How To Buy Flowers For Valentine’s Day
Sometimes a florist isn’t the right direction in which to go for flowers. Not everyone has a large budget for luxurious and extravagant holiday gifts, and that is absolutely, 100% ok! Regardless of what someone can or chooses to spend, every gesture is special, but giving flowers can be expensive! So when you’re looking for a budget friendly option, or are out of time to place an order with your favorite florist, here’s a florist’s advice on how to make the most of your budget when buying flowers (even if you don’t buy from me).
If your budget for flowers is around $40 and under I would absolutely encourage checking out your local grocery stores. In the New England area I would first recommend Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, for the best quality and choice. Flowers are actually very pricey, which makes filling orders in these price ranges tricky for florists, but grocery stores can order at higher volumes to offer flowers at a more accessible price point. As much as I would appreciate you considering my studio or any small floral shop to help you design the perfect arrangement, it never hurts to know all of your options.
If your budget for flowers is around $40 and under I would absolutely encourage checking out your local grocery stores. In the New England area I would first recommend Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Shaw’s, for the best quality and choice. Flowers are actually very pricey, which makes filling orders in these price ranges tricky for florists, but grocery stores can order at higher volumes to offer flowers at a more accessible price point for customers.
As much as I would appreciate you considering my studio or any small floral shop to help you design the perfect arrangement, it never hurts to know all of your options.
So what should you look for? The trick to a beautiful and full floral bouquet is 3 things: a focal flower, a foliage or filler, and an accent flower.
Focal flowers are the classic showstopper in a bouquet. Think roses, lilies, gerber daisies, carnations, or calla lilies. Popular foliages include any type of silvery grey eucalyptus. You may find a couple options at your store, like tall and tightly wound spiral euc, round and leafy silver dollar, or seeded euc with smaller leaves and bunches of small round seeds. For fillers, look for full bunches of tiny, airy flowers – the idea is to get something with a lot of volume to fill in the gaps between your focal and accent flowers and help bring everything together. Babysbreath is a classic example of a filler. Accent flowers are basically anything else – if the flower is smaller than what you chose for your focal, but bigger than your filler, you’re on the right path.
Check your flowers for browning on the petals and soft, yellowing spots on the stems – all signs of older flowers. Make sure your flowers aren’t out of water for over an hour, and if it’s below 35 degrees (F), cover your flowers before leaving the store by placing them in a bag to prevent damage.
What I do not recommend is picking up one of the pre-mixed bunches you might see in the store’s floral department. While a seemingly easy option, these bunches often don’t have enough of any of these 3 categories to properly fill a vase and emulate the full, balanced look you can get from your local florist. Instead, opt for three bunches, 1 focal, 1 filler, 1 accent, pair with a medium or small-sized vase and you have the makings for a lovely, full bouquet for your loved one, all for potentially under $30.
Evenly distribute each item in your vase – without prior practice, it is much easier to achieve a symmetrical design than it is to create an artfully arranged asymmetrical one.
Look for product that isn’t too droopy – flowers and greens that drape heavily can be trickier to work with. The sturdier the stem, the easier it will be to get your flowers to “stay in place.”
Don’t pick a vase that is too big. You want your arrangement to fit “comfortably snug” inside the mouth of your vase, to retain a pleasing shape.
Proper care is key! Read my post here about the simple steps to properly care for your flowers and help maximize their longevity.
I don’t want to completely breeze over flower shops though! Obviously I’m a big fan of florists and the beautiful, captivating arrangements that they can create. If your budget allows, look for a local florist to craft something special for you! They’ll have a wider variety of flower types, colors, and textures to help you achieve something especially stunning for your next gift. We want to make beautiful things for you as much as you want to give them, that’s why we do what we do!
In general, the best bang for your buck at a florist? Budgets of $100 and up.
Our world today has flower options for everyone, and it’s just about picking the right path for what you need at the time.