Delivery after delivery kept florists across Bartlett and the Mid-South hopping on Friday and during last weekend, as their number one holiday — Valentine’s Day — fell on a Sunday.
Crystal Easley, owner of Bartlett Florist, said her shop sold more than 200 bouquets from Thursday through Sunday. She estimated that more than 80 percent were roses.
Nationally, red roses won 63 percent of buyers’ hearts.
According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 36 percent of Americans (58 percent men and 16 percent of women) were expected to buy flowers for Valentine’s Day this year.
Judging by how packed floral delivery trucks looked in Bartlett on Friday and Saturday, an impressive chunk of those purchases flowed out to local offices and homes this year.
In the top left photo: Shu Wang is picking up at Bartlett Florist. At bottom left: Stems in Bartlett designs a mixed bouquet. At bottom right: Behind the magical array of delicate blossoms in the front of the shop, florist Nicole at Stems deftly arranges roses amid a flurry of discarded bits. Photos by Amanda Swain.
