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Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet – and so are you. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the UK’s top online florists are hard at work creating stunning new ranges of flowers, ready for the annual celebration of love.
From traditional red roses to pretty-as-a-picture tulips, flowers are the perfect way to tell your heart’s desire how much you love them. To help you choose, we’ve rounded up the best Valentine’s Day bouquets of the year. The arrangements are all hand-tied so you can pop them straight into a vase without any faff.
The middle of February isn’t just for couples, so If you aren’t a fan of Valentine’s Day you could always celebrate Galentine’s Day instead. Held on February 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day is a chance to show your friends how much they mean to you and thank them there for you in good times and in bad.
When it comes to looking after your blooms, there’s plenty of top-notch advice to help. Wild at Heart advises cutting each flower stem at an angle with scissors, leaving your flowers tied together so the arrangement stays in place, using a Milton sterilising tablet in the flower water to keep it free from bacteria, placing your flowers away from direct sunlight and changing the water every few days.
How we tested
We chose from a huge assortment of Valentine’s Day blooms, judging them on the price, condition on arrival, packaging, ease of arrangement, longevity, romantic style and most important of all, how they looked. All the flowers we tested lasted at least five days, if not more.
For lovers who want to splash out on something extra-special, we reckon this bouquet has the real wow factor. Wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with string, it had everyone oohing and aahing at the sight of it. Wild at Heart is one of the best-known names in floristry, founded by Nikki Tibbles and renowned for luxurious arrangements for weddings and high-profile events, and the team has really gone to town for Valentine’s Day. Their bouquets are pricier than many others but the Vintage Blush Bouquet is a dream – delicate and romantic, with pastel spray roses, vintage amnesia roses, secret garden roses, butterfly ranunculus, pink ranunculus, lisianthus, wax flower and seasonal foliage. It comes in six sizes, from small at £90 to supreme deluxe at £260.
There are myriad stories as to why we send red roses to our loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Some say that the first red rose was created when Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was scratched by the thorn of a white rose, causing the rose to turn red. Others reckon that the first red rose grew on the ground where Aphrodite’s lover Adonis was killed while hunting a wild boar. It’s hard to resist romantic tales like these – or this generous armful of 50 petite sweetheart roses from Waitrose. Traditional these red roses may be, they are delightful to look at all the same.
We’re big fans of Interflora’s business model, which supports 900 artisan florists across the country. The idea dates back to 1910, when a couple of enterprising US florists came up with the idea of telegraphing orders to each other from opposite sides of the country. The company launched in the UK in 1923. Our one-of-a-kind arrangement was hand-crafted by Bouquet Florist in Wareham, Dorset and featured a glorious confection of red roses, mauve stocks, lilies and lush foliage. The bouquet was guaranteed to stay fresh for seven days or more but ours lasted longer than that. We were impressed by Interflora’s kind-to-the-planet packaging and recycled ribbon too.
If you prefer to keep things classic, then this bunch of two dozen long red roses will do the trick. Currently priced at £44.99, they will be on offer for £34.99 from January 28th. In the last 30 years, Flying Flowers has delivered more than 12 million bunches of flowers so it’s vastly experienced at sending bouquets. We loved its jaunty green and bright pink packaging with “Hello Petal” emblazoned across the box, and the humorous “Bee Mine?” message on the wrapping around the flowers. Our roses arrived in bud and bloomed to their full glory within a couple of days.
When it comes to flowers M&S is a stalwart, with a host of Valentine’s blooms to choose from. If your loved one prefers a mix of different roses, rather than all scarlet, then this could be the one for you. Featuring 21 red, purple and lilac roses, interspersed with fresh green eucalyptus foliage and rosemary, it’s packed into a sturdy and easily portable grey bag. It’s a generous offering, so we divided the bouquet into two sweet-smelling posies, one of purple and lilac and the other of red, and they looked and smelled divine – two posies for the price of one.
The Real Flower Company romantic Valentine’s bouquet
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Best: For romance
Rating: 9/10
We loved the “freshly picked from a country garden” feel of this hand-tied bouquet. The Real Flower Company prides itself on using seasonal flowers and foliage from the company’s sustainable flower farm in Hampshire or its sister farm in Kenya. This beauty is available in six sizes, from a posy of six roses at £56 to an ultimate 35-rose bouquet at £180. We tested a large bouquet of 20 roses priced at £115 and it attracted compliments galore. An abundant selection of deliciously scented red, pink and antique roses, dotted with fragrant herbs and foliage, it was a visual treat for the eyes.
If you’re burning with desire for your beloved this dramatic arrangement will fit the bill. Bursting with vibrant shades of red, it includes traditional red roses with brooding dark red astrantia, hypericum berries, scarlet lisianthus and other crimson flowers and foliage. We counted almost 40 stems in total, so as well as looking top-notch you get a lot of flowers for your money. Ethics and sustainability are part of the Arena Flowers ethos and all its red roses are grown at Fairtrade farms. The company plants two mangrove trees in Madagascar with every purchase and every bit of packaging is recyclable or compostable, even the flower food sachets.
This pink bouquet put a smile on our faces the instant the postman delivered it. Not only was it meticulously packed in 100 per cent recyclable packaging and popped into an unspillable tub of water but it arrived with helpful care tips, flower food, a packet of wild bird seed and a cheery message. The arrangement included pink roses, lilies, lisianthus, phlox and eucalyptus and for a thoughtful Valentine’s Day touch there’s also a paper heart pick. Our flowers arrived in bud to make sure they lasted as long as possible – and sure enough, they were still going strong after five days. Bunches is a family business and since its launch in 1989 has donated more than 10 per cent of its profits to charitable projects in the UK and abroad.
Bloom flowers always stand out from the crowd and these gorgeous pink tulips are no exception. We hadn’t come across fringed tulips before but ours looked unusual and stylish, with a crystal-like fringe and a soft pink hue. Celebrity florist Larry Walshe and the expert team at Bloom have created an impressive array of bouquets for Valentine’s Day so buyers are spoiled for choice. Bloom has pulled out all the stops to make this one a beauty – it arrived in top-notch condition in a classy box, with the 60 stems carefully packaged and tied in brown twine. Bloom’s packaging is sustainable and plastic-free too.
Not everyone is keen on red roses, so why not send your partner some pale pink roses instead? Delivered in a chic white box and wrapped in brown paper, these blooms arrived in tip-top condition and looked timelessly classic. Flowerbx is an international online flower delivery service that specialises in elegant, single-flower bouquets. Founder and CEO Whitney Bromberg Hawkings worked in fashion for nearly 20 years before launching Flowerbx and her flowers are always the epitome of elegance. You can order 20 stems for £60, 30 stems for £80 and 40 stems for £105.
For those of us who aren’t flower arranging experts, Bloom & Wild offers everything you need to look after your stems. Two sachets of flower food, a handy flower arranging guide, recycling tips and top care advice (cut 3 to 5cm off the stems, change the water regularly and keep flowers away from radiators) are included with every bouquet. This year’s Valentine’s offerings cater for every taste but we loved the colourful Blake. Its 44 stems (we counted!) included lilies, tulips, lisianthus, roses, carnations, anemones, miscanthus and eucalyptus. We weren’t so keen on the addition of dried lagurus (otherwise known as bunny tails) but the flowers were exquisite, a vivid reminder that spring is on the way.