For Richard Simms, the florist and owner of WildFlowers Floral Design and Gifts in Margaretville, good design is essential. For Simms, though, it’s all about the flowers.

“I’m not run of the mill,” he says. “I’ve seen these fruit bouquets, or candy. I’m not fond of balloons—someone in town carries them, so I send them there. I don’t use bows, or any accessories other than flowers. Flowers and greenery should speak for themselves.”

Simms has a art background and earned his Masters degree in fine art at Columbia University. He exhibited and painted a lot—still does, but never pursued it as a profession. “That’s virtually impossible,” he says. I continue to do it as a hobby, and I’m exhibiting now upstairs (in the Longyear Gallery at Margaretville Commons). I have exhibited in New York, Woodstock, Saugerties…people from Europe have bought some of my paintings, so they’re out there.”

Simms also studied at the New Jersey School of Floral Design, finishing first in his class, he says, adding “Then I took some floral design classes at Rutgers.”

On a daily basis, Simms applies his talent and training professionally, as a floral arranger. He opened WildFlowers 12 years ago, selecting a name he thought would work well and commissioning a logo and marketing plan from a graphic designer friend in New York City.

“When I came here (The Commons) it was in the process of being formed,” he says, adding he briefly ran the business at another location nearby. The Commons, featured in an article in the November 2007 issue of the Catskill Mountain Region Guide, is a mixed use building filled with antiques, crafts, clothing and footwear, kitchen goods, a yoga studio, art gallery and a new café.

WildFlowers faces Main Street and is open daily. “I specialize in events and weddings, delivering arrangements for at least 20 a year,” says Simms. For those bigger jobs, he has a roster of a few floral arrangers who assist him.

“Composition and color are key,” says Simms. “Those are the two most important aspects of good design.” Often, for special events Simms will sketch a color idea for a design to help clients envision his concept. “Visual aids are important. Most people can’t visualize something unless they see it,” he says, adding “That’s where my art background comes in handy. I think it helps, gives me a leg-up (on the competition).”

When it comes to weddings, Simms says the future bride and sometimes the groom come in for an initial consultation. “I talk to them about what she’s conceived of for her wedding,” says Simms. “Brides often have preconceived notions about colors and themes. They have likes and dislikes. Most are looking to maintain a budget throughout the wedding process,” he says.

During the planning process, which generally includes several meetings with the bride-to-be, Simms will sometimes even prepare a sample centerpiece. “Some brides have a specific theme…an Asian look or a gardeny look,” says Simms, adding the Asian look, an organic-looking design with a lot of mosses and metallic square containers was a recent trend. “It’s Ichiban style, Japanese simplicity—a few flowers with graceful lines, very lovely,” he says.

“Sometimes they’re drawn to my name,” says Simms. “I have a few coming up this summer. I’m doing a waterlily wedding, where I’ll be using low trays filled with water and floating waterlilies.”

WildFlowers handled a winter wedding, last December, which was all white with a lot of winter greens and winter pines. “They used these crystalized frosted branches for a winter look, and a frosted cylinder base to put the arrangements in. They really came out nice,” he says.

Almost anything can be found at any time throughout the year, but sometimes it takes a bit of effort. The waterlilies, out of season locally, were located from California.

Simms says he never duplicates a previous design, but he does maintain a portfolio of his work to date. “Brides want to see what you’ve done,” he says.

Many future brides had a chance to see what he’d done for a most unusual theme wedding that featured in the September/October 2007 issue of Brides magazine. WildFlowers was recommended by a caterer already selected by the travel editor at Brides for her own wedding.

Blueberries was the theme. They found their way in to the vases and onto the tables at the wedding. “Blueberries had particular significance to her because her fiancé proposed to her at a place called the Blueberry Inn,” says Simms, who recalls blueberries filling his shop in preparation for the event for about 200 guests.

He even picked a few on his own, for a special touch. “I went out in to the woods and picked low bush blueberries the day before the wedding,” says Simms. Those sprigs adorned the tables complementing the arrangements.

“I’ll do any size event and anywhere,” says Simms, who has designed for weddings as far away as Red Bank, NJ and Saint John the Divine Cathedral in Manhattan.

Like most florists, much of Simms’ material is imported from South America, but when its available locally grown, or farm-grown flowers from nearer to home are used. That means flowers from Pennsylvania during the summer, including annuals, garden flowers and perennials. “We’re talking about delphiniums, marigolds, zinnias, flocks,” says Simms.

“Mosses and greenery, much of that comes from Oregon, Washington and Seattle,” he says. “I do get a lot of moss locally here from the mountains. A friend harvest it. It’s the same with the pussy willows, forsythia, lilacs and any of the blooming native species. Anything you would find here, I can use.”

Simms says he often prefers found species as opposed to flowers purchased wholesale. “It gives an arrangement a more organic look and speaks to my name, WildFlowers,” he says. “I always have my eyes open, being in the field, checking out the natural habitat for flowers growing wild. I’m always on the lookout,” says Simms.

“I also work a lot with fruit and vegetables. In the past I have used artichokes, which are very textural and almost flower-like in their look,” says Simms. “I’ve used a lot of grapes, apples, pears mixed with hydrangeas, stock and roses for a beautiful, lush look.”

Partially thanks to that feature in Brides, WildFlowers already has more than dozen weddings booked for this year.

The shop also carries a range of boutique gifts, including designer candles, bath products, greeting cards and note papers made from recycled paper. “It’s more than flowers,” says Simms. “People are looking for gifts as well.”

WildFlowers is not affiliated with any Internet flower service or national chain. “Online services want you to do their designs: a ‘Pick me up’ bouquet from Teleflora, it doesn’t take any artistic talent to do that,” he says. “You follow an instruction manual, pay dues, advertising fees and they expect you to buy their containers.”

“Any florist worth their salt should be creative,” he says, adding “Let’s face it. This is an artistic business, the same as a designer of any type, a musician, writer or anything. You should depend on your own creativity if you’re going to be in this business.”

“If someone comes in here and wants to place an order for flowers in another state, I help them do it on the Internet. I don’t make anything on it, it’s just courtesy,” says Simms.

This month, the in-demand flower will be red roses, and Simms at press time he did not yet know what a dozen roses will cost. “I realize I’m in a small town and not in Manhattan where I can charge $150 a dozen for roses. I try to maintain reasonable prices because it’s a day when my regular local customers come in. The highest price ever was $60. It’s come down in recent years,” he says. “I think people would fare a lot better if they want to get daring and give something other than roses. To me, it would be lovely to get three dozen red tulips or two dozen red anemones. It’s something quite striking and one of my favorites.”

“Repeat business is critical and I’ve had a lot of it over the years,” he says. WildFlowers even has a few regular customers who receive a fresh bouquet every Friday morning, though Simms says it’s hard to educate American customers in that regard.

“Europeans are far more attuned to fresh flowers every week,” he says. “When I was in Paris, two of the florists I found that were absolutely beautiful—neither had coolers. They got their stock fresh in the morning and by the afternoon they were sold out. People buy lots of flowers there.”

“People in Europe, Spain and other places are so attuned to flowers,” the says. “The French buy a baguette, flowers and a bottle of wine. They’re set. I was just amazed how quickly they sell.”

“I also do a lot of European hand-tied arrangements, where the person giving the arrangement has a vase and puts the flowers in it,” says Simms.

“On a day-to-day basis, we provide flowers for birthdays and funerals…where flowers play a crucial role because they give the callers someplace to focus (bringing) a softness to an otherwise sad event,” he says.

“The whole notion of sending flowers, I still think it’s strong,” says Simms. “Nothing says I’m sorry, or happy anniversary, like flowers.”

Since 2006, Simms has been invited to design tabletop floral displays for DIFFA, Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS’ annual Dining by Design event in New York. In 2006 his display was featured in the June issue of BIZBash magazine, a trade publication for events, meetings, marketing, style and strategy.

For more examples of Simm’s Floral designs, visit the WildFlowers Web site at www.wildflowers-design.com.