A business blossoms in Cross River

José Pimentel in his floral design shop in Yellow Monkey Village in Cross River. GARY CORRIGAN PHOTO

By JOYCE CORRIGAN 

“Who doesn’t like mojitos?” joked floral designer José Pimentel, quickly clarifying he didn’t mean the popular lime and minty rum drink. He meant mojito hydrangea, an Instagram favorite for its petite citrus-green clusters. Still, “intoxicating” is the word that follows him everywhere: in Pimentel’s arrangements, events, and the atmosphere he creates around both. 

In the fall he opened Pimentel Floral Design, a cedar-shingled shop in the arts-forward, ever-evolving Yellow Monkey Village — a culmination of years of creative and professional seed-planting. 

Not unlike the nimble mojito hydrangea, the 30-year-old Pimentel has been a familiar face in the Bedford area for almost two decades — although always in a new guise. 

A Fox Lane graduate, he spent several years working as a medical practice assistant at Caremount (now Optum), and then waited tables, tended bar and later managed Bedford 234. Eventually he found his rhythm in event design — organizing flowers, food and vibes for private clients and intimate celebrations. 

“Opening a shop was the realization of a dream,” Pimentel said. “I do love being there —  talking arrangements in person or over the phone, planning flowers for baby showers, weddings and holidays — but I really come alive at live events. Arranging flowers for me is always a form of celebration.”

Thanks in part to his cultivating a very active social media presence, Pimentel’s celebrations are regularly sold out. The local community has taken notice. On April 12,, Pimentel was invited to speak at the nonprofit ReSET Westchester’s annual fundraiser at Captain Lawrence Barrel House in Mount Kisco.

“I spoke about what it takes to start a business from scratch,” he said. “From my roots in Guatemala to coming here at 15, getting an education, working nonstop, and meeting as many people as possible. Today a lot of the people who helped me along the way are my clients. Flowers are my way of giving back.”

“And naturally,” he added, “I brought a beautiful flower arrangement.” 

On April 26, Pimentel hosted a hands-on, free-to-the-public floral workshop at Bedford Presbyterian Church, offering an immersive prelude to the merry, bloom-filled month of May. It quickly sold out. Designed for all ages, the event included a dedicated children’s component.

“We had a flower bar with tropical species — many from Guatemala — and lots of ribbon and paper,” he said.” 

The focus was on creating beautiful and imaginative bouquets that everyone could take home or give to someone who could use a little joy.”

“Flowers are fragile and there are specific ways they need to be nurtured,” he said. “Hyacinth stems for example need to be cut straight, while you should cut roses on an angle. Different species drink differently at different rates. Some, like hydrangeas, can absorb water through their petals.”

Flowers are deeply embedded in Pimentel’s DNA not only, as he reminds us, because Guatemala, aka “land of the eternal spring,” is famous for its year-round floral abundance, but because of his earliest memories arranging flowers for his grandmother, Olivia. 

“When she could no longer leave home to attend Mass, I would recreate the flower offerings that she used to love to see in Church while she watched Mass on TV,” he recalled. “Even though she passed away 10 years ago, I think of her enthusiasm every day. I studied biology thinking I’d become a nurse, but eventually discovered I was happier taking care of plants than people.”

Even seasoned florists aren’t immune to spring fever and Pimentel is no exception. 

“It was a long winter here but we’re finally seeing tulips, daffodils, and soon there will be cherry blossoms. I always try to mix in branches in my designs — forsythia or cherry branches, especially. Tall, sturdy branches always bring the drama.” 

Northeastern floristry demands both artistry and logistics. What’s blooming outside in these parts isn’t enough to sustain a year-round business. Pimentel works closely with local farms but also makes weekly one-hour trips to Orange County to Alders Wholesale Florist, a renowned 70-year-old outfit that connects regional designers to global growers. 

“I love the access to flowers from all over the world,” Pimentel said. “Chrysanthemums and carnations from Colombia, delphinium from Ecuador, tulips and specialty roses from the Netherlands.”  

“We’ve all gotten used to being able to surround ourselves with flowers year-round,” Pimentel reflected. “Not only are they beautiful, but they’re mood-lifters. Yet their fragility also awakens something in us — a natural urge to protect them.”  

Even the most carefully tended cut flowers last only about a week. “Which means,” he smiled, “people keep coming back.”

Joyce Corrigan is a freelance writer for The Recorder. Reach her here.