Choosing the right flowers for every occasion
Sending Flowers to the Love of your Life – Top Tips for Getting it Right
Flowers are such a great gift for every occasion, but so easy to get wrong, and pretty easy to get right. Here’s our hints and tips, do's and don'ts, to avoid the cold shoulder and putting yourself back into the doghouse. Firstly, what not to do.
Don’t buy flowers at the garage or the supermarket.
Especially not the cheap, reduced to clear ones, and particularly ones that have bright blue flowers in them. I mean come on, have you ever seen Mother Nature produce anything that colour? With cheap flowers, you may almost be better off not bothering at all. It may well not be the thought that counts.
If budget is top of mind, then how about picking some wild flowers instead? If you do go with the garage version then our top tip is buy two bunches, take them out the wrappings and rewrap them. If you’re at a garage in the UK, buy the Financial Times, as that salmon pink newsprint makes a pretty funky wrapping paper, and will transform even the saddest looking set of flowers into something beautiful.
And if you do choose something from the garage, bear in mind our next tip too!
Don't be mean.
It’s the equivalent of the quarter pound box of chocolates. Buy the most stylish bunch you can afford, or buy more of a cheaper flower.
You’d be amazed at how stunning masses of something simple like daffodils are together, and often in the spring you’ll get 3 bunches for £1. So for less than the cost of a pint of beer in London, you could get 9 bunches, which will look spectacular.
Don’t assume flowers are just for the girls.
For any ladies hunting down tips for their other halves, we’re talking to you! If you choose the right version then the man in your life could be very surprised and secretly pleased to receive some great looking blooms. Although probably best not to send them to his workplace.
So bearing all that in mind, here’s what to do.
Do it with style
If you're the type who avoids sending red roses because they just seem such a cliché, don’t think the romantic gesture is beyond you. Most florists have moved into the 21st century and can offer stunning modern bouquets with no sign of red roses or gypsophilia. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you want to avoid, as well as what you think your other half might like.
Do It Yourself
Well, not so much you as the love of your life. If they fancy themselves as a world class florist, then get them a box of flowers from a wholesalers and let them unleash their creative talents.
If you’re in the London area, then make an early morning trip to the legendary New Covent Garden Flower Market, and buy in a bucket load. Most stalls have done the bulk of their business by 6am, but you’ll find some great places for a bacon sandwich to restore you afterwards. Most big cities have wholesale markets and most are open to the early-rising public.
Do Choose Unusual Flowers
If you’re not going for quantity, then go for quality, and unusual ones at that. Whether you are shopping online or at the florists, if it’s something you’ve not seen before and it takes your fancy, then that will add to the surprise when your beloved receives it.
Do Choose Local, Seasonal Flowers
This is almost the contradiction of the previous tip, but if you’re living with your own green goddess, then this will probably be a very positive thing to do in her eyes. Many flowers are flown thousands of miles, having been intensively grown in far off places. Whilst you might not get tropical blooms, you’ll get sustainably grown flowers that will probably last longer as they will be fresher, and you’ll be contributing to your local economy.
Just to contradict that point, the other green route is to choose Fair Trade flowers. There are now available from a number of florists, both on and offline. Fair Trade offers a better deal for the flower growers, giving them a fair price for the flowers which they then reinvest in their communities. So one purchase brings a smile to more than the face of your beloved.
Do the Celeb route
There is a growing army of celebrity florists, and their work is getting to be available to a wider audience, thanks to the power of the internet. If you’re in the UK or NYC, then you can have flowers from Jane Packer, who was the florist of choice when Prince Andrew got married. Although we wouldn’t hold that against her.
Like designer clothing, there are several layers of choice even with the celebrity florist. You can get the bespoke or couture version from the shop, or the off the peg version from the online presence, with prices to match.
If you’re in the US, you could choose flowers from that high-priestess of home style, Martha Stewart. The thing to remember when you choose the celeb route is that they have a lot invested in making sure their standards are maintained, so you should always get quality flowers and interesting bouquets.
And if you don’t, then complain. They definitely want to keep their good name!
Do it for Longer
Instead of buying a bouquet, buy the living plant, so it goes on growing and blooming for as long as its well looked after. If your wife or girlfriend has a favourite flower, then buy her it is a plant if it will grow where you live.
Roses grow pretty much anywhere, and there are so many varieties that you are bound to find something she’d love. You could choose buy name, or perhaps by the name, something that means something to her or the two of you. You might even find one in her name or, if you are feeling a bit flush, you can even get a new variety of rose named after her, if you have £800 spare.
David Austin, one of the most well-established growers in the world, have a number of roses with women’s names including Ellen, Charlotte and Amelia, and even Sweet Juliet. Their roses are available in both the UK and the USA, and in the UK they also do spectacular hand tied bouquets featuring their beautiful roses.
Do It Differently
Don’t send flowers at all! Try a bouquet of helium balloons. They’re cute, and will probably bring a smile to their face. They’re best for everyday occasions, like just saying “I’m thinking of you” or “Get well soon”, rather than the big romantic occasions.
Do it Big
Send a whole tree. This is lovely to celebrate the birth of your child, something else to watch grow, but less likely to wake you up at unsociable hours. Or perhaps you could choose one for your 5th or 6th wedding anniversary, depending on whether you are following the traditional or modern gift list.
If you don’t want the hassle of taking care of a tree, and worrying about where the roots are going to go, then buy a tree that someone else looks after, such through the Woodland Trust in the UKor the Arbor Day Foundation in the USA.
Do it Regularly
You could choose a gift subscription of flowers, delivered on a regular basis to your loved one. You get brownie points every time one turns up, but have only had to think about it once.
You could choose this for something like a big birthday ending in one of those zeros, and send one for every decade throughout the year. Alternatively, it would work really well as a wedding anniversary gift, particularly for your 4th wedding anniversary which is flowers on the traditional gift list, or for a bigger anniversary and apply the one for each decade rule.
Do Good
When ordering online, there are now a number of florists either wholly or partially owned by charities, or who make a significant donation to a good cause. Like buying Fair Trade flowers, this makes everyone feel good, and you could also find one that is linked to a charity close to your beloved’s heart, from cancer research to animal welfare.
Do it today
Even if it’s a bunch of daisies from the hedgerow, its better to do it than put it off until tomorrow. Life is too short, and every day looks better with flowers.
