17 best Mother’s Day flowers to make her smile, from hand-tied bouquets to letterbox blooms

We’d heard great things about Arena Flowers from trusted sources, so we were keen to put the brand to the test. We’re pleased to say they were magnificent – our source continues to be reliable. This hand-tied bunch is absolutely teaming with flowers. You could keep it tied together, like we did, or separate the blooms, to fill several vases (one comes free with the bouquet). With lemony carnations, peach- and pink-toned roses and contrasting violet limonium, this is a bunch of flowers that is sure to wow. Any mum would be cheered by the springtime vibes they bring. They also lasted three weeks. We were very impressed and will be ordering flowers from Arena Flowers again.

Holy smokes, this bouquet is bound to bowl over anyone who is lucky enough to receive it. The Real Flower Company was set up after the founder was disappointed in the lack of scented flowers available to buy. They vowed to put this right with scent-filled bouquets, and, boy, have they delivered. The company grows much of its stems in the South Downs and is a carbon neutral and climate positive brand. This hand-tied bouquet is a showstopper, filled with incredibly scented David Austin roses and aromatic herbs. It comes tied with huge, luxurious silky bows and arrives in a smart, recyclable box. These blooms had staying power, lasting around 13 days – filling our house with a heady rose scent, and our hearts with joy.

For a longer lasting gift, this planter is full of the joys of spring. It comes with everything in bud but soon to be in full bloom. We kept ours indoors, which sped up the blooming process, but you can also stick this one outside. There are hyacinths, tete-a-tete and muscari in beautiful spring hues of blue, white and yellow. There’s also budded twigs, to add impact, and moss on the top of the compost. All this comes in a metal trough, which you can use again and again. You can replant the bulbs too, so they bloom year after year. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.

If your recipient prefers house plants rather than flowers, this Swiss cheese plant is going to put a smile on their face. The plant comes in a box, and is already a decent size when it arrives, packed with good-quality compost to keep it going. The Swiss cheese plant – or Monstera deliciosa, if you want to sound fancy – brought life to a corner of a room in our house, and we continue to admire its unmistakable greenery.

We’re big fans of Bloom & Wild, and we love that the flowers come with instructions for how to put the bouquet together in a vase. This particular bunch is a Liberty collab, inspired by the 1960 Manuela Liberty print. As such, it’s a riot of colour, with oranges and purples merging into blues and vibrant corals. Just constructing the bouquet gave us so much joy. The blooms are wrapped in Liberty-print paper, too, and have incredible staying power. They arrive on the cusp of blooming, and they were still in full flow more than two weeks later. We were so impressed. These flowers can be posted through the letterbox too, so your mum (or whoever) doesn’t have to be in when they arrive.

Every stem of Petalon’s flowers are grown on the brand’s farm in Cornwall, and it’s a B-corp certified and carbon-neutral company. So, basically, it’s about as eco-friendly as you can get in the UK, when it comes to cut flowers. The prices are always the same – rather than being driven up by calendar events – something we respect hugely.

The bouquet we received arrived in a box, hand tied and wrapped in hessian. The blooms were arranged in a sort of tiered shape, which meant we didn’t need to untie them and rearrange. We could just cut the stems a little, to help condition them, then pop them in water. As well as plenty of coordinating colours, textures had clearly been considered when putting together the bouquet. There was a real mix of tightly packed blousy blooms, foliage and structured flowers. Petalon’s flowers lasted well, too – around 10 days in a warm house.

If you want to send something that will really stand the test of time, how about dried flowers? They’re having more than a little bit of a moment in interiors, and are a hassle-free gift that keeps on giving. This bunch, from Hidden Botanics, is full of colour and texture, with near-neon oranges and mustardy yellows working together to make a sunshiny bouquet. There’s also a decent amount of foliage in there. Of course, these flowers pretty much last forever, so they win points there. They also come hand-tied, so you can plonk them in a vase already arranged and enjoy them forever more.

Perhaps your mum has a type of flower she prizes above all others? In which case, Flowerbx is a fab option, as you can choose to send a single-type of flower. We love this idea. As, for us, we got a huge bunch of pink fringed tulips. It was like opening a box of pure spring, and they filled about five vases of joy. This meant we could basically have a mini bunch in every corner of our home – what mum wouldn’t want that? The branding on the box makes this feel like a very sophisticated gift, too.

Freddie’s Flowers is probably best known for its subscriptions, but you can also send bouquets as a one off. We were the lucky recipient of its showstopper bunch, which is its bumper box of flowers. If you have a subscription to carbon-neutral Freddie’s Flowers, you can also opt to upgrade to showstoppers for one-off deliveries – great if you’re hosting a big event or want to spoil yourself. These showstoppers came in a box and were by far the most generous letterbox flowers we received.

The box comes with detailed instructions for how to arrange your flowers, and plenty of flower food. There’s also a little info about each flower included. We had fun playing florist while putting this bunch together – once we stood back to admire our work, the blooms really did make a huge impact. Packed with flowers of all different types and structural pieces, it made for a modern, interesting final display. They lasted incredibly well, too – around two weeks.

This bouquet of white flowers oozes sophistication. Packed full of roses, carnations and alstroemerias, there’s also modern fresh foliage and plenty of incredible-smelling eucalyptus. This bunch comes as a letterbox delivery, and it’s so easy to create a brilliant bouquet, as there are so many great flowers included. The blooms also come with flower food and a guide on how to arrange the flowers. The saga bouquet has lasted really well – the blooms are still going as we type, well over a week since we received them. We think these flowers would be perfect for a modern mum who doesn’t want too much chintz.

Never underestimate the power of giving flowers with a vase included. It takes any headache out of the gift, and means the recipient can enjoy the blooms straightaway. These flowers from Next come with a glass vase, which is modern and perfectly sized for a mid-sized bouquet. The flowers themselves are beautiful – a modern colour clash of lilac stocks and peach roses, along with plenty of structural foliage. They lasted well while spending two weeks in our warm kitchen. Plus, now we have another vase - the perfect excuse to fill our home with more flowers.

This bouquet is completely plastic-free, which gets a big tick from us. It’s also a great mid-sized bunch, packed with interesting flowers. All killer, no filler here. There’s a pair of huge aralia leaves, which gives it immediate impact and makes it feel like a modern bunch. As well as this, there are lightly scented stocks, vibrant allium, roses, eucalyptus and pretty delphinium. Despite there “only” being 18 stems, Waitrose has clearly chosen some real winners here. Our bouquet lasted around 10 days, which is good going in our house.

As pretty as a picture, these flowers pack plenty of feminine florals. Very much a classic hand-tied bouquet, these radiance flowers include pastel pink germini, cream lisianthus, lillies and antirrhinums. The arrangement was tightly packed, with plenty of flowers to fill several vases. As the flowers came mostly as buds, it meant the bouquet lasted for ages – around two weeks. We were thoroughly impressed by this traditional bouquet.

If you’re looking for something a little extra, Ronny Colbie is where it’s at in the floristry world. The founder used to be the lead floral designer for Soho House. The man knows his flowers. This Carlisle bouquet is a beautiful juxtaposition of bright pinks and verdant greens, with garden roses, mixed poppies and seasonal blossoms. This bouquet arrives wrapped in dark charcoal paper, which makes for a very dramatic presentation. Happily, these flowers lasted well – we got a good two weeks of life out of them. A stylish and high-quality option.

If you don’t want to give flowers, but do want to give something flower-like, this cute paper cactus is perfect. The faux flower is perfect for someone who is away a lot, or forgets to water their plants – or if they’re short on space. Plus, the good news is it lasts forever. We thought this cactus was as cute as a button, and it perked up our desk no end. The cactus is made out of Japanese origami paper, and has been hand folded and placed in a terracotta pot.

How’re these for sherbet perfection? A modest bunch of flowers compared with some others on this list, it’s still super sweet. Each of the 16 stems has been picked for their symbolic meaning, making the bouquet a thoughtful gift. Roses in white, pink and peach represent admiration, while pink carnations mean gratitude. There’s also pink lisianthus for love, and lilac spray roses for good health. We think this makes such a sweet gift for mums and they’d be seriously touched if you explained the reason behind each flower too.