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After decades of devoted service at Bert's Red Apple in Madison Park, John Gallen "retired" to open Best Buds in 2006 with partners Brenda Lorentzen and Babits Faires. Gallen worked at Bert's for nearly 40 years and oversaw the flower department for 20 of those, developing a passion for beautiful blooms while his knowledge of blossoms grew.

His new endeavor is tucked away on a back street off the beaten path in Madison Park next to a bright red British phone booth. Big buckets of flowers and potted plants are displayed in front of the shop. Inside are more cut flowers and in back is a courtyard filled with small pony-packs and gallon containers of plants. It's an utterly charming spot to shop for annuals, perennials, herbs, ferns, orchids, roses, in-season flowers and bouquet "filler" such as Hypericum Berry, eucalyptus and wax flowers.

Not only is the selection excellent but the prices are hard to beat. On a recent trip there, tulips (five stems) were $1.50, Alstroemeria was $2 a bunch, gerbera daisies were $5.90, orchid bouquets were $3, quart-size sword ferns were $4, star-gazer lilies were $9.90 and pansies were just a buck. Why are prices so low? Gallen simply says, "We want people to be able to buy flowers."