Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Soto.
Hi Sophie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My whole life has been surrounded by plants and nature! My first job was at Centre Ridge Garden Center in Nutley when I was 16 years old. The garden center was down the street from my house and I worked there consistently for 8 years. This amazing little place is what sparked my love for plants, flowers, & nature. I decided to attend the University of Rhode Island when I graduated from Nutley High to study plant science. I knew I wanted to learn about plants but I had no idea in what realm. While I had amazing memories from the school, I quickly learned after my freshman year that plant science wasn’t what I wanted to do. We were learning about plants and their cells under microscopes and I wanted to be outside with the plants learning what they needed to survive. I made the decision to switch my major to Horticulture at Bergen Community College and it was a decision I would make 100 times over. For 2.5 years I learned everything under the sun about plants from my amazing professors. We took trips to local greenhouses and suppliers, many trips outdoors studying the plants, designing new garden beds, identifying pests, planting bulbs, greenhouse management and more. Learning from professors who have spent their whole life in the industry like Dr. Fischer, Professor Raimondi, Professor Dixon & Professor Wiles. I enjoyed every single class I took, showing up, listening, taking notes and I was always sad at the end of every semester when the class was over. There is no better feeling than connecting with amazing teachers who care just as deeply as you do. I went on to earn 6 scholarships during my time at BCC! While in school, I also took elective floral design classes, where I quickly discovered an interest in the field. I loved getting to use flowers you couldn’t find at the grocery store and creating/designing which was something I always enjoyed. I graduated in December of 2023 when I was 22 and continued surrounding myself in all Horticulture related fields from the garden center, internships, and a local apothecary.
In September 2024, I had the opportunity to purchase a flower cart, which truly started this journey. I always assembled grocery store flowers for family and friends and when I came across the flower cart I decided to make it a mobile flower shop. My first pop-up was at the Nutley Farmers Market, where I offered a “Build Your Own Bouquet” experience. It was such a fun addition to the market, giving people the chance to get creative themselves or let me design something for them. From there, the flower cart grew into other farmers markets, private events, and floral arrangements for all occasions. What started as a few blooms bundled together at markets, blossomed into inquiries for centerpieces, parties & more. I quickly found myself very busy and frequenting the flower supplier multiple times a week. I had the honor of designing my first wedding in August 2025 for an amazing couple in Nutley! At the time I didn’t realize that this wedding was a turning point for me! I was developing a larger portfolio of my work and needed more space.
By September 2025, I came across an opportunity to open my own store on Bloomfield Avenue in Nutley! It is the quaintest little stand alone building that was destined to be a flower shop. Stepping into the store feels like an English garden. It is the perfect little flower cottage and boutique floral experience that the town was missing. Since opening, I have expanded the options in store from fresh flowers to plants, antique vases, gardening items, hand painted cards & more. Customers can come in, build a bouquet from the options on the flower cart, order flowers for me to create, & shop from the many plant and gardening related gift items. I’m so happy to have a space in my hometown that reflects everything I love and who I am, and I can’t wait for everyone to come see it!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When this journey started for me in September 2024, I had no idea how quickly it would take off for me. Being immersed in the floral industry suddenly, I was filled with so many questions. I didn’t know all the little tips, tricks and mechanics behind designs and was constantly stumped. While I did learn so much plant knowledge in school, you do not think of extremely specific questions you find yourself asking when you are immersed in the industry. Being a florist is not just playing with flowers, but keeping an extremely fragile, short lived item alive and fresh for multiple days, using the right tools to keep the stems supported, understanding the different mechanics for designing certain items, hydration chambers, sprays and dips to prolong their life, and so much more. I did not know how to do any of this and did not know any florists. Being only 23 when I started this, I had never ordered flowers from a florist before. I didn’t know how things worked, where to buy certain supplies, and how to create certain designs, I forced myself to only read or watch educational floral videos to help me get answers. Anytime I had free time, whether I read a book or scrolled on social media I made sure it was relating to the industry. I came across so many florists online that posted the behind the scenes of their work and I quickly built relationships with them. A florist in Tennessee helped me figure out the mechanics behind a large installment I had to do! I paid for online courses to learn innovative designs and bought books from other florists. I went from having no answers to anything to all of these tips and tricks from veteran florists that one would have to earn overtime working at a flower shop.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sophie’s Garden was the name of an instagram account I created before I had my business. I posted the flowers that I designed and any gardening things I did around my home. As it developed into a business, I tried changing my name and was quickly told by many people that “Sophie’s Garden” not only encompassed my business but me as well. I kept the name which is now on my store and its become a mysterious game of “Who is the Sophie behind Sophie’s Garden?” 🙂
Creating floral designs has always been much more to me than just arranging your average grocery store flowers together. As a women designing flowers for other women majority of the time, I know the kind of flowers I would want to be given. Every detail matters from the flower selection, color palette, style of the flowers, and how a bouquet is wrapped. When I started this journey, I committed to one thing above all: creating arrangements that are beautiful, unique, and thoughtfully designed. My mission is to craft floral pieces that go beyond the ordinary, using locally grown and unique flowers to bring elegance and inspiration to every space. I specialize in garden-style arrangements with a floral boutique feel, designed to look elevated and thoughtfully composed. From April to October, I source locally grown flowers from farms in New Jersey. The flower selection is unlike anything else! The quality of the flowers, the freshness, the types of flowers, and best of all is supporting your local farms. I have so many repeat customers that continuously support me as well as new customers that come to me because they love the style of what I do. When you come into the store or order flowers from me, my customers know you will get a variety of unique blooms designed together in an impressionable way. The flowers represent a flower cottage feel all the way down to the notecard. All messages are written either on a vintage lace notecard or on a hand painted card of the store by local artist Denise Costantino.
What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I loved the outdoors. Play dates with friends always resulted in us playing outside. I was never afraid to get dirty and spend the whole day outside. I played sports as a kid and continued soccer all the way through high school. I enjoyed being active, going for runs, and any outdoor activity. During elementary school, my grandmother who lived down the street from our school, would walk to pick my sister and I up. We stayed with her after school for a few hours until my parents got home from work. My grandmother Dora, who just recently passed away in Nov 2025, was the biggest plant lover. She would teach me how to water her plants that she referred to as her “babies”. After school, it became a ritual that I loved doing. I would always ask ‘Grandma can I water the plants?” and she would give me a cup of water to divide amongst the plants. She always watched over me, probably to make sure I didn’t kill one of her babies. It’s safe to say now looking at my life that has revolved around plants, that it started after school with my grandma, She loved my job at the garden center where she would often visit to buy vegetables for her garden. And when the senior bus would drive by the garden center on their way to lunch she would proudly tell all of her senior friends that her “grandbaby worked there”. The first farmers market I popped up at with my flower cart in September 2024, my grandma came to. Someone at the market bought flowers from me and gave them to my grandma a kind gesture. She was so happy and at the time we didn’t know that was the last farmers market she would go to before she got diagnosed with dementia.
As I got older, playing outside became working outside. Every weekend, my dad and I had a new project for the garden. From mulching, weeding, planting, pruning, and cutting the grass, we did it all. Typically in most households, your dad has to force you to help with outside chores like mulching but in my home it was the other way around. I was the boss and he was the worker as he put it. We would wake up Saturday mornings at 8 am and start weeding ,or whatever I had planned ,before the sun came out. We didn’t let one spring/summer weekend pass without accomplishing some form of a garden chore.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sophiesgardenflorals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ssophiesgarden?igsh=cWxhN3g0aGs3dGR0&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AAZBQGYgu/?mibextid=wwXIfr
