‘I’m not finished yet’: 50 years of blooms at Flowers by Roger

He’s come a long way from that basement, having expanded into a storefront at 1210 Manchester Ave., and a nearby building for storage and assembly.

In 1990, he was inducted American Institute of Floral Designers.

“You can’t go any higher as fair as degrees within the flower industry,” Conner said. “It’s the ultimate.”

In 2021, Conner purchased competitor Flowers by Nancy to increase sales and provide flowers arrangements to 80 percent of the customers in the city.

When the business first launched — inspired by his grandmother’s love of flowers — an article in the Middletown Journal led to coverage by The Enquirer and a feature in The Wall Street Journal.

For the latter, Conner was flown to New York City on a first-class flight and put up at The Plaza.

“That was pretty exciting...I’d never been anywhere outside of Middletown,” he said.

Fifty years later, Conner, now 65, has no plans to retire — though he had a stroke two years ago.

“It was pretty severe,” he said.

When asked if he considered selling the business, he said “No...not at all. That’s not in the plan. And still after 50 years, I’m not finished yet.”

The journey hasn’t been all rosy, though.

Conner, who is openly gay and has been with his long-term partner, Doug Thrush, for 18 years, said it was difficult in the early days of his business, and he lost some supporters early on because of his sexuality.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said.

But, he held onto his faith, and now, he said, “Everybody knows it, and everybody’s been very supportive of me.”

“I have been so fortunate. God has truly blessed me and my life.”

Conner also has had some full circle moments.

“The greatest generation, as they say, they’re great supporters of me. And they love to support the kid because I had the all-American dream,” he said.

Recently, Flowers by Roger did flowers for a funeral for his former high school teacher, who was a long-time supporter of his business. He also did the flowers for her daughter’s wedding.

“When I do those types of flowers, I do them with emotion, and I do them with love and concern,” he said.

“Flowers speak when words cannot.”