The cut flower industry has braced itself to service the needs of Australia’s romantics this Valentine’s Day by putting on extra staff, ordering extra stock and making sure all preparations are completed well in advance of the day. The industry’s peak body, the Flower Association, is getting the word out to its members and consumers to get organised and be ready.

In 2016 Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday, which resulted in a 20 to 30 percent drop in flower sales, with a similar result in 2015 when the day fell on a Saturday. This is because deliveries tend not to happen on a weekend and consumers want something on the day itself but also because people were away from work and quite simply forgot about it.

Flower Association Executive Officer Shane Holborn says, “We are letting consumers know that flowers are the traditional Valentine’s Day gift and no matter how great another gift might be, a bunch of flowers always makes it more romantic. A big part of Valentine’s Day is people declaring their love publicly and nothing does that like the delivery of a beautiful bunch of flowers to your beloved in front of their work colleagues!”

The industry are anticipating that this year’s consumer spend on flowers is likely to be huge. The industry understands that gift purchases including jewelry, attending events and going out for dinner are always part of the romantic’s repertoire for Valentine’s Day, but the sentiment simply isn’t the same without flowers.

Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest days on the flower industry calendar, with the industry growing, preparing and building up to it for months. Growers, wholesalers and florists are relying on a big day to sell their product and hopefully also warm their own hearts this year.

“Our growers are literally up to their necks in flowers they’ve grown for the day so we’re just urging everyone to have a great day and remember the flowers,” Holborn said.

For more information, visit: www.flowersqueensland.asn.au

Image: Sonia Currey from Currey Flower Farm