GREENVILLE — Red roses are typically what come to mind when thinking of Valentine’s florals, but North Carolina florists have begun noticing expansion to other types of flowers for cupid’s arrow to land on this February 14th.
Jef Glenn, a Greenville native and uptown pioneer, began her floral journey in 1976, taking after her parents who opened Jefferson’s Florist in 1948. Jefferson’s has since become one of the state’s most distinguished floral design stores.
“Working with beautiful, fresh products from across the world is very exciting,” Glenn said. “I think it’s just the variety of flowers that are so beautiful, they sort of dictate themselves how they want to be shown, so we have to listen to them.”
For Valentine’s arrangements at Jefferson’s Florist the menu consists of roses, all varieties of colorful hydrangea, gerbera daisies, orchids, hellebores, and a variety of greenery including eucalyptus, and Bells of Ireland. Jefferson’s Florist prioritizes taking their limited holiday menu and creating unique designs, providing diverse arrangements for every customer.
“Valentines Day everyone seems to want their arrangements in by noon, and we usually have around 600 orders,” Glenn said. “We try desperately to get people to think about the day before, although most won’t think about the day after. The one’s that forgot are always in big trouble because they have to send two dozen roses instead of one.”
A romantic way Jefferson’s offers to show your love during Valentine’s season is by adding a silk rose to an arrangement with a note saying, “I’ll love you ‘till the last rose dies”.
“We focus on the best quality we can get, and we have to really search the globe for that,” Glenn said. “We have some flower suppliers who will go to the ends to try to find us roses, we have to have a premium product.”
Fallon’s Flowers in Raleigh has been creating and delivering exquisite arrangements for nearly 100 years. The florists deliver their arrangements across the City of Oaks and many surrounding areas.
Fallon’s Flowers Valentine’s Day menu options include traditional rose arrangements, although customers can choose from red, pink, yellow, and lavender colored rose bouquets. They also offer a mix of lilies, hydrangea, sunflowers, solidago, wax flower, eucalyptus and other premium seasonal greens; a mix of florals that are meant to make your loved ones feel special.
Bouquet Boutique (formerly Send Your Love Florists & Gifts) in Greensboro has been providing flower arrangements for Greensboro and surrounding areas since 1988. Local owner Leah Gillis and her award-winning team have strived to design bouquets to impress customers’ loved ones for 35 years.
Gillis explained that most customers can accept delivery any day of the week leading up to a holiday such as Mother’s Day, another one of her busiest seasons. But when it comes to Valentine’s Day, orders seem to be on a much tighter timeline.
“Valentine’s Day… They always want it on Valentine’s Day,” Gillis said. “We have so much compressed into one day which makes it a bit challenging, but we’re happy to have it.”
Bouquet Boutique also offers DoorDash deliveries of their arrangements, providing customers with easy access to speedy delivery, even if their in-house delivery service is booked.