Bladen florists prep for Valentine’s Day

A card is nice.

A box of chocolates are delicious.

A stuffed animal makes for a relaxing cuddle friend.

However, when it comes to Valentine’s Day, the pleasing aroma of freshly cut flowers shows love, indeed, is in the air.

For florists, it can be the most hectic time of the year.

“It’s just unreal,” said Maurice Williams of Whimsical Florist & Gifts in Elizabethtown. “I should set up a video camera so I can replay it and watch it.”

According to the Society of American Florists, 35 percent of Americans purchased fresh flowers or plants for Valentine’s Day last year. Roses accounted for about 75% of all purchases.

There will be floral arrangements to be created, phones to be answered and deliveries to be made Friday, Feb. 13 and Saturday, Feb. 14.

“We usually have two to three vehicles on the road running hard,” said Joyce Cain, who runs Leta Belle Designs in Bladenboro and has been in the floral business for more than 30 years. “The guys want to send their sweetie flowers at work. That way she can say, ‘Oh, look what my boyfriend sent me’ or ‘look what my husband sent me.’”

Before those delivery vans put the pedal to the metal driving around Bladen County and beyond, the floral shops begin preparing a few weeks prior to Valentine’s Day.

“I’ve been making bows for my vase arrangements,” Williams said last week. “Most of the vases I ordered have come in. We’ve been working on grab-and-go items, like gift baskets. We have bows made for the fresh cut arrangements. We’re getting our staging area ready.”

Planning for what may be considered the Super Bowl of the floral industry starts well before Valentine’s Day.

“You have a lot of preparation and a lot of people don’t see that aspect of it,” Cain said. “We have to make sure our inventory of vases and our stock is up to par so we won’t run out of product.”

While flowers are freshly cut and sent to shops within a week or so of Valentine’s Day, the order must be placed with suppliers just before Christmas, according to Cain.

While both florists say there are customers who order Valentine’s Day flowers ahead of time, both are ready for those last-minute orders.

“We have a lot of last minute,” Cain said. “I’ve already got quite a few orders that’s been coming in since the last of January. We have certain customers we know are going to order so we’ve prepared for that. But we know (the last-minute orders) are coming. We try to set aside for that.”

Said Williams, “(Feb. 10) people will be calling and the phone will ring off the hook. (Feb. 11) gets worse and you have those last-minute people. We try to have enough supplies that even if you come in at the last minute we’re going to have something for you.”

This weekend love will be in the air and the floral shops are set to deliver.