By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA – A floral shop that specializes in silk flowers, fresh flowers for a variety of occasions, home décor and more is now open for business in Old Town Helena.

The Petal Cart, owned by Lee Lee Gaissert and her daughter Kayla Ellis, received a warm welcome to Helena the morning of Friday, Sept. 28, as city and business leaders celebrated the new opening with a ribbon cutting.

The idea to open a floral business came about a few years ago after Ellis began selling some of her mom’s décor online while on bedrest for a spider bite.

“While I was on bedrest I was bored and began selling my mom’s wreaths and other decorations online,” Ellis said. “Once I came home from Tuscaloosa my mom asked if we wanted to open a store together. We originally were doing home décor and silk flowers and then the demand became so large for fresh flowers so we decided to add that into our shop and become a full-service florist.”

After deciding to open a business, the mother-daughter duo first opened their business in Pelham three years ago and then made the move to Helena when a new opportunity arose.

“We originally opened in Pelham near Oak Mountain Lanes and we were there for three years,” Ellis said. “Then the guys who used to run Helena Florist were ready to retire and we ended up merging with them and eventually we took over as The Petal Cart. We bought the florist from them after they offered us the opportunity.”

Now, The Petal Cart is open for business in Old Town Helena where they offer a variety of services and goods.

“We do weddings and all occasions for fresh flowers,” Ellis said. “We do home décor and the silk flowers. A lot of people look for flowers for cemeteries and I think we may be the only local florist to offer the silk flowers. We also have the walk-in cooler which is probably the biggest hit here because we didn’t have this at the other store.”

In addition, the business also offers weekly and monthly flower subscriptions and offers flower deliveries.

After reflecting on the last few years, Gaissert said it’s been a great experience to open a business with her daughter and they are excited to be in Old Town Helena even if they didn’t envision selling fresh flowers initially.

“If you would’ve said we would be selling flowers now, we probably would’ve laughed at you but it’s been a great decision to go into business together,” Gaissert said.

The Petal Cart is located at 4040 Helena Road. The business hours are Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information on The Petal Cart, visit Helenaflorist.com or Facebook.com/thepetalcart/. The business can also be reached at 624-4333.