Victoria is an eighteen-year-old who recently emancipated from the foster care system. She lives in a halfway house and struggles with physical contact after years of unstable group home placements. Instead of immediately seeking traditional employment, she scavenges materials to grow small gardens in public parks and empty lots. She communicates almost exclusively through the Victorian language of flowers, a skill she learned from a past foster mother.

Elizabeth owns and operates a wine grape farm outside of San Francisco. She takes nine-year-old Victoria into her home as a foster child and insists on providing consistent meals and boundaries. She uses the Victorian language of flowers to communicate, a method she previously employed with her sister at boarding school. She buries herself in agricultural work to distract from deep family estrangement.

Grant is a young flower farmer who operates a booth at the local wholesale market. He catches Victoria's attention by correctly identifying and reciprocating her obscure floral messages. He runs his own farm and understands the complex meanings behind different blooms. He carries significant responsibility from managing his family's property and caring for his ailing mother at a young age.

Renata owns Bloom, a busy floral shop in the city. She pays Victoria to unload her delivery truck and quickly hires her after noticing her exceptional talent for arranging bouquets. She works long hours managing wedding contracts and haggling at the wholesale market. She provides Victoria with a steady income and connections to affordable housing.

Hazel is an infant who arrives in the story with intense needs and a massive appetite. Her constant demand for care challenges the adults in her life to reconsider their isolation. She acts as a focal point for the surrounding characters, forcing them to confront their pasts and rethink their definitions of family.

Meredith works as Victoria's social worker in the foster care system. She transports Victoria to her final group homes and halfway houses, repeatedly attempting to enforce rules regarding employment and stable living arrangements. She uses bribes like food to manage Victoria's outbursts during long car rides.

Catherine is Elizabeth's sister and Grant's mother. She suffers from a debilitating, dementia-like illness that deeply affects her memory and behavior. Her past affair with Elizabeth's lover created a massive rift that split the family apart and left her isolated in an attic art studio.

Marta Rubina is Renata and Natalya's mother. She presides over a large, close-knit family and welcomes strangers with warm physical affection. She frequently steps in to offer practical support, childcare advice, and home-cooked meals to those connected to her daughters.

Natalya is Renata's younger sister. She performs in a punk rock band and frequently goes on tour. She holds an illegal sublet on a very small room, which she rents out to Victoria for a modest monthly fee to help cover expenses.

Earl is an elderly customer at Bloom. He requests a specific birthday bouquet for his granddaughter, and his satisfaction with Victoria's work turns him into her first regular client. He later returns to ask for an arrangement meant to inspire joy in his struggling wife.

Bethany visits Bloom on Earl's recommendation. She asks Victoria to create specialized arrangements that communicate feelings of love and commitment. She uses these floral messages to advance her romance with a coworker.

Annemarie is Bethany's sister. She accompanies Bethany to the flower shop and requests an arrangement to help with intimacy issues in her own marriage. Her specific request requires Victoria to seek outside help to cultivate an out-of-season flower.

Ray works with Bethany and dates her. He receives Victoria's carefully crafted, emotion-inducing bouquets as Bethany attempts to deepen their relationship.

Marlena lives in the Gathering House, the same halfway facility Victoria once occupied. Victoria hires her to source flowers from the wholesale market and manage basic operations for her growing business.

Carlos works as the foreman at Elizabeth's wine grape farm. He manages the agricultural labor and drives Victoria back to the farm after she is kicked off the school bus on her first day.

Perla is the farm foreman's daughter. She meets Victoria at the farm gate and learns how to harvest prickly pear cactus fruit, though Victoria actively decides against becoming her friend.