Christmas rush a few years back, but she was so terrific we knew we had to keep her, and since she felt the same way, a match was made.

Elaine is definitely a pinnacle at Dean's Flowers, and we appreciate all of her efforts.