Our Story

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In the 1930’s Peter and Stella Halepas started selling greens from pickers who combed the Connecticut woods looking for wild ferns, pine, spruce, balsam and berried branches. In addition they sold floral supplies, grew their own gypsophila, and bought forsythia, pussy willow, and other branches from New York State growers. Laurel was sourced from pickers in Massachusetts as it was illegal to pick laurel in Connecticut.

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Once train rails could transport greens from growers on the West Coast, their business expanded into more varieties of foliage, such as huckleberry, salal, scotch broom, cedar and various Christmas greens. By the 1960’s, their son, Leon, expanded the product line to include fresh cut flowers and foliage from growers and vendors in Florida, California and Colorado. In 1991 Leon’s children, Peter, Stephanie and Mara became the sole owners of the company, National Wholesale Florist.

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After three generations of being a family business, National is now owned by several industry leaders and one of the largest farms in Ecuador, bringing even more value to customers.  At the heart of the company is its employees, some of whom have been with National for almost 30 years.  We still believe in family pride and dedication. We treat every customer’s business like it’s our own. We are committed to giving our customers the highest quality product, care and service.    

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From All of Us at National Floral Supply