This Valentine’s Day, and any time you shop for flowers, we invite you to shop with Denver’s premier floral design firm, Veldkamp’s Flowers. The Veldkamp’s family has been proudly serving the Denver area since 1959. We operate a number of floral design centers right here in Lakewood and Denver.
Something to think about if you are considering buying your flowers from one of those low cost virtual florists. First, they offer unrealistically low prices and award winning designs. The truth is, a $20 dollar flower arrangement and the concept of an award winning design, do not belong in the same sentence. Virtual florists generally ship flower orders from a central packing facility, in a box. The flowers may or may not be fresh when they arrive. They are most likely going to be in the box, which also contains a low cost vase for you to put the flowers into. These virtual florists work very hard in the advertising messages to convince you that they are actually local to your area. Those that fall victim to their tactics quickly find out that they are not local at all.
Despite the belief that you are saving money, you may not be getting such a great deal:
- Some delivery services, such as FedEx and UPS will not deliver designed flowers. Flower arrangements are very delicate and need hand delivery. That’s why the virtual florist services send flowers in a box where you or your recipient has to cut and arrange them.
- Flowers sent by these services are often not fresh and may have even been frozen, which means that they could arrive either dead or they die within a day or so of receiving them.
The florist industry also warns about other issues associated with not using a local florist. In an article on the Society of American Florists information website, it warns that not all florist websites that say there are local are really local. These typically are not even located in the same state and tend to charge higher fees. Consumers then find themselves with a poor florist experience.
Instead, it is better to select a truly local florist like Veldkamp’s Flower and Gifts because there is a physical flower shop with a floral design team that works with select flower farms to offer the best quality flowers.
They also hand arrange all orders and provide their own delivery service so that you or the recipient receive the flowers just as the designers had arranged them.
In terms of cost, a local florist does not cost any more than these services when you consider the quality, freshness, design and lifespan of the flower arrangements provided. If anything, the value of a local florist far surpasses these online discount flower websites. Plus, you are giving back to your local community by supporting a local business.
You can even consider using your local florist for orders outside of the area because many are in a partnership with preferred florists in those local areas that can provide the same level of value, quality, and service.
