BUSINESS WATCH:Busy and in bloom

Janet Peloquin can tell quite a bit about what's going on at Newport Harbor High School, based on two things — who's ordering flowers, and why.

Peloquin, the owner of the Bloom Where You're Planted florist on Dover Drive in Newport Beach, takes orders throughout the year for the school located just blocks away. Sometimes, she said, Principal Michael Vossen buys flowers for a student or staff member who's gone through a success or a hard time. The busiest time for school-related sales, however, comes in mid-June — when commencement is right around the corner.

"This is our moneymaking time," said Peloquin, who has run Bloom Where You're Planted for 10 years.

Around this time, slews of friends and family members stop by florists around Newport-Mesa to purchase gifts for their graduates. Some buy bouquets or single flowers, while others opt for teddy bears or balloons. According to many, though, the most popular items are Hawaiian leis — which fit easily around the shoulders of graduates with occupied hands.

Corina Carmona, the assistant manager of Conroy's florist on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa, said graduation time capped the busiest months of the year at her store.

The time from Valentine's Day to commencement, she said, brought in the most customers, with business usually slow until the holidays.

"It drops a little bit," Carmona said. "Then when we get to November, it picks up again."

Of course, flowers aren't the only popular graduation gift. Anthony Pao, the owner of Yours Truly in Fashion Island, said his store booms in mid-June as parents purchase picture frames, picture albums and jewelry for their graduates.

Another top item, he said, is a ring with a student's name engraved.

Betty Nelson, the manager of Benchley Luggage and Gifts in Fashion Island, said June regularly brought in a slew of business — not only for high school graduates who needed briefcases and book bags for college, but also because of Father's Day.

"This month is our month," she said. "We have the grads and we have the dads."

Another spot in town does graduation business of a different kind. The Ticktocker Thrift Shop in Costa Mesa, run by the National Charity League, regularly gets donations of school uniforms, textbooks and other supplies at commencement time.

The prom dresses, staff member Toni Leffler said, are the most common donation.

"Sometimes we'll have a special rack set up just for that," she said.