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She Loves Me Is Opening a Capitol Hill Store for Bouquets and Houseplants

The popular flower business opens on Saturday, and another new location is coming soon.

Photo by Megan Graham.

After She Loves Me owner Holley Simmons closed her Petworth flower shop earlier this year, the florist decided to plant a larger version of the blooms boutique in Eckington. But when Rose’s Luxury and Little Pearl restauranteur Aaron Silverman showed her the vacant area in front of his new Capitol Hill catering kitchen, Simmons opted to open a second, more intimate storefront as well. “We’ll definitely be competing for smells,” says Simmons. The Barracks Row location of She Loves Me opens on Saturday, October 16 with colorful bouquets and curated goods.

She Loves Me Owner Holley Simmons with the Aphrodite vessel. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.
She Loves Me Owner Holley Simmons with the Aphrodite vessel. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.

Stepping through a triple-arch entryway that reminds Simmons of her travels to Greece, the front vestibule is stocked with leafy houseplants. Shoppers walk through the jungle, transported into an eclectic space decked with checkered floors, Moroccan lamps, and hanging parasols. “The goal is to have you not be able to make sense of it immediately,” says Simmons. “You’re like ‘wait, where am I?'”

The store will mainly sell bouquets like the colorful arrangement held by team member Meredith Keegan. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.
The store will mainly sell bouquets like the colorful arrangement held by team member Meredith Keegan. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.

Floral offerings include 10 to 15 different types of bouquets. Staff will handwrite “what the pluck” tags with the flora and greenery in each arrangement so that budding horticulturalists can remember their favorite bloom or do more research on a particular flower.

Team member Blaire Bradford adjusts a shelf stocked with curated goods. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.
Team member Blaire Bradford adjusts a shelf stocked with curated goods. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.

In addition to bouquets, shelves are stocked with goods like jewelry and Aphrodite vases. The shop’s signature candle will also be available for purchase—a jasmine and orange blossom scent made in collaboration with a Petworth resident.

The eclectic space is filled with florals and greenery. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.
The eclectic space is filled with florals and greenery. Photo by Maddie Kaye Photo.

The Capitol Hill storefront is opening on She Loves Me’s annual Dahlia Day where four local farms will supply 1,200 stems of the perennial blooms. A portion of proceeds from the dahlia sales go to Ayuda, an organization that provides legal, language, and social services to immigrants in DC.

The Eckington location is slated to open later this year with a build-your-own bouquet bar and flower-arranging workshops.

She Loves Me721 8th St., SE. 

Daniella Byck
Lifestyle Editor

Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.