From red roses and lilies to daisies and violets, there will be plenty of ways to show your love this Valentine’s Day, even if you wait until the last minute to pick out the perfect bouquet.
“Just buy what you like,” says Barbara Leshyn, a senior instructor at Virginia Tech. “Buy what’s pleasing to your eye and your heart.”
Leshyn runs the university’s Floral Design program and says whenever Valentine’s comes around, her students fill about 100 orders for customers. She says most retailers have gotten in their orders for the holiday and are ready for last-minute shoppers. Flower prices have gone up since 2019 due to the pandemic, but the cost of flowers has stayed the same since then.
She encourages anyone on the fence about buying flowers to make the purchase and help support the industry. “They are not an endangered species, flowers are being grown specifically for this holiday,” says Leshyn. “We have growers all over the world and the United States. It’s somebody’s livelihood.”
To ensure you get the most bang for your buck, Leshyn says stay within your budget and be sure your bouquet is fresh. Make sure to buy roses that are still slightly closed and look at the center of flowers to make sure they aren’t turning brown.
“Look at the leaves, if you see yellowing in the leaves you might want to get the other bouquet,” says Leshyn.
Fresh flowers should last seven to 10 days but even after Valentine’s Day, grab a bouquet for yourself for no reason at all. “Having flowers in your home calms anxiety,” says Leshyn. “Let’s have flowers around all the time. Then we’ll be a little nicer to each other.”
