Valentine's Day Myths
| Published: 13th February 2008 13:01 |
Florist puts the prices up!
Everyone wants roses on Valentines Day. They are bought in fresh by the florist after six months of careful growing, and because they so are sought after world-wide for one particular day, they become a premium product. This means that the prices are set by you - the consumer who so greatly demands a product that is not easy to produce and cannot be manufactured to order or stockpiled in advance. The prices of roses - and lots of other flowers - are set by Dutch auction houses or the growers themselves, to cover the cost and logistics of growing massive quantities to meet such high demand. The florist prices the flowers as they would throughout the year, but because they have already cost the florist more to buy in, the end price is more than normal. Some florists don't actually put the usual mark-up (the amount they add on to each stem to make a profit) on their stock this time, and actually lose out on their normal profit margin. Some countries are willing to pay three times what we do in the UK, to secure the best roses. It's just like the "foodies" rush for truffles at the start of the season, when they cost £100 each.
Roses are cheaper the day after.
They don't suddenly ‘go off' or lose their value the day after! The grower's stock is still coming through the market and is at the same price - it will take a week or so for the prices to stabilise -the parts of the world that don't celebrate Valentine's Day still want roses. The day after is a popular day for people to buy flowers who ‘forgot' it was Valentines Day and are saying sorry in a hope that this myth is true - it won't cost you any less, so plan it out in advance and buy on the day to stay in her good books!
Well then, they're cheaper at the end of the day.
Again - they haven't suddenly ‘gone off', and they can be used in other work the florist has on order. Imagine getting up at 4a.m, sometimes not even sleeping all night in order to prepare for a mad rush in your shop, making orders up as fast as they are coming in, only just catching up at the end of the day - and then you wander in wondering if you can get cheap roses. It's not going to happen, even if they do have any left, so plan in advance and do your florist a favour.
Red roses are the only thing you can give.
Frankly, all it shows is lack of imagination - visit flowers.org.uk for more details and discover what her favourite flower might be , her flower according to her star sign, or what's available in her favourite colour. You don't have to go with tradition.
She'll love black roses.
I'm sure she would, but unfortunately, they don't exist! You can buy very dark red or purple flowers which are the darkest you'll get. There are roses called ‘Black Beauty', ‘Black Baccara' and ‘Black Magic', but although the name suggest that they are black, they are actually a deep velvety red. If you want to incorporate black into a bouquet, ask for black accessories like feathers or black tissue paper wrap. If you do see any black flowers they will usually be dyed that colour, which can result in stained clothes, hands and furniture. Mother nature has lots of colour tricks up her sleeve, but it seems flowers are meant to remain bright, joyful colours - and surely this reflects the true nature of Valentine's Day.
My florist should be able to deliver my flowers as soon as my girlfriend gets up/ during her lunch hour/ whilst I'm on the phone to her during my fag break.
Your florist isn't being picky or a pain if they can't deliver your flowers at a specified time - it is impossible to guarantee, simply because the driver won't know where they're going to be! We've all been stuck in traffic with somewhere better to be, but imagine if you had a van-ful of bouquets to deliver on top of this, all over the town... Because they are delivering a natural, living product, the delivery driver cannot just stack all the bouquets up in the back and hope for the best - they need to have planned their route carefully to account for the most logical route so the flowers are out of water for least amount of time, and so that they can deliver to your town section by section- so cut your florist some slack, and realise that your order may not get delivered until the afternoon - they are doing their best.
It's the only time of year flowers matter.
Our top tip to save you money and hassle is to buy your girlfriend flowers because she's had a bad day, because you thought she looked pretty in her new top, because you had a really nice date the day before - or just because you care, on any day of the year. Don't wait until Valentines Day to buy - and then when February 14th rolls round again, you'll know exactly what she likes and be able to order it in good time, to get the best value for your money.
For more information on flowers and plants for Valentines Day,. visit www.flowers.org.uk
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