Interview: Love Is in Bloom for Marla Sokoloff

Marla Sokoloff has co-starred in the likes of “Desperate Housewives” and “Party of Five,” as well as “The Practice” and “Full House,” to name just a few. Now she is starring in her own Hallmark Channel movie called “Flower Girl.” Marla plays Laurel, and unlucky-in-love florist who soon finds herself having to choose between two men. One is the stable and sweet doctor, Evan, who Grandma Rose (Marion Ross) approves of, and the other is Stephen, a mysterious and handsome writer.

Marla was more than ready for a sweet love story like “Flower Girl.” And there is a lot to love about the movie, as she explains: “I am a sucker for romantic comedies. I just really love the whole concept of finding love. I love that Marion Ross’ character was the meddling grandmother. I love that it is such a great story.

“It’s just really nice in this day and age to sit down and watch a love story. I think everybody really likes to watch those kinds of movies where it just warms your heart and makes you feel like love is possible. Just sit down in your jammies with a bowl of popcorn, and watch it.”

Marla can relate to Laurel, and finds many similarities between herself and the character she portrays. “I like that she is so levelheaded about love and realistic about it. It’s almost as if she is trying to teach her grandmother about love and how it works in this day and age.

“Personally, I’ve always been like that: not so much the romantic, but more levelheaded and realistic about things. Laurel has a gut instinct about something and she follows through with it, which I try to do as well.”

She also appreciates and relates to Laurel’s attitude of not settling for less that what she deserves in life. “I’ve never settled in my real life, and in my love life. I really took the time to date and to get to know what I want out of a partner. I think that some people rush into things, which is why the divorce rate is so high. Being a little bit jaded and cautious when it comes to love is not always a bad thing.”

A week before Marla got the offer for the movie, she got engaged in real life, so she was able to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. “I was already doing research on flowers and weddings anyway, because I was planning my own wedding. So I got to research for myself and the character at the same time.

“One thing that was really cool is every morning Telaflora would deliver fresh flowers. These gorgeous arrangements would arrive to the set, and I would send pictures to my wedding planner of ones that I liked. I’d tell her I liked a certain flower, or this certain color, and stuff like that.”

All the flowers made the set a joy to be on. “You would walk onto the set and the smell was like heaven. The prop guy would let me bring some to my trailer, which is great because trailers never smell good.”

Working so closely with a television icon, Marion Ross, was also a wonderful experience, according to Marla. “Marion was awesome. She is such a sweetheart and so fun and so beautiful. Oddly enough, she is a little bit shocking and naughty at times. Sometimes the things that would come out of her mouth, you’d be like, ‘What?!?’ She has a dirty side to her mind, which I always appreciate. She was great. I adored her.”

Don’t miss “Flower Girl,” which premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.