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There’s a New Way to say ‘Get Well’
It’s All About Vases |
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Written by Rebbeca Harris
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It’s as time-honoured as homemade chicken soup: visitors send flowers
to cheer up a sick friend or relative. While it’s hard to say if
flowers help with a speedy recovery, they certainly lift the spirits of
hospital patients. But forget the potted plants and wicker baskets:
there’s a new way to say “get well.”
Forget the Potted Plants and Wicker Baskets – It’s All About Vases
 It’s as time-honoured as homemade chicken soup: visitors send flowers to cheer up a sick friend or relative. While it’s hard to say if flowers help with a speedy recovery, they certainly lift the spirits of hospital patients. But forget the potted plants and wicker baskets: there’s a new way to say “get well.”
“It’s all vases,” says Betty Shin-Binon, manager of Avenue Flower in Toronto. “Cube vases are huge because they’re not that big but they’re pretty and trendy looking.”
Sandra Miller, manager of Paul’s Flower Shop in Saint John, N.B., also says vases are popular this year. “Customers want long-lasting flowers and vase arrangements, particularly if it’s going to a hospital. But if it’s going to somebody’s home, a lot of times they just ask for cut flowers.”
At Valley House of Flowers in Drayton, Alta., staff always recommend vases for get well flowers, since space is very limited and vases take up less room. Another benefit is “it’s easy to see the water level, so if it’s low, people tend to add water if necessary,” says owner Holly Davie.
Customers, taking notes from home decorating shows and magazines, are opting for bright, bold colours, compared to the pale pinks and yellows that were popular last year. Bright oranges, pinks and apple greens are the current favourites, notes Miller.
While customers are keeping up with the colour trends, the types of get-well flowers they send are still quite traditional. Gerberas are the most popular “because they’re really happy,” says Shin-Binon. “If it’s seasonal, customers ask for tulips because they seem really cheerful.”
The key, of course, is to recommend long-lasting flowers for those lengthy hospital stays.
Shin-Binon avoids hydrangeas and Davie suggests carnations and daisies. “We do not encourage any member of the lily family because of the over-powering fragrances, and many people have allergies to lilies.”
In fact, at Paul’s Flower Shop, allergies are the main obstacle in delivering flowers to one Saint John hospital. “There is a staff member that has bad allergies so we cannot send any fresh flowers to that whole floor,” says Miller. If the customer doesn’t know which floor the patient is on, the staff has to call the hospital and get the room number. “If it happens to be on that floor we have to call the customer back and say, ‘I’m sorry we can’t send the fresh flowers.’” Then they’ll recommend a fruit basket or silk arrangement.
Aside from that, delivering to hospitals usually goes smoothly. “When (our delivery driver) goes into the room, he opens up the parcel for (the patient), reads them the card and if he can identify the flowers he does,” says Miller. “He’s very customer oriented.”
That personal touch is also part of the delivery service at Valley House of Flowers. “Our drivers are a semi-retired couple who love to unwrap the bouquet and give the patient the card to read,” says Davie. “It is a very personable experience for both.”
In Toronto, the SARS outbreak in 2003 meant florists could not deliver any flowers to hospitals. Today, the challenge has more to do with being inundated with delivery orders. “When you have last minute orders or you’re swamped, you can’t send a taxi driver to a hospital because he has to go all the way up to the room,” says Shin-Binon. “You can’t just leave it at the front desk like an office.”
According to these florists, get-well flowers are still the most popular gift to send to hospital patients. “It lets you know someone cares and the sender is hoping the flowers make the person feel better whenever they are looking at them,” says Davie. “Flowers also brighten up the sterile environment in the hospital and give the person something else to reflect on for a moment.”
For florists, it’s a prescription for happy customers.
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