Flowers appear their best when they get to people’s vases as soon as possible. Once cut, they have only enough energy stores to remain alive for a few days at most. Given a vase filled with enough water and in ideal conditions, most cut flowers can maintain their freshness for roughly up to two weeks (depending on the flower in question). That’s why knowing your go-to places for buying fresh flowers is essential. You don’t want your roses and tulips to reach you as wilting husks, especially if the store’s supply would have to come halfway across the world. Fortunately, in the interest of freshness, stores also make sure that they have a supplier close to home. Here’s a look into 3 places tp buy fresh flowers, and the pros and cons of each.
Your Local Florist
You might be wondering where to buy fresh flowers? Arguably, the most common place would be your neighborhood flower shop.
Whether in its brick-and-mortar store or online, this place takes freshness seriously. Flower shops offer a vast array of options, from the kind of flowers to the preferred arrangement.
Flower shops enjoy one significant advantage over other places: they employ professional florists. These people are well-versed in the art of floral arrangement, whether by experience or everything they learned at a florist school. It’s easy to see their craftsmanship, not to mention passion, in every bouquet they make as if it belongs in an art museum.
However, don’t expect their services to be as affordable as you think. Quality bouquets come at a premium, as you’re paying for someone with years of experience arranging flowers to make one for you. Some flower shops offer discounts in exchange for a subscription service.
- Feature a wide array of flower options, local and overseas
- Has professional florists that create lovely bouquets
- Flowers and arrangement services can be expensive
Grocery Stores
If cost is an issue, you can try looking for flowers and bouquets at your nearest grocery store. Most of them have a floral or plant section where you can get common flowers for a fraction of the cost of a flower shop. They often buy flowers in larger quantities than flower shops, so running out of a particular flower is less likely.
A growing number of groceries have also begun to employ florists, as the trend seems to gravitate toward grocery-bought flowers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many customers find groceries to be a more accessible and affordable source of flowers. As such, their dedicated floral sections have been gradually expanding to offer more services.
Despite this trend, flowers aren’t as much of a focus for groceries as flower shops. Groceries have to carry other essential goods, and focusing on flowers would be a disadvantage to their business. As such, even if bought in bulk, these flowers might not have undergone the necessary treatments that florists in a flower shop usually do (e.g., recutting stems).
- Sells common flowers for a fraction of the cost
- Currently expanding to include florist services
- Flowers aren’t their main product and expertise
- Flowers might not have undergone a florist’s TLC
Farmers Market
A farmers’ market eliminates the middleman in the transaction, as the customers get their flowers straight from the growers themselves. You can get flowers fresh from the farm, while growers get, if not, 100% of the profits. The flowers drop in price further if they’re in season.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the number of farmers’ markets in the U.S. has grown close to 10,000. But in recent years, this saturation has led to more markets closing than opening. These markets usually set up shop outside highly urbanized areas, and many customers prefer to get their flowers close to home.
Also, locally-grown flowers are under pressure from imported ones, namely from Colombia. Since signing the Andean Trade Preference Act into law in 1991, at least four out of five flowers sold in the U.S. now come from overseas. You can find locally grown flowers in a farmers’ market but not so much imported ones.
- Direct-to-consumer model makes flowers more affordable
- Great place to look for cheap, locally-grown flowers
- Farmers markets are sometimes too far away
- Not a suitable place to look for imported flowers
Conclusion
Wherever you pick up your fresh flowers, they nevertheless won’t fail to express the message you want to convey. You should prioritize quality over quantity when having your bouquets made, no matter the price tag. Imagine the look on your loved one’s face if you present them with a bouquet that appears lackluster.
These 3 places to buy fresh flowers ensure a diversity of options. If you’re not confident about your floral arrangement skills, get a florist’s expertise. Conversely, if you want a bouquet of the same flowers, consider the grocery store or farmers’ market. Just keep in mind the pros and cons of each when doing so.
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