|
|
Practicality is Blooming for Mother’s Day
Mothers Day |
|
Written by Karen Hall
|
 Florists across Canada expect practicality to top the wish list of many customers this busy Mother’s Day.
Karen Reid, owner of Ray’s Flowers & Accents in Guelph, Ont., says people are buying more practically today because moms want to have something to keep after the flowers are gone.
“If a customer is going to invest $50 or $60 in an arrangement, they want something that can be kept,” she says. “They want something different and they want something unique. As well, they (moms) don’t really care for the knick-knack novelty type items. Instead, they want something that will suit their décor.”
For example, she says, customers are asking for vases in different cut glass in different shapes.
Liz Lafreniere, owner of Country Traditions Flower Shoppe in Greenwood, N.S., says in her shop she sells such items as flowers in glass pitchers that can be used for drinks later.
“The moms love them because they’re useful afterwards and they’re not wasteful,” she says.
Elli Jespersen, owner of Anne Patterson’s Flowers in Calgary, Alta., agrees that pitchers and jugs with flowers incorporated are nice gifts for moms.
“Things such as herbs and little garden trays and urns that can be used outside, either with floral arrangements in them or with plants, will also be popular,” she says.
And Julia Benson, co-owner of First Class Flowers in Winnipeg, Man., says 65 to 70 per cent of her customers ask for non-plastic keepsake-type containers when purchasing flowers for Mother’s Day.
 So which flowers will be popular this year?
Benson says for any occasion, but specifically Mother’s Day, gerbera daisies are very popular.
“We sell tons of them all year round,” she says. “Tulips will be popular, too – it seems they’re the spring bloom of choice. I think the hot colours – hot orange, hot pink and hot yellow – are going to be more popular than the pastels.”
Jespersen doesn’t believe moms are looking for the traditional carnations anymore.
“I think real garden flowers like peonies, sweet peas and tulips are going to be popular this Mother’s Day,” she says. “I think the citron greens and maybe lavenders and mauves look really pretty mixed with the soft oranges.”
Lafreniere says her customers usually want the same thing every year for this busy floral holiday – long-lasting flowers such as mums, minis and alstromeria.
“And they always want the pastel colours,” she says. “They love springy yellows, pinks and mauves every year. It’s always the same. We live in the Annapolis Valley and people are extremely beyond belief traditional here.”
At Ray’s Flowers & Accents, Reid says roses, orchids and lilies are popular, and usually the pinks and reds are the colour choices for Mother’s Day.
Most florists will agree that Mother’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year and organization and planning are key to keeping things under control. So what do these flower shops do to handle the rush?
Jespersen says that during all holiday seasons, not just Mother’s Day, she hires extra staff and drivers.
“We find that just relying on the regular delivery service during any of the peak holiday seasons is a very scary thing to do,” she says. “So driving is a key thing to control to keep down your complaints. That’s very important.”
“Tulips will be popular, too – it seems they’re the spring bloom of choice...”
Benson says they also hire extra drivers, and although they might hire one extra person to help, she has a pool of part-time people who are offered more hours.
According to Lafreniere, she has three other designers who come in off and on through the two weeks before Mother’s Day, but the week of Mother’s Day they’re pretty organized and they don’t work any overtime.
“I refuse to make the girls work overtime because we all have children,” she says. “So we’re organized beyond belief ... and the girls are well briefed on what needs to be done and when to do it.”
Although Mother’s Day is extremely busy for most Canadian florists, another spring holiday, Easter, doesn’t always bring in the same business.
Jespersen says that Easter isn’t as big as Mother’s Day for her shop, but says they still do some business.
“I find at Easter people buy more of the hydrangea plants, the Easter lilies and bulbs like hyacinths and paperwhites,” she says. “People are also starting to put wreaths on their door for the Easter season as well, so Easter wreaths are something that we do a lot of with coloured Easter eggs in pastel tones. We’ve been doing that for the last year or so and it has gone over really well.”
According to Lafreniere, Easter is not a big flower holiday for her shop.
“We sell the occasional centrepiece, maybe one or two,” she says. “We also sell cut flowers and the occasional lily.”
But Benson, on the other hand, has found quite the opposite and says in her shop Easter pulls in more sales than Mother’s Day, and falls just third behind Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
What’s her advice?
“You try to pick up on what people like and what they want,” she says. “You do the best you can.”
|
|
|
