By Leslie Kilgore EBS STAFF
From high alpine weddings to unique arrangements tucked into mountain homes and luxury hotels, flowers in Big Sky now carry a signature touch, thanks to owner and lead designer of Sugar & Spice Florals, Heather St. Clair Ross.
After moving from Chicago to Montana to study horticulture at Montana State University, Heather built her foundation in the landscapes of the Mountain West long before she ever opened her own shop. For just over six years, she served as lead horticulturist at Yellowstone Club, where she refined her expertise in large-scale floral design and extensive landscape planting.
In late 2023, freelance floral work around Big Sky quickly grew into a full-time demand, revealing a clear need for a dedicated local florist. That momentum ultimately led her to take a leap of faith, leaving her role at Yellowstone Club to launch Sugar & Spice Florals, a decision rooted in both opportunity and a desire to serve the Big Sky community more directly.
Today, Sugar & Spice Florals has carved out a distinct niche as Big Sky’s go-to local florist, providing arrangements for weddings, events and everyday occasions. The business is also the trusted floral provider for Montage Big Sky, a vendor for Moonlight Basin, Yellowstone Club and One&Only. In 2025, Heather’s work was recognized when she was named “Emerging Entrepreneur” in Explore Big Sky’s annual Best of Big Sky awards.
With a newly established storefront and a growing team, Sugar & Spice Florals has become a staple in the small business community of Big Sky.
This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.
Explore Big Sky: When did you come to Big Sky, and where are you from originally?
Heather St. Clair Ross: I grew up in Chicago, and I came out to Montana when I was 18 to study horticulture at Montana State University. Then after graduating, I was hired as the Yellowstone Club lead horticulturist. So my job there was to grow, design, plant and maintain all the flowers around the entire property and all the communal areas—basically everywhere in the club except people’s houses.
EBS: Did you have a team there?
HSR: Yes, I had a team in the summer season that helped me maintain, plant and design everything around the property. I oversaw a team of usually five to six people throughout the summer.
EBS: What led you to start your own business?
HSR: In the latter part of 2023, I began getting quite a bit of freelance work around Big Sky, namely at the Montage, and it quickly grew into a second full-time job. So in July of 2024, I made the difficult decision to leave my rewarding role at the Yellowstone Club to pursue my own floral endeavors and serve the Big Sky community more directly through flowers. I definitely saw an open niche that needed filling, and it worked out really well, so I’m glad I did.
EBS: Tell us about Sugar & Spice Florals and how it’s grown.
HSR: I feel like I definitely refined my expertise in floral design through working at the Yellowstone Club, and when I left my role there to pursue Sugar & Spice Florals full-time, I was doing everything out of my house at first, and then in the summer of 2025, we rented out the Cinnamon Lodge as our first studio space.
After that, I eventually moved into the new location that we’re currently in. So now we have an actual brick-and-mortar retail location. We do weddings, events, everyday flower deliveries, and also sell flowers and houseplants out of our shop.
EBS: What can customers expect when they walk into your shop?
HSR: We have houseplants, and we also have a cooler for flowers, so we always have ready-made arrangements available to purchase. People can also come in and place an order or discuss a wedding or event they have coming up. We’re more than happy to have a consultation too.
EBS: Do you feel your time at the Yellowstone Club helped build connections?
HSR: Yes, definitely. Getting that job right out of college helped me gain a lot of traction in Big Sky and network with people who want high-end flowers. It’s definitely a luxury service, which Big Sky has a lot of, so it’s a great place to do it.
EBS: What are you most excited about right now with the business?
HSR: We’re expecting to be really busy this summer now that we have the brick-and-mortar shop. Our winter was already insanely busy. We had our biggest quarter in the first quarter of the year and a really busy Valentine’s Day. We’re looking forward to having our official grand opening at the beginning of June.
EBS: Tell us about your team.
HS: For a while, it was just me doing it all, but now I have one full-time employee and we have a part-time flower delivery driver as well. And then we have people who help us during really big weddings or events.
EBS: How are you getting the word out about your new shop?
HSR: I joined the [Big Sky] Chamber of Commerce at the end of last summer, which has definitely helped. We also have a good online presence and run ads, but a lot of it is just word-of-mouth.
EBS: What’s been your most memorable event so far?
HSR: The biggest event was our first wedding at the Yellowstone Club last spring. I ordered 400 bunches of baby’s breath, and we made several big baby’s breath clouds that hung from the ceiling over the dance floor. We also made a huge arch out of baby’s breath for the ceremony. It took a big team and quite a few hours, but it turned out really great. It was endless boxes of baby’s breath.
EBS: How do you engage with the local Big Sky community?
HSR: Through the chamber of commerce we meet and network with other business owners, and I also won the “Emerging Entrepreneur” award for Best of Big Sky, which was really cool. It was pretty unbelievable. I was jumping up and down for a few days. We also donate leftover flowers to the Big Sky thrift store every week. They sell them, and the money goes back into the community instead of the flowers going in the trash. It’s a win-win. We donate plants too, especially orchids after the blooms fall off but are still healthy, so people can pick those up as well.
EBS: What do you love most about the Big Sky community?
HSR: It’s definitely very vibrant and rooted in community. Everyone is so kind and cheering each other on. It’s a really fun place to be a small business owner, and we’ve had some great collaborations with other locals. People are excited to have a florist in town, which is really special.
EBS: What’s next for your business?
HSR: There’s definitely tons of room for growth. Our goal is to be fully booked every summer with weddings and events, while consistently doing daily deliveries. I’m hoping it grows quickly enough that I’ll need another employee sometime this summer. I feel like the growth is pretty boundless.
EBS: What’s the best advice you’ve received as a young entrepreneur?
HS: My dad has given me quite a bit of good advice, and I have friends who are older entrepreneurs as well. The best advice has been to find your purpose, your truth, and your gift that you’re here to share with the world. If you can find a way to monetize it, you should pursue it wholeheartedly.
Also, believe in yourself, surround yourself with people who are cheering you on, and don’t fall behind. But ultimately, just follow your heart. And yes, enjoy the ride—it’s a grand adventure being self-employed.
