Bouquet will get eaten before it can wilt

The arrangement looks like any beautiful floral arrangement should: It has flowers, leaves, comes in a decorative basket and smells good.

But one thing distinguishes it from a traditional bouquet of flowers: It's made entirely out of fruit.

Skewers of grapes stand at the top and in various places in the bouquet. Pineapples shaped like flowers with cantaloupe centers are spread throughout. Honeydew and cantaloupe "leaves" surround the flowers. Strawberries, some chocolate dipped, complete the arrangement.

Making such mouth-watering arrangements has become a new business venture for Gary and Barbara Waldman. The Park City couple, along with daughter Jillian Waldman, opened Edible Arrangements, 5211 S. State, which specializes in fresh-fruit arrangements such as the Delicious Fruit Design described above, in February.

The Waldmans begin each day in their shop at 7 a.m. cutting the produce that will become the day's arrangements. It takes about 10 minutes to put together each fruit creation, Barbara Waldman said.

Jillian Waldman enjoys morning production.

"I would say the mornings are my favorite when we make all the arrangements," she said. "We start at 7 a.m., and time just flies by. It's neat to make them and it's fun."

The bouquets are made from fruits such as cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, apples, strawberries, oranges and pineapples. They range in size from a small arrangement that serves two people to huge bouquets that can be served at banquets of 100 people. Arrangements are made to order.

"My husband and I . . . decided there was a need for this type of thing in the area," Barbara Waldman said, pointing out that the business is distinguished by its uniqueness.

Jillian Waldman agrees.

"A lot of people are very health-conscious now," she said. "People are not into sweets anymore. (Fruit arrangements) are a nice alternative. People can add chocolate if they want sweet. It's a unique idea. There's not anything like that around here."

The Waldmans got the idea for a business of fresh-fruit arrangements when they lived in Nevada and saw an Edible Arrangements-type store there.

Past experience in produce has aided the Waldmans in their business. Gary Waldman was a produce broker for 23 years and Barbara's father was in the business. The couple never thought their produce experience would help them in starting a bouquet business.