UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Recent gasoline supply issues in the southeastern United States are having far-reaching consequences on individuals and small businesses.

After the hack and subsequent halt of a major gasoline pipeline, a Union County florist is feeling the pinch of being out of gas as drivers flock to gas stations and run pumps dry.

"It’s just hard to deliver things whenever you can’t get any gas. I mean, people don’t think about it. They’ve been calling us today like, ‘Can I get a delivery, can I get a delivery?’ And we’re just like, 'I’m sorry we don’t have gas,'” said Olivia Taylor after a busy day in her flower shop.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, Sweet T Flowers in Waxhaw announced it would not be able to complete deliveries as the gas supply issue continued. 

“Not many people really even want to come out and pick up an arrangement 'cause they’re scarce on gas as well,” Taylor added.

In another frustration, some of Taylor’s staff could not make it to work because they needed to use gas for family obligations or were already out and could not find a spot to fill up.

Usually, Taylor can turn around anywhere from 10 to 20 last-minute orders a day. For the most part, the day-of orders are for last-minute birthday and anniversary gifts or sometimes the occasional apology, Taylor joked.

But now, they are forced to turn down the last-minute orders unless the recipient or purchaser can come pick them up at the store. When the average order starts at around $100, Taylor said missing out on 10 to 20 of those a day is starting to add up.

Not to mention, the feeling of frustration of being unable to help others make connections and memories isn't good.

"It sucks because you know that they’re calling for like a birthday or like someone unfortunately has passed away, and they want to send flowers to a family. And it’s like, I want to help out and send those flowers and get them out. But it’s...I can’t if I can’t get there,” Taylor said.

It’s another unusual and unexpected challenge after 15 months of unexpected challenges.

Taylor and her mom have run Sweet T Flowers in Union County since they bought it in 2015 after moving to the area from Ohio in 2012.

It was a step up from their Ohio store, which operated out of a small trailer.

"We delivered with a Volkswagen bug, we had like maybe five deliveries a day, not even, like we lived in a super super small town,” Taylor laughed.

For the two of them, making flower arrangements for any special event, big or small, is a labor of love.

"I just like being creative and kind of working with something that is perishable,” Taylor explained, “But you can like dry it, there’s so many different things you can do with flowers. There’s some many different things."

There is some good news. With the right care flowers can live in their coolers for up to two weeks, according to Taylor. Meaning, there is some breathing room for the gas situation to work itself out before their inventory has to be replaced.

However, the clock is ticking. Taylor said there are some weddings on her schedule for this weekend, and if the gas situation continues, they will have to figure out what to do to make sure someone else's day blooms into something special.