Roses still most popular Valentine?s Day present
|
But flowers seem to be king. According to aboutflowers.com, statistics show that Valentine?s Day falls right in the middle of the holidays in which fresh flowers and plants are given. Christmas comes first, then Mother?s Day, Valentine?s Day, Easter and Thanksgiving.
However, of fresh flower purchases only, Valentine?s day ranks No. 1, pulling in 35 percent of holiday transactions and 34 percent of dollar volume. Valentine?s Day is also the No. 1 holiday for florists.
Southern Creations owners and operators Sue and Jimmy Taylor, who took time out to talk about the holiday yesterday, agree with this assessment. Sue is quick to point out what the holiday means to her, and it doesn?t have anything to do with getting a big bouquet of roses.
?It means hard work and long hours,? she said with a grin. ?It?s the season that everybody wants to come and buy flowers. It?s the ?love season.? You see people come out that you don?t see any other time.?
And what is the most popular bloom for Valentine?s bouquets?
?Roses,? Sue is quick to answer. ?We do some mixed, but it?s roses mostly,? she added.
With roses, the couple said, red is definitely the most popular color, with pink coming in second, with the mixed bouquets, many of which include roses, third.
A relatively new trend is also supplied at Southern Creations.
?We do balloons,? Sue said. ?That?s usually something that goes along with the roses. They add balloons to the roses, and stuffed animals and candy. That kind of thing.?
The couple says it?s hard to estimate how many arrangements they do each year.
?But it?s in the hundreds,? Jimmy said.
Sue says other items are popular at their shop, like seasonal collectibles.
?We do gifts of all kinds. Willow Tree is very popular,? Sue said, noting the story carries an extensive selection of Valentine?s themed items.
Southern Creations falls right in with the fresh flower statistics from the Web, according to the Taylors.
?Valentine?s Day is the biggest single day I guess,? Jimmy said. ?Mother?s Day is really big for us, but Valentine?s is probably the biggest for fresh flowers.?
The couple said they weren?t sure how long they would have to work last night to get ready for the big day today.
?We started delivering Monday,? Jimmy said. ?Sometimes you might get out at nine,? Sue added. ?Sometimes it might be 10. You just never know.?
The couple says there are some latecomers, but not as many as one would think.
?We usually do get some late ones,? Sue said, ?but most everybody is on their toes. They better be, the men especially, had better be. It?s Valentine?s.?