It’s just after midnight on February 1, and just two weeks away is Valentine’s Day. Flower buying goes up something like 500% on Valentine’s, which may sound like a dream for florists, but it’s also a dread. The reality is that we just can’t quintuple our staff, inventory, delivery vans, store size, and everything else for one day of the year.

So here’s a friendly message for everyone out there:

• Please please please order early for Valentine’s Day!

We would especially hate to disappoint our regular customers, but we may have no choice if you want something at the 11th hour. Making it more difficult this year is that Valentine’s is on a Saturday, so many people might think they can wait till then.

We expect that we will run out of delivery capacity a few days before. By Friday, we’ll be accepting only telephone orders for personal pick-up at the shop. On Saturday, the day of, we might not even get a chance to answer the phone. And if you come to the store, you’ll have to stand in line and wait. There will be extra staff and we’ll work as fast as we can, but we won’t just slap something together. Our reputation is part of every bouquet that goes out our door, but quality takes a little time, and we hope you’ll understand.

By the way, we have created something very special for Valentine’s Day this year. Have a look at our True Romance Kit!