Why buy from a Professional Florist?

~~People ask me all the time “Why do flowers from a professional florist cost so much more than the flowers in the supermarket. What’s the difference between them?” The short answer to those questions comes down to the old adage “You get what you pay for”. It’s never been truer than it is for flowers. The flowers in the supermarket or other big box stores are completely different from what the professional florist carries. Most flowers are graded from “bouquet” grade which is the lowest to “select” which is the highest. The majority of what most big box stores carry is “bouquet” grade. This means that the blooms are smaller and weaker than the flowers of the higher grades. These flowers are often weeks old by the time you bring them home. They typically come from farms in South America. They are imported into the Port of Miami where they often sit for as long as two weeks before being shipped to the big box stores distributions centers where they can sit even longer before finally getting out to the stores. Once in the stores they are processed by (often) untrained people and put out for sale- usually unrefrigerated.
 When you buy flowers from a professional florist you are typically buying flowers that are either “fancy” or “select” grade. I, for one, try to source our flowers from farms in the United States whenever available as it is important to me to support US farms and also because what I receive today was often still in the ground a couple of days ago. When we do buy from South American farms we make sure that those farms are environmentally responsible and that the product hasn’t been sitting around at the Port of Miami for very long. Often, the professional florist buys direct from the farm which guarantees freshness. The professional florist is trained to process flowers properly which can double or triple their life span.
 Big box stores serve a purpose. They are great place to go if you want a quick $5 bouquet and it only has to last for a day or two. But if you really want something nice, for yourself or for a gift, that looks professionally done and is going to last a week or two than seek out your professional florist. You can’t go wrong
 

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