Yeah, that’s right.  You can visit a duck while shopping for flowers at our local florist Bunches here in downtown Los Gatos.

For many years before I had a garden of my own, I would stop by Bunches every Friday after work and pick up a bouquet of flowers. It was something I really looked forward to.

I eventually had a garden with plenty of flowers and I stopped frequenting the florist.  Then a couple of weekends ago after picking up vegetables from the farmer’s market in dowton Los Gatos, Hitesh and I stopped by Bunches to see if they had any sweet pea flowers.  I love sweet peas; they are the ultimate cottage style flower.  With their gorgeous colors, intoxicating scent, and cheery form, they really brighten up any room.

I missed having sweet peas this spring in my garden. I usually plant sweet pea seeds in the fall for a bounty of flowers in the spring, but this year I missed the opportunity.  And from past experience if I plant sweet pea seeds in the spring, the seeds don’t sprout, and if they do sprout, the plants are very tiny.

Since it’s already July, I wasn’t sure Bunches would have any sweet peas for sale. But they did 😊. The sweet peas here were in beautiful shades of dark burgundy, deep purple, lavenders, blue, pale pink, and coral.

While I was busy deciding on what color sweet peas to get, Hitesh was busy chatting with the owner.  A duck had just walked in front of Hitesh unexpectedly and needless to say it caught him by surprise.  The owner explained that the duck’s name is Pete and she lives here in the shop.  Hitesh called me over to check out Pete but I was concentrating on buying flowers, and by the time I looked up, Pete had sauntered off to the back room. Somehow during all those years I went to Bunches I never noticed Pete the duck at the store, she must have been strolling in the back room every time I stopped by.

As I was admiring the sweet pea flowers, Hitesh was learning about the story of how Pete the duck ended up in residence there.

Here is the low-down on Pete the duck at Bunches. The owner explained to Hitesh that they got Pete when she was a little chick over 10 years ago.  They made a small water tub for her, which is basically a sink with water for Pete to hang out in.  Over the years Pete just became their pet, and decided to stay.  According to the owner, Pete doesn’t fly away; she just hangs out in the store and roams free. Sometimes she may wander outside but she always comes back.

Like any pet, she likes being petted or held by the owners. And just like a pet dog, Pete the duck does things any pet dog would do, like playing fetch – but with cherry tomatoes and cabbage! When she catches the veggies, she just eats them 🙂  The owner explained that he just throws cherry tomatoes in the air and will play catch with Pete.  He also told Hitesh never to stand behind a duck, as they tend to poop on your shoes.

Now, the sign where Pete hangs out does say not to pet her, I understand, I mean can you imagine all the germs that can get transferred to Pete from thousands of customers petting her over the years? But since Hitesh and the owner were chatting and seem to be getting along pretty well, Hitesh had the privilege of petting Pete!  The owner joked that he couldn’t have come up with a better marketing slogan: “Come and visit Pete the duck and buy some flowers too.”

Some families have been bringing their kids to pick up flowers and to see Pete for so many years, now that the kids are older and married, they bring their little kids to Bunches to show them Pete too.  This is exactly what I did.  Once I found out that Pete the duck resides at Bunches, I dropped in on the florist just to show Rani. The moment we opened the door, there she was in her sink tub, quacking away, there was no way for me to miss her this time 🙂  We watched her for a bit while she waded and quacked for a long while.

On this visit with Rani, I picked up another bunch of sweet peas to take home. Incidentally, Rani loves sweet peas, she will bug me every year to find out when my sweet peas will start blooming.  This year I told Rani I forgot to plant the seeds last fall so I don’t have any sweet peas growing in our garden. I’ve asked her to remind me to plant the seeds when fall arrives so we don’t miss the sweet pea planting opportunity once again.

I still stop by occasionally when I walk past Bunches when I’m in downtown Los Gatos, you can’t resist this charming florist shop.

If you are in downtown Los Gatos for coffee, shopping, or just for a stroll, stop by Bunches to visit Pete the duck and pick up a little bouquet too.  Between Pete and the flowers, you will positively leave with a smile on your face. 🙂

Bunches Los Gatos