Florists across the D.C. region are hustling as Valentine鈥檚 Day approaches this weekend, and many are feeling the pressure that comes with a surge of last鈥憁inute orders.
At Chevy Chase Florist in Chevy Chase, Maryland, owner Christine Topacio said during the week of Valentine’s Day, her team is prepared for some long days.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been busy!鈥� Topacio said.
Valentine鈥檚 Day is the holiday of love, but it鈥檚 also a holiday where many people wait until the last second to order flowers. That means the Chevy Chase Florist staff are working overtime to prepare and deliver hundreds of bouquets.
Topacio said orders typically spike right after the Super Bowl.
鈥淎fter the Super Bowl passes, those orders start rolling in, and people start remembering about it, and we will definitely have a lot of walk-in traffic in the next couple of days,鈥� she said.
Topacio said even as a smaller boutique shop, they expect to send out 鈥渁nywhere upwards of 600 or more orders鈥� leading up to the holiday.
To meet that demand, she said the shop depends on both full鈥憈ime workers and additional seasonal employees.
On top of designing bouquets, her team also has to navigate challenges that come with deliveries this time of year.
鈥淒elivering is always a crazy logistics thing, making sure that we have enough drivers to be able to make sure that everybody gets their flowers on time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a little bit hectic, especially with the ice and the snow out there.”
Keeping flowers fresh is also part of the job. Topacio shared tips for anyone wanting their bouquets to last longer.
鈥淭he biggest thing, I think, is changing the water so making sure that the flowers have fresh water,鈥� she said.
She said people should refresh the water when the water in vases looks cloudy. When changing the water, she said give the stems a fresh cut, if possible.
Tariffs and last-minute ordering
The shop relies on thousands of imported stems each Valentine鈥檚 season, but Topacio said prices are being affected by tariffs.
鈥淎 lot of our roses come from Ecuador and Colombia. A lot of other florals come from Holland, from Canada. All of these places that do have tariffs, every single one of our items has been impacted,鈥� she said.
Due to stepped up costs for ordering flowers, she said the business had to reassess pricing this year.
鈥淲e want to make sure that we’re able to pay our bills and make sure that we have enough of the beautiful flowers that people are expecting,鈥� she said.
Still, customers continue to place orders and many of them don鈥檛 plan ahead. Topacio said walk鈥慽ns surge right before the holiday, and last鈥憁inute shoppers come armed with stories.
鈥�’Oh my God, I forgot! My wife is going to kill me,’鈥� she said was something she often heard.
Others show up trying to persuade the team to squeeze in an extra bouquet.
鈥淥ur policy here is that we will help, if we can, whenever we can,鈥� she said.
Topacio said the emotional impact of flowers keeps the team motivated through the rush.
鈥淲e sometimes forget how much impact flowers have in terms of people’s mood and joy,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople need joy nowadays.鈥�
For anyone still hoping to order flowers before the holiday, she has one reminder: 鈥淭he sooner you can get those orders in, the better,鈥� she said.
Despite the long hours, Topacio said her team is focused on helping people share a little joy and keeping relationships in full bloom.
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