Flowers for Burlington, WA

For most of the north Sound, Burlington is the place you stop — the retail crossroads where I-5 crosses Highway 20 and the outlets, Cascade Mall, and big-box strips along George Hopper Road pull shoppers off the freeway from three counties. That same crossroads position is why the town punches above its size for flower delivery: a bouquet built here can catch someone at work near the mall, ride Highway 20 west toward Anacortes and the ferries or east into the foothills, and reach the farm addresses spread across the Skagit flats. The valley's real signature, though, is spring. When the tulip and daffodil fields bloom and the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival draws its crowds, Burlington's roads fill and the coolers run hard — and a designer who knows the flats builds early to beat the traffic.

Other Washington cities.