For about 30 years now, William Merrill’s Black Iris Florist shop has been no less than The Holiday Season Siren for anyone entering Laguna Beach from the south side. You simply can’t miss this Laguna Beach florist’s massive holiday lighting – rising several feet above the store’s roofline – or the twinkling storefront windows packed with all things holiday and Christmas. If you’re at all into Christmas, you can’t help but grin driving past it. THIS is what all those Christmas movies are about!
Known for their spectacular floral arrangements year-round, the Black Iris’ elves get busy in early October to transform the shop into a Christmas tree wonderland. One gal – Pavla Ruiz – works tirelessly with thousands of tree ornaments and scads of ribbon to create several different tree looks each year. Then, she watches (rather sadly) as people shop and disentangle these same ornaments and ribbons from the “showroom trees.” It doesn’t take long before these holiday trees are stripped to their false needles, so you’d best get a move on for the Black Iris.
The Black Iris is in South Laguna Beach at 2950 S. Coast Highway. Phone them any time at 949-4972282.