The Labor of Love that came with that Bouquet

Autumn is just around the corner. This means busy bees hunting flowers get to rest down a little. It’s the opposite for florists though. Have you ever received a bouquet? Have you ever thought of how it came to you all bunched up pretty?

Let’s see how. Florists the world over make sure that they deliver quality flowers, thus they start their day early and do about their work diligently. As a general trade, floristry is a vast market starting with flower cultivation, then, there’s care and handling, floral design and arrangement, then, flower display, selling and delivery.

A day in the life of florists in Vienna is perhaps the same with that of florists in London, only the former starts with a cup of Melange, the latter drinks tea. It’s probably the same in Sydney, in Tokyo and New York too – they’re always on the move.

On certain days, a florist will go to a supermarket and handpick flowers they would use, whether as bouquet, centerpiece, flower  arrangements for events and celebrations. Most of the time though flowers are delivered to their shop by floral distributors. Throughout the day, a florist entertains walk-in customers, phone calls from potential buyers and inquiries from wedding and event coordinators. If needed, they need to cater to certain events and be available for days or weeks on  location, it could be funerals, weddings, company events and the likes.

Florists make sure that cut flowers are fresh and well cared for while waiting to be arranged. Shop temperature is always checked, vases are filled with water, leaves sprayed on to maintain freshness.  In between, there’s selecting of appropriate flowers, cutting stems, removing wilted leaves and petals. The florist then assembles flowers with consideration of colors, occasion, even a customer’s specification and budget (should a husband want some chocolates with the flowers sent to his wife, for example). That comes with the knowledge of flowers, the familiarity too of which other plants accent a bouquet best. The flowers are then either sent wrapped, in a vase or how the customer specified. It will be sent then depending on the services offered. Flower delivery takes very little time, order today and it will be on the recipient’s doorstep tomorrow.

Receiving flower bouquets, no matter how big or small these are, is always a pleasant experience. Hence, the next time you receive a bouquet, visualize how the bouquet happened in the first place. Think of the thoughtfulness of the sender and the emotions sent through those flowers. More importantly, think of the florist who worked his or her magic to come up with a bouquet meant to put a smile on your face.