Best Flower Shop: Growing Wild
Growing Wild’s custom-made flower arrangements inside the downtown Manhattan Beach shop. Photo
Manhattan Beach native twin sisters Lee Hoven Bakos and Lisa Hoven Gallien always dreamed of running their own business. Growing up, their parents instilled in them a love of gardening and the two worked at a local flower shop as Mira Costa High School seniors, then as business majors at Pepperdine University. In 1991, their dream came true with the opening of Growing Wild, their very own flower shop in downtown. Twenty-three years later, it reigns as the best flower shop in the South Bay, according to our readers. Bakos credits their success to her extended family of neighbors. “It’s the local community,” Lee says. “We feel very blessed to have a business in the same place where we grew up. We have a very amazing clientele. Very loyal, lovely people to work with.” It also helps that Growing Wild is always on the cutting edge of design, she says, whether with fresh florals, succulent gardens, silk displays or orchid arrangements. — EK
1201 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach. 310-545-4432. growingwild.net
Runner up: Lily Pad Floral Design. 901 Hermosa Ave, Hermosa Beach. 310-376-2539. lilypadfloral.com