Has your significant other ordered your flowers yet?

It’s Valentine’s Day, Yay! According to my local newspaper, 3 p.m. today will be the busiest time for flower shops, and most of the last minute customers will be men. That of course is no surprise to the ladies!

So what flowers are the men buying? Roses still rule, preferably those from Ecuador and Colombia because of their longer stems. Our California roses are not quite so long-legged and dramatic.  Tulips, lilies and gerbera daisies are also popular, and more florists are even featuring peonies for Valentine’s Day.  I love peonies, but unfortunately they need more of a chill than our Southern California climate provides. In my own garden, I’ve substituted English roses, which have lovely dense petals and a beautiful fragrance.

It’s no surprise that local florists estimate they will do forty to sixty percent of their yearly business in this one day, and a midweek Valentine’s Day is more profitable than one that occurs on a weekend. (Hello–weekends are for romantic getaways sans flowers!) Lily, the heroine of my short story in the anthology Romancing the Pages, is just such a busy florist, trying to keep a handsome bachelor at bay while she gets her shop ready for the big day.

I wish all of you a happy day filled with lots of love. And if you don’t have anyone to buy flowers for you, consider this statistic: eighteen percent of women admit to buying flowers for themselves. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’ll buy a box of candy, too. Just think, on Friday, it will be on sale!