How much would you pay for these flowers?

[fmama]

AIBU to think that lovely as this bunch of flowers is, there is a certain price beyond which makes them a plain rip off? What would you have paid for this? First photo shows how it arrived from the florist - priced for 10 stems+ foliage. Jar not included. Would like to know what others think. Thank you!

I think they’re lovely, but I love both anemones and eucalyptus.

Wild at Heart is about as expensive as you can get so you’re never going to get value for money. Very pretty though and the eucalyptus will probably last through to Christmas now if you change the water regularly.

@MrsSkylerWhite

flowersforbrains

Scbchl
Can get better in Aldi for 3.99

I doubt it.”

You can actually.10 lovely yellow roses for 2.99 a week ago, still going strong.

They're small and cheap bullet roses though that all the supermarkets sell though. Nothing special.

Putting the cost aside, I'd rather have a decent bunch of anemones than a run of the mill bunch. They're pretty special but some people are only interested in getting as much as possible for a couple of quid.

I'm not justifying the £55 because it's insane. £5 a stem is insane but that's where we are heading. The supermarkets are able to keep their prices low because they stick to lower quality, have massive buying power and put bouquets together on an industrial scale using low paid labour. They are also squeezing the market by doing deals directly with growers which pushes prices up higher for everyone else. There's no art to what they produce. They churn them out.

Special occasion flowers are not profitable and pretty much logistically impossible for the supermarkets. M&S went down the wedding route for a very short period and failed miserably. God forbid, if you want funeral flowers you'll have to go to a florist and 'get ripped off' because they are raking it in. Because I see loads of my florist friends driving around in their Bentleys.........

£10 in Tesco. £50 in our local florist which is not in London, but rip off prices. He was ridiculous to pay what he did.

£5-£8 OP as per Aldi, Lidl or pick your own prices. They do not look anything special and have not been 'pimped' up in any way.
I wonder if this is a trick question or am I missing something?

No more than £5 in Aldi or about £8 in Tesco/ Sainsbury's.

Personally, don't like anemones so wouldn't buy for myself but hey, if buying for someone else, I wouldn't pay more than above for what you've shown.

£20?

Well…for £3…you can buy a better bunch from Morrison’s !

I understand where you're coming from. It's not a question of gratitude but that you feel bad at the amount he spent. I'd feel exactly the same in your shoes.

To answer your question, I'd pay around £15 locally or £25 somewhere like Marylebone station for that particular bouquet. Supermarket flowers are better value but appreciate that he wanted to buy something more "special" (money wise at least!).

I had a similarly embarrassing situation at my local florist where I'd asked them to make me up a £30 bouquet. The finished product was tiny and looked about £15 worth. My husband thought the same but was too embarrassed to say anything. I called them (I've had plenty of bouquets from them before with no issues), they said to come in and redid it for me. It was a little awkward but it looked a crap gift for the money.

40

I like them. I say £15-20

Very poor display. I wouldn't buy them in Tesco's. I'm guessing you were charged at least 25 though.

@ fmama they are beautiful and have come from a good source. I was a florist back in the day in Highgate London and could of sold these all day long for £45. Im in a different job now. Out of interest I did a friends wedding in October as a gesture, the anemones had to come from South America and worked out at £4 each!

Just no. They don't look fresh.

I wouldn't - they are ugly

For all those commenting about "cheap filler" or "cheap foliage" you couldn't be more wrong. Foliage, especially eucalyptus varieties, is just as, (and in some cases more) expensive as the flowers. The majority of flower stock comes via Holland, after Brexit, wholesale prices went through the roof, and stayed there, and choice and variety is much reduced (I'm a florist, but have packed up because of it) Long stemmed anemone, out of season will be at least £2.50 per stem wholesale. White and green based flowers are also far more expensive in the run up to Xmas, as they are in much higher demand than other colours (apart from red), people don't tend to want pinks and yellows etc in their homes at this time of year (look in the supermarkets over the next few weeks and you will see what I mean).
Also, to those trying to compare supermarket flowers, to florist bought, you may as well be comparing apples and oranges.
So, while £55 does seem a lot for the bouquet to the untrained eye, in reality, bearing in mind it was also from a high end florist, it's actually not over the top.

@Da1sycha1n

£55 I know anemones are expensive and it's very early in their season, so they're at their dearest but £55! Roadside wankers!!

They'd look a LOT better if you can make the foliage a bit shorter, and have less of it. Then the flowers become the focus as they should be.

Take some of the foliage out, it's lovely eucalyptus parvi and will last all over Christmas so do something else with it - stick it in a wreath, make smaller little jars of it or even keep it in water to just lay it along the table at Christmas (sorry, huge assumption that you celebrate it). It even keeps it's leaves and looks good when it's 'dead' ie. dried out. It's also really expensive now because of its' longevity and popularity, bit it's too 'heavy' for the anemones and there's far too much of it.

Once the anemones have opened up more they'll look amazing and will also last ages - change the water every couple of days and trim the stems at the same time.

Worth doing all of the above to get your/DH/DCs moneys worth!!

I'm a (retired) florist so this is all god advice!!

Wonderful ideas, thank you for such great advice! I will certainly be taking good care of them to keep them healthy for as long as possible - to preserve the beauty and prolong my enjoyment! Yes, I have just the littles glasses for them - rinsed out yoghurt pots - perfect for the sprigs of eucalyptus, which I love having in the cloakroom. Do florists ever retire, really? Isn't it one of those skills where you won't ever forget? Thank you

@CockSpadget

For all those commenting about "cheap filler" or "cheap foliage" you couldn't be more wrong. Foliage, especially eucalyptus varieties, is just as, (and in some cases more) expensive as the flowers. The majority of flower stock comes via Holland, after Brexit, wholesale prices went through the roof, and stayed there, and choice and variety is much reduced (I'm a florist, but have packed up because of it) Long stemmed anemone, out of season will be at least £2.50 per stem wholesale. White and green based flowers are also far more expensive in the run up to Xmas, as they are in much higher demand than other colours (apart from red), people don't tend to want pinks and yellows etc in their homes at this time of year (look in the supermarkets over the next few weeks and you will see what I mean). Also, to those trying to compare supermarket flowers, to florist bought, you may as well be comparing apples and oranges. So, while £55 does seem a lot for the bouquet to the untrained eye, in reality, bearing in mind it was also from a high end florist, it's actually not over the top.

I rest my case.

£40 for that where I live

@ImInStealthMode

£55!! If they last until Christmas I'd perhaps start to think they were approaching good value.

DP buys me a bunch every month and after about 6 months I had to have a gentle word; he was spending £30-£40 a time from the florist near his work and although they were beautiful bouquets honestly I was lucky if they lasted 4 or 5 days. I was horrified at him wasting his money on them.

Now he gets them from the supermarket unless it's a special occasion (in which case he goes to a different florist). I had a lovey little spray of roses from Morrisons a while back that lasted almost 3 weeks, and they were £2 on a yellow sticker.

Lovely DP who buys monthly flowers - lucky you! He sounds quite romantic! That sense of wasting money was very much on my mind when I realised how much he spent (of the children's money). Like you, I am very appreciative of his effort and thoughts, but perhaps he didn't need to spend that much? I often look in the bargain bin as well, tired roses, wilted but still to bloom flowers - it's a bit of a gamble, but once trimmed and watered, those that spring back into life - they bring so much joy. And yes, with the right TLC, sometimes they last for a ridiculously long time?! And to think it was so nearly going straight in the bin. Thank you

@PegasusReturns

I think they’re lovely, but I love both anemones and eucalyptus.

Wild at Heart is about as expensive as you can get so you’re never going to get value for money. Very pretty though and the eucalyptus will probably last through to Christmas now if you change the water regularly.

Yes, I really liked it, I'm glad you think so too! I've received Wild At Heart deliveries before and while they were indeed expensive, they didn't feel as disconcerting so, as these are. Perhaps a sign of the times, of rising costs - materials, rates, labour, Brexit, Covid etc. etc., but agree I can try to eke them out to make the cost more worthwhile! Thank you

Tenner?

@fmama enjoy them

People on MN can be ridiculous. I don’t doubt you can get cheap roses or lilies in the supermarket but you absolutely cannot get anemones and eucalyptus in lidl or Tesco at the moment.

I was on M&S today and they had very small bunches of fresh eucalyptus for £20.

Flower longevity depends on how long those flowers have been hanging around, how they have been cared for, how they have been stored and the type of flower.

5 days - delicate papery flowers like anemones, delphiniums and ranunculus
7 days - roses, lilies, lisi and veronica
Long lasting - chrysanthemums, carnations and alstro (all the flowers your granny would like!)
Very long lasting - anything waxy or tropical like anthuriums

I think if he was told it was fiver per stem & decided to buy 10 it wasn't really a rip off was it?

@flowersforbrains absolutely agree it is a fine art - as in my earlier comment - the aesthetic judgement, the physical dexterity wrangling all that different geometry into a balanced, cohesive whole, a hand-tied arrangement is a joy to give and receive, to have in the home, but also just to watch it being made - a wonderful performance to behold. You florists always make it look so easy!

As to an earlier comment about the ladies who lunch brigade - I think DH tries to buy a simple colour so that he can't go far wrong (I know he is really trying) but I've once received this S&V Ophelia - the sender paid £60 for the "smallest" (priced £60 upwards) and the real thing looked even better in real life. It lasted ages, individual stems might wilt and the bouquet gets trimmed, but there's lots more to keep going, and it sort of "evolved", as there was just so much texture and interest in the arrangement, and it's mainly still greens and whites. Flowers are how Mother Nature shows off, isn't it? Slight shame about the current economics.... I really envy people with a cuttings garden. Or any garden.