Choosing the Perfect Valentine's Day Flowers

What are the biggest mistakes men make when sending flowers for Valentine’s Day? 
Unknowingly buying from a wire service. In doing so, you’re losing most of the value that goes into the flowers. Since this anonymous florist has no idea who you are and you have no idea who is crafting the bouquet for your loved one, there’s no incentive for the florist to use his or her best flowers. I recommend working with a real local florist.

Here are a few other mistakes when it comes to ordering and sending flowers for Valentines Day: 

1. Waiting until the last minute.
2. Ordering the wrong floral arrangement for the current stage of your relationship.
3. Thinking your bouquet will be guaranteed delivery by a specific time.
4. Having your flowers delivered in a box.
5. Assuming a dozen red roses is the only option.
6. Telling the recipient to put bleach or other toxic products in the water to “make flowers last longer.”
7. Shopping stock images of arrangements.
8. Choosing flowers that are out of season.
9. Ignoring reviews of the florist you select.
10. Not putting enough thought to the note – the message enhances the emotion you want to invoke from a floral gift. 

If a man is not sure what flowers to choose, how can he determine what his loved one would like? 
You can never go wrong with the safe color tones – reds and pinks – and romantic flowers like roses and tulips. Another great option is to order our “Designer’s Choice Arrangement,” where you can tell the designer a little about your significant other and leave it up to the magic of his or her years of experience to make it perfect. 

What types of flowers do women like that men might not know about? 
The most popular arrangement is still a dozen red roses – but pink tulips are on the rise. One of the main reasons is that pink tulips present a romantic gesture, but offer a better value for the money as red roses usually get the largest Valentine’s Day price jump due to being the classic bouquet. 

What else can men do to make their floral gifts special and personalized? 
The best thing, that sometimes gets overlooked, is the card message. Be sure to make it as thoughtful as possible, since the feeling someone gets reading the note resonates to the entire flower-receiving experience. 

What are some of the worst flower-giving experiences you’ve had? 
A big reason my fellow cofounders – Farbod Shoraka and Gregg Weisstein – and I started BloomNation was because when we used to send “gorgeous” bouquets to our loved ones from a “real local florist,” we saw that a lot of the time the flowers were delivered in a box (cardboard doesn’t really scream romantic) and had yet to be cut and arranged. We were sending gifts that required work before enjoying them. 

How can women deal with boyfriends/husbands who aren’t interested in sending flowers? 
Start buying flowers for yourself. After a while, he’ll get the hint that you love flowers and know a simple solution to making you smile with his next “just because” gift. 

What advice do you have for men who don’t think sending flowers on Valentine’s Day is important? 
Men don’t always realize it, but a lot of women dream of their love lives being as romantic as movies like “The Notebook” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” A simple gesture of sending flowers – especially ones that are handcrafted and require no work to cut, search for a vase, etc. – will mean the world to the recipient. The emotions that floral arrangements bring out in someone are priceless, and your significant other will remember it forever (women keep track of the amount of times their sweethearts send them bouquets). 

Opening photograph courtesy of Jai Girard Photography