CLINTON - In a small Clinton storefront, a flower shop that's been open since 1999 serves as a steady fixture for local milestones, from celebrations to moments of grief.

Buz N' Bee Florist Gift & Nursery has spent more than 25 years building arrangements for customers across generations,  said owner Linda McKnight. She says the focus has always been on creating a welcoming environment.

"You just got to make it inviting," McKnight said.

McKnight said her path to ownership didn't begin with a business plan, but with an opportunity at another floral shop where she was asked to help revive operations.

"He asked me if I wanted to stay there and try to salvage the business that was there, and I told him yes. So that's what it revived from," she said.

That experience eventually led her to open her own shop in Clinton, the town where she grew up. McKnight said she spent much of her childhood just down the road at her mother's jewelry store, learning the rhythms of small business life early on.

"I mean, yeah, I've been here since I was 5," she said.

Today, McKnight runs the shop six days a week, often seven when needed, and said the work has remained consistent over the years.

"I mean, this is what my life operates around, you know, I'm here 6 days a week, and if need be, I'm here on Sunday," she said.

Inside the shop, arrangements are made for weddings, birthdays, funerals and everyday moments in between.

"You feel like you've done your job," she said. "And I don't get a lot of complaints, you know, I have people tell me, 'Oh my flowers lasted 2 weeks,' and I'm thinking, 'Well, they should.'"

She said the goal is less about selling flowers and more about shaping experiences for customers who walk through the door.

In a small town like Clinton, McKnight said, those relationships matter as much as the arrangements themselves, with many customers returning for years and even generations.

After more than two decades in business, she said the work continues to be rooted in the same idea that guided her from the beginning: creating a place where people feel welcome.