Is there a difference? You bet there is.

For the person who rarely buys flowers, it may seem like one bloom is like the next. You can get cut flowers and even floral arrangements in most grocery stores. Aren’t these as good as arrangements from the local florist? After all, they look pretty.

And t hey can be a lot cheaper.

The difference is one of quality. Most florists buy their flowers directly from nurseries and green houses, and a top florist buys the highest grade of flowers available. In other words, a reputable flower shop buys the cream of the crop and knows where to get it.

Grocery stores and other places trading in fresh flowers may also buy from those same places, but they often purchase older or lower-quality flowers. These flowers make great cut arrangements—they look pretty and when a colorful bouquet is put together with some ribbon, it can seem very festive. But they’re likely not the same level of quality as a floral arrangement from a florist.

In fact, if you ran a nursery selling flowers, you'd sell your very best stuff to the very best florists and you'd get rid of your older stuff by offering it at a cut rate to the grocery stores.

Who cares, if it saves you money? Older flowers won’t last as long. You may not pay as much for a boquet, but your boquet won't last nearly as long. What good is paying half price for flowers that are gone in two days when you can get a more expensive arrangement that will last a week or more?

Be careful, too, if your mother is a gardener or knows her flowers. She’ll know the difference between a flower in prime condition, picked at its peak of freshness, and an older bloom (just like you can tell a new banana from one that’s been sitting around the kitchen too long). If your mom knows flowers, she’ll also appreciate the more exotic and unusual blooms that you can only get from a real florist.

That's another thing: most grocery store flowers are typical stuff, the ordinary flowers. If you mom knows flowers, she'll know that these are the "usual flowers." One great way to surprise your mom with flowers (even if flowers is what you always get her) is to get a new variety or something unusual: Christmas cactus or daffodils or calla lilies, for example.

This is not to dismiss grocery store flowers. They’re great when you need a colorful bouquet in a hurry or for those occasions when it does not matter how long the flowers last (for instance, if you’re having a luncheon that day and only want the flowers to survive till that afternoon).

But if you want to impress your mother with a high-quality and long-lasting floral arrangement, you’re going to have to go to a real florist.

<back to Information>