Help In Avoiding Floral Lameness

[Chester]

I'm not entirely sure how to put this...basically, I need an Idiot's Guide to flowers. Or, somewhat more specifically...how should I go about picking a florist? WTF is the difference between a good florist and a bad florist, aside from basic quality of their flowers?

[kimpossible]

Is it for an event or you need to purchase a bouquet?

[sandra]

why's this in the women's forum? moving to whatever.

[shy]

i have to be honest with you... i don't have a clue how to pick a good florist. really, i just go to any florist that gives a pretty good deal (that won't rob me). if it's for something like a wedding, banquet or funeral, i rather get some referrals to a good place.

otherwise, i'm more into what i get then where i get it from.

[SunWuKong]

Originally Posted by kasia

why's this in the women's forum? moving to whatever.

maybe he's going to send flowers to a girl.

[Chester]

Originally Posted by SunWuKong

maybe he's going to send flowers to a girl.

I guess I thought that was obvious, but since y'all don't live inside my head, I guess I was being pretty vague. Also, I thought I'd get more feedback from women...and it's not like there were any better forums. But...uh, whatever.

I have a list of florists to work with now...I'm in a tough spot as I need delivery to be on Thanksgiving...not feeling terribly optimistic about that. I might need to drive up and do it myself...which wouldn't be a terribly bad thing as I'd rather personally pick out a bouquet and wasn't looking forward to the complication of using FedEx in order to make sure the card was written in my hand.

Anyway...I don't particularly like roses, so those are out. Tulips? How about tulips? I like tulips and they seem to have served the Dutch well.

[kimpossible]

Chester,

Pick a couple florists out of the phone book or internet yellow pages. Unless we're talking super ikebana grandmaster, most florists run off of books full of floral arrangements. They are pictures used as templates for the florists in the shop to arrange.

Go in, if the flowers look fresh enough and the staff is friendly enough, ask for a book to get an idea of what type of arrangement you'd like, pick a color scheme ("I'd like to stay with pastel pinks and whites, etc.") or if you have theme (wildflowers, formal, tropical) ask for some advice. Find a picture of an arrangement that looks attractive to you, personalize it a bit with a theme or color scheme if you'd like and then let them arrange it for you.

You might want to give them an upper limit in dollars so they know what materials to use to stay in budget. Delivery in person is a nice touch, I think.

[VV o n g B a]

go for callas or asian orchids or some such elite flower. she'll have no choice but to swoon cuz ur such a balla.

[kimpossible]

Originally Posted by VV o n g B a

go for callas or asian orchids or some such elite flower. she'll have no choice but to swoon cuz ur such a balla.

that's a good idea. simple, elegant and rare.

[VV o n g B a]

Originally Posted by Hello_Hapa

that's a good idea. simple, elegant and rare.

meanwhile when i saw how much they cost, my face was like

[Chester]

I just remembered that girls have cooties, which obviates the need for all this courtship malarkey.

Kidding...

I'm now resigning myself to the fact that I need to make the drive to take care of all this myself (logistically-complicated situation).

Thanks for the suggestions. I like calla lilies, though the fondness might be due to Mapplethorpe. But I like them. Orchids...for some reason, they seem a little too...sexual.

[ism]

FTD.com or whatever, and whichever florist gets the job usually stakes their reputation on the quality of product and arrangement. Works well for me. You can do it over the intarweb too. Yeah, I'm lazy.

If the feedback is good, note the florist so you can use their services again and circumvent FTD or whatever and their stock arrangements next time (if the florist is competent they'll substitute local/nicer varieties anyway). Let them know you appreciated their work before and expect the same.

[applehead]

oh i love tulips.
tulips are good.
you have to try martha's flowers.

[shy]

lilies or tulips are wonderfull! anyway, either one will be appreciated. :) it's the thought that counts. whenever i'm surprised by flowers, i always feel uplifted!

[teaz0r]

Originally Posted by Chester

Anyway...I don't particularly like roses, so those are out. Tulips? How about tulips? I like tulips and they seem to have served the Dutch well.

i don't like stinking' roses too!!!!!!!! t
he red ones are the worst!
i love tulips!!

i'm not a big fan of lillies or irises either.
i like pathetic looking bouquets sometimes,
like those 3 dollar ones.

hee hee.

i like orchids too.
/really/ like orchids.
esp. the blue ones.