PITTSFORD — Laci Miler, a Hillsdale County native, was excited to recently open Sidewalk Blooms, a fresh flower and produce business at 7651 E. Reading Road in Pittsford.
“I offer no pesticide and freshly picked produce, fresh-cut flower bouquets, bi-weekly and weekly produce, or cut flower subscriptions from June-September,” Miler said.
Miler is a third-generation gardener, mother of two and grandma to one.
“I recently bought my childhood home,” Miler said. “The property has been in my family since 1961 when my grandparents, Eunice and Alden, bought it.”
While her grandparents owned the property, they farmed the field behind it before retiring and selling the field.
“Gardening and canning was my grandma’s passion, along with helping raise me while my parents worked. I grew up being in the gardens with my grandma as a toddler, then with my mother after my grandma passed away,” Miler said.
Miler’s close relationship with gardening was largely impacted by her family’s love for it, which, like the property, has been passed down from generation to generation.
“They passed down everything they knew to my parents,” Miler said. “My parents, James and Mary, bought the property from them in 1983. Over the years, my mother has expanded gardens and flower beds throughout the property.”
Miler’s grandmother’s impact continues to be felt around the property and on Miler’s business.
“Some of the peonies that are seen in my bouquets are from my grandma’s original flower beds, passed down through the family,” Miler said. “That is also how I got my business name because one of my earliest memories is walking down my grandma's sidewalk and smelling those same peonies.”
Sidewalk Blooms is the culmination of Miler’s lifelong dream to open her own business.
“I’ve slowly expanded my gardens over the years and given away what I’ve grown to family and co-workers. Now I have the opportunity to turn my dream into a reality and expand,” she said.
Miler’s goal for the business is to provide healthy local food and beautiful flowers for the community.
“There is a certain joy and thrill seeing the seeds you start with your own hands sprout and become delicious and healthy food,” she said. “It’s hard work daily but worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. Every setback just makes me more determined to make it and provide a good product for everyone.”
She sells a wide variety of produce, from strawberries and cucumbers to Brussels sprouts and onions.
Miler also looks forward to the personal aspect of running her own business.
“I look forward to meeting each person and making their day with what I provide them,” Miler said.