When you’re buying flowers as a gift for someone, they are usually a surprise, or, at least not the kind of gesture you discuss with the person beforehand. The entire purpose of gifting someone flowers is to bring a smile to their face and make them feel loved and cared for.
However, even when you are buying flowers as a surprise for someone, there are some things you need to know about the person to make sure that the gift is not only appreciated but also appropriate. It may not seem like there is a lot of planning and preparation that is involved in buying flowers for someone, but you do need to put thought into the gesture for it to have a desirable effect.
First and foremost you need to know if the person you are planning to buy flowers for has any known allergies or health problems that might be triggered off by pollen or a particular variety of blooms. You might ruin a surprise by having to ask about the same, but when it comes to matters of health, it’s always better to be safe than to be sorry and standing in a doctor’s office! If you don’t want to ask the person himself or herself, get advice from someone close to them!
Be mindful of what you want to say through your gift. If you are buying flowers for a friend who you don’t have any romantic feelings for, you should look for blooms that convey sentiments of everlasting friendship, trust and loyalty. So few people know that there are actually hidden meanings and symbolism to flowers, and while some flowers stand for support and friendship, others indicate romantic love and passion. You don’t want to give your best buddy flowers denoting everlasting romance!
Don’t just pick up any random bouquet you see at the florist’s or have something thrown together casually at the last moment: if the person means enough to you for you to want to surprise them you should put thought, creativity and a lot of personal touches into making the gesture truly meaningful.
Even a simple bunch of flowers is sure to please the recipient, but when the gesture is supposed to represent a deep feeling or a sentiment you haven’t been able to do justice to with words, it must be special. If you’re planning for a particular occasion, keep the theme or the reason for it as the basic foundation for planning the bouquet.
What you want to convey through the flowers will decide the variety, the colour, the size, the number and even the decorations that will make up the bouquet.
If you know what the person’s favourite colours are, make sure you work them into the bouquet. If you cannot get flowers in those colours, use decorations such as ribbons and bows to incorporate the same. Add tinsel and pretty wrapping paper to bring out the design and beauty of the flowers.
Be mindful of cultural traditions and beliefs regarding gifting flowers. In most Western countries, the number 13 is considered unlucky. In South Asia, the number 4 is often associated with mourning the death of a loved one, as it is on the fourth day that one of the significant funeral ceremonies are carried out. In Asian countries, the colour white is also associated with grieving, and hence only stark white flowers may not always be the best bet. You must be careful of such seemingly tiny layers of subtext when you gift someone flowers because you never know how they might feel about the same.
