Bearded Bouquet, a local floral shop that specializes in European garden-style arrangements for all occasions and special event installations, has been wowing Jonesboro with its unique designs since 2019. This year, owner Zach Jones will take his talent to Washington D.C., where he will join forces with other florists and decorators from around the country to ready the White House for Christmas. 

After graduating from Arkansas State University with a marketing degree with an emphasis in sales, Jones said he decided to pursue a career that allowed for more creativity and artistic expression. He worked at a local floral shop for more than a year before deciding to acquire his floral licenses, then went on to land a job as a floral designer for the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., in 2018.

“Decorating at Biltmore was a dream job come true and really elevated my design style for both florals and Christmas,” said Jones. “At Biltmore, the floral team was responsible for all Christmas decor on the estate, which included more than 100 Christmas trees, hundreds of feet of garlands and an infinite amount of ornaments. That experience really helped me learn scheduling, design and working with different elements that may not normally be seen as Christmassy.”

Jones returned to Jonesboro after eight months to be closer to family and for the opportunity to open Bearded Bouquet with a business partner, whom he has since bought out to become the shop’s sole owner.     

“Bearded Bouquet … has definitely grown physically from 2,000 square feet originally to 3,800 square feet now in 2025,” said Jones. “We have also pivoted towards Arkansas-made products in store when available and love to highlight those products. Our team has grown from three to seven people in that time frame, with multiple designers and in-store staff, including my husband, Alex, who does our bookwork here at the shop, along with a very fun and ever-growing customer base.

“The Northeast Arkansas community has really been very welcoming and supportive to us over these past six years. We’ve steadily increased our customer base since the beginning and are ever so grateful that people have trusted us with all the important moments in their lives and allowed us to participate with our flowers.”

Jones says Bearded Bouquet’s signature style is more garden-style and loose with a variety of flower types. The shop’s arrangements, depending on size, will always have five to seven varieties of flowers in them, showcasing what is in season and best for that time of year. 

“I take inspiration from all sorts of things, whether it’s something I see while driving down the road or something I see while traveling,” he said. “Nature and architecture really are the driving force of my creativity.” 

Early on, Jones found a way to combine his creativity with his love for Christmas and bringing that holiday cheer to others. 

“Christmas trees were where I got my start back in high school, and then the florals came later,” said Jones. “I have always loved decorating for Christmas and the seasons, and the Christmas tree jobs organically transitioned into faux florals, then fresh florals, and 15 years later, here we are.”

It was during Jones’ time at Biltmore Estate that he first learned of the possibility of decorating the White House for the holiday season.

“Since I learned while working at Biltmore that volunteering at The White House was an opportunity available to me, it has been a dream,” said Jones. “I remember watching the White House Christmas Special on HGTV growing up, but I never made the connection that volunteering was something you could do.”    

Jones was one of 300 people chosen to volunteer out of an applicant pool that is upwards of 5,000 to 10,000 people depending on the year. The volunteers will spend Thanksgiving week readying the presidential residence for Christmas.

“I will be working on Christmas installation at the White House from November 24 through 30, with a reception to attend on December 1,” said Jones. “The first phase is working in the warehouse prepping and working on items that can be assembled off site, and the second part of the install is in the White House itself. As of right now I do not know specifically what I will be working on; I assume we will receive assignments on-site for security reasons.”

Jones says he is hoping to leave a little Bearded Bouquet flair at the White House, whether it’s adding ribbon into a tree the way he likes or styling an arrangement with his signature style.

“I am most looking forward to working with the other florists from around the country to learn all sorts of new tricks of the trade,” said Jones. “Since floral and seasonal decorating is such a creative field, everyone has different ways of accomplishing the same task, and it’s always interesting to see.”

Back in Jonesboro, Jones says deeper versions of traditional Christmas hues and rich ribbons are trending this year.

“A lot of people in Jonesboro are embracing different shades of traditional Christmas, like burgundies and cranberry and natural shades of green,” said Jones. “We’re also seeing lots of velvet ribbon and bows.”

The Bearded Bouquet will keep Jones and his employees busy during the holiday season, but the floral shop owner says he will still find time to enjoy all that Jonesboro has to offer for Christmas.

“All of November is pretty much taken up by Christmas installs with Bearded Bouquet, but once that is out of the way, we have a lot of fun holiday plans,” he said. “We always go as a friend group to look at Christmas lights around the area with hot chocolate. We also love taking in the seasonal productions at The Forum like ‘The Nutcracker.’ We also always have a creative Christmas party for the shop, whether it’s pasta making, cake decorating or, this year, pottery.”

Whether it’s in Washington, D.C., at the White House or in Jonesboro at Bearded Bouquet, Jones says he loves making an impact on people’s lives through creative expression in his floral arrangements.

“I love being able to connect with people and make an impact with flowers on some of the happiest days of their lives, as well as some of the sadder days of their lives,” said Jones. “Flowers, if you look closely, are a part of almost any moment in life. Always there in the background of birthdays, anniversaries, bad days, funerals, weddings and all the life events in between, and it’s fun to be a part of people’s lives like that.”

Bearded Bouquet, located at 3410 E. Johnson Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (870) 333-1661, visit beardedbouquet.com or find the floral shop on social media.