Asrai Garden

"I love the vibe, branding, and selection at Asrai gardens. I will always go here above any other floral shop in the area. They have impeccable taste in flowers. I’m new to Chicago, but was a floral designer for years in Portland, OR, and it was hard to find a place here that actually carried high quality flowers, and in such abundance! I do not mind the high price as I’m sure that’s how they’re able to have such a huge selection in stock. Before reading ahead, be forewarned that I am a flower snob: With that being said, I no longer trust the staff to make arrangements for me and will elect to make them myself. My partner regularly orders me arrangements here, and I’m always disappointed. For one, he always mentions to use no carnations or mums, and at least 1/5 of the arrangement ends up being exactly that. Every time. But besides that, the selection tends to feel off: normally only 2 focal flowers when there should objectively be 3 (or an odd number) to feel properly balanced and always a mix of delightful flowers and beautiful greens (the greens are to die for, I adore them) but then really low quality, cheap flowers in the mix. I just don’t understand why one would put gerbera daisies/mums/carnations/purple statice next to ranunculus/protea/acacia/hellebores/garden roses/astrantia or other higher end flowers. Id rather more greens and let the beautiful flowers actually show through. I get the impression that they are trying to put in so much variety into one arrangement, and losing the overall aesthetic and it fell flat for me. I’m sure other customers want this though (they’re wrong lol). Simple can be so much better. For Valentine’s Day, by the time I picked out all the dead flowers there again was mostly only mums left over. Now, I understand Valentine’s Day is hard and the sheer quantity of flowers makes it impossible to have 100% quality control. there is also absolutely the possibility that some of them died from my partner having them out of water till he saw me (though some of them had full on botrytis eating the stem into a floppy mess, which must’ve gotten past them, an honest mistake during one of the busiest floral holidays). I think leaving the stems out of the wrapping would help though, as my partner would have put them in water but didn’t want to unwrap them. I imagine this is the case for many partners buying flowers and expecting to gift them at dinner. Anywho, I will still continue coming here for stems, and I’m grateful to have this location in the area as the selection is impeccable."

"I absolutely adore this boutique shop! I've been coming here for years and I love popping in whenever I'm in the area to browse their cute products! The jewelry section is to die for! So many beautiful and unique pieces that I'd love to add to my collection. The staff has always been so lovely and more than helpful on countless occasions."

"Ordered a ring online which was a size too small. They were super proactive and supportive in helping it exchange it for a larger size and shipping the new ring for free!"

"Thanks for taking care of the dirty Union Carpenter today. Couldn't have been nicer, as I walked through the door and into your flower shop completely filthy after work. Sarah loved the copper watering can. It's not being used to water the plants, she says it's too nice. Lol. It's really cool. And you read my mind w the Fall Bouquet. I am glad I stopped in your store. #ShopLocal"

"So glad to see this shop reopen! Fantastic staff and fantastic flowers. We always come home with a beautiful bouquet, this time we brought in our new vase and worked with the florist to achieve this arrangement. Come with any budget or style and you will leave with something special."