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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- It's one of the busiest time of the year for several local businesses.

Why? They specialize in flowers.

From processing thousands of roses to stocking their shelves with stuffed animals and chocolates, florists like Flowerama in Colorado Springs are preparing for the Valentine's Day rush.

"Valentine's Day is extremely, extremely busy," April Petix, a designer at Flowerama, said. "We've had over 9,000 roses come in. It's crazy."

Petix said Flowerama began its Valentine's Day preparations in December, which includes making hundreds of bows for each arrangement.

"Even when w e close, we all take home a roll of ribbon or two just to keep doing bows," Shannon Waters, a designer, said. "We're always busy."

Designers said they can make between 300 and 400 floral arrangements within the first half hour of their shift. With several hundred orders already placed and dozens more expected, the flower shop is bringing in all the help they can get.

"We've brought past employees on along with all of our full-time employees," Petix said. "We're all working seven days a week past Valentine's Day to prepare for Tuesday."

Customers, like Joshua Brenton, have been in and out of the store to pick out something special for their sweetheart.

"I am going to definitely get it early," he said, "because it's all going to be taken."

Petix said orders for delivery on Feb. 14 were completely booked by New Year's Day. She believes that is a sign that the wilted economy is not a thorn for their business.

"Last year we didn't book up until a week before Valentine's Day," she said. "This year we booked up on the first of the year, so you can see there's a big change in the economy."

Flowerama is no longer accepting orders for delivery on Valentine's Day, but Petix said they will have plenty of arrangements for customers to come in and purchase.

"All of our shelves will sell out," she said. "It is a first come, first served on Valentine's Day."

Petix said Flowerama averages about $40,000 to $50,000 in sales on Valentine's Day alone. The next busiest day is Mother's Day.

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend more than $17 billion to show their love this Valentine's Day, up nearly nine percent from last year.