A Legacy of Color

When Alex Lang walked into Lily’s Florist and Gifts, she was seeking color. “I wanted that feeling that color brings to a gray winter,” she says. 

Lang, a native Cape Codder, grew up surrounded by flowers. “My grandparents always had a garden—snapdragons and phlox—or flowering bushes, hibiscus, and lilacs,” she shares.

Her interest in color and florals led her to study botany and horticulture at Cape Cod Technical High School, and at the prestigious Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMASS Amherst. After an internship in North Carolina at a flower shop where she learned the intricacies of design—her desire to open her own shop was solidified. 

Determined, she ran her own landscape company in order to save money for a business one day, “It was rewarding, to see the end result and know I had touched everything in the process,” Lang says. 

But Cape Cod winters are often long and dreary, so Lang found herself walking into Lily’s Florist and Gifts in her town of Yarmouth, in the hopes of not only finding color but also to return to her “roots” of floral design. The business has been a mainstay over 20 years, and at the time of her visit, was operating under its third owner, who was looking forward to retirement. Beloved local businessman, Bob Sabatalo, recognized a kindred spirit in Lang and hired her, mentoring and allowing her to spread her creative wings. They developed not only a friendship, but also a plan for Lang to purchase the business. Sadly, just as flowers don’t remain with us long enough, Sabatalo passed, after a battle with cancer. 

Lang has continued on as the owner of Lily’s and is the friendly—and knowledgeable—face behind the counter. While cleaning one day, she came across the resume she had eagerly brought Sabatalo. It hangs in the shop, serving as a reminder of how her dream to share her love for color and design, is a dream realized. 

Skillfully, she brings color galore all year long to Lily’s through local blooms, and off-season, by importing flowers from across the globe. Lang’s philosophy on the beauty and importance of florals is poignant, “I think flowers are meant to help us live in the present. They show us their beauty and then they’re gone. They aren’t meant to last forever; they’re meant to remind us to enjoy the present and be happy.” 

Visit Lang and her team of dedicated professionals at the shop in Holly Plaza at 1049 Route 28 or online at lilysfloristandgifts.com.