Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

When it comes to St. Valentine’s Day, the most popular gift from a man to a woman usually is a dozen roses. Ms. Kyoko Osawa, owner of Terry May Concept Flowers in Midtown Manhattan says “Valentine’s Day is the biggest day for flower shops”.  However, very few people actually know the etiquette of flower-giving, so I decided to visit Ms. Osawa for a quick lesson on the matter.

Once they are compared side by side, and with your own eyes, the difference between a regular and a higher quality rose is obvious. One is far more impressive than the other.

According to Ms. Osawa, “even the laziest of guys get flowers for his spouse or significant other on St. Valentine’s Day, if nothing else.” The biggest problem is, many of them go to a flower shop last minute and expect to get the best quality roses. “Good flowers go fast. If you expect to get something breathtaking, you have to act early.” To avoid this hassle, many turn to ordering online, and while it may save time, Ms. Osawa has some caution for anyone that does so. “The product images are arranged specifically for presentation purposes, bringing all the flowers to the front, making the arrangement look much bigger in volume than its actual size.”  Another thing to consider is that many flowers come in different quality levels, so it’s possible you may be getting lower quality and therefore shorter lasting flowers.

Just with red roses alone, there are many breeds. High quality roses such as Forever Young and Freedom have more petals. The Forever Young, for example, has about 60 to 70 petals per flower and is just a bigger, fuller flower, therefore much more impressive. Each breed has its own characteristics and different hue of red, so getting various colors of red roses is also an arrangement option for St. Valentine’s Day. Some want to enjoy the aroma. In this case, getting a dozen Garden Roses which have larger flowers can also fill your home with a lovely scent.  Whatever you choose the key is to be present in the flower shop to decide so that you can check for quality and get exactly what you want.

Look for healthy looking stems and leaves (pointing upwards). To keep them beautiful, trim off the stem ends and change the water every day.

When looking for a healthy rose, most people instinctively look at the flower, but the key is in the stem. “Fresh roses break easily. The fresher it is, the easier its thorns snap off. You also want to look for leaves that are pointing upwards.” But perhaps the biggest tip Ms. Osawa had for our readers was this: consider your relationship with the person you are giving flowers to before choosing an arrangement. “Flowers have meaning, and nothing says ‘love’ more than a dozen red roses. But if you’ve known your partner only for a short while, a dozen roses can be a heavy message. If your relationship is not ready for that yet, add some white roses and make it more playful or maybe send an arrangement of other flowers you know are her favorite.

An assortment of a dozen different types of red roses is a great way to spice up the traditional gift.

The wrapping and packaging are also something you can experiment with.  Whether you want to make your bouquet gorgeous, minimalistic, or chic, there are ways to play around with the presentation, which cannot be easily done with online orders.  To consider those who receive the bouquet, they would need something to put them in, but if you send a bouquet already arranged in a vase, that would be more convenient and step up the level of the whole gift. Ms. Osawa adds, “Delivering flowers to offices is very common now.  The sender would better consider the situation that the recipient has to carry them all the way home.  I advise the sender to make the bouquet ‘handy size’ or pack with a carrying bag.”

After our little lesson, I came to realize there was a reason this tradition of flower giving has stuck throughout time. It’s because they are not forever, every thought behind it means that much more.

——- Reported by Maya Robinson