“How to prepare for a flower delivery,” seems like an odd topic to write about, but the more I think about it, the more I realize there are certain tips and tricks that the average floral recipient, or first time host wouldn’t necessarily consider.
If you are expecting just one flower arrangement or multiple, I would suggest having a “landing station” set up in your kitchen. The landing station consists of either paper towels laid out or placemats set down, where you can immediately put your bouquet.
95% of the time when flowers arrive, the bottom of the vase is wet. You absolutely do not want to put a wet vase on any type of wood or sensitive surface, until you are confident that the vase has settled and is completely dry.
Giving the flowers time to dry also allows you to inspect the bottom of your vase, is it glass, metal, wood, or is it ceramic? This is important because the bottoms of ceramic vases can often be rough and cause scratches. This is something you want to avoid. Another tip is to always “place” your arrangement where you want it to sit, never to “slide” it into place.
Notice the trey underneath the flower ball centerpiece at this French Chateau?
The really experienced flower lovers will almost always have some kind of decorative trey (often silver) or as in the case of The White House, clear plexi glass disks that go under each arrangement, but essentially “disappear.” Some people will use thin quark sheets, but I never feel very confident in this because of it’s porous nature. Much better to have a true barrier between your vase and the table.
You can just barely see the plexiglass trey under this arrangement in one of the diplomatic rooms at the White House.
Here you can really see the clear plexiglass under one of Laura Dowling’s bouquets for the Blue Room.
If you are hosting a special event in your home and you have ordered tall/large/heavy arrangements, it is ideal if you can have a trey or placement in place when the delivery person arrives. Handling large - heavy arrangements is awkward, so it is best to have the delivery person put them in place for you. For this to happen, you really need to have the space prepared so that they can be set up without fear of causing any damage.
If you have any rules at your home, like no shoes, or booties, please be sure to let the delivery team know your preference in advance. They may or may not be able to accommodate the request out of safety concerns (those booties are slippery) but may be able to suggest an alternative solution.
Tipping - Now days, and especially in the DC area people rarely have cash! Tipping a driver is always nice, but drivers typically do not expect it. One thing to keep in mind however is that a lot of recent refugees have found work in the delivery field, and a little extra is always helpful. Much like a salon owner, if the owner of the flower shop is delivering to you personally, it is not customary to tip.
Watering- When to water your flowers? It is usually a good idea to add a little extra water to the vase as soon as a bouquet has been delivered, and while it is in the “landing station.” You won’t know if the driver had to make a quick stop and all the water sloshed out or not. Without a full vase, your flowers will die as soon as their stem is above the water level. Some flowers are very “thirsty” flowers and can drink water quite quickly. After having initially refilled your vase to about 1” below the rim, I would add about a cup of water everyday, and may even fully switch out the water on the 3rd or 4th day. Completely switching the water will help minimize any bacteria build up. Bacteria is one of the main flower killers, so you can see why having fresh clean water is important.
Click here for the link to my YouTube on how to change the water.
Temperature - The cooler the temperature, the longer your flowers are going to last (periodt). Flowers are stored and shipped in a cold chain of about 34 degrees to 40 degrees (54 degrees for tropicals). Obviously this is too cold for your home, but the cooler you keep your house the better, especially if you want the flowers to last for an extended period of time. In the winter I will often tell people to put flowers on their porch or in the garage if they are really trying to extend the life span. For this same reason, you don’t want to leave flowers under any direct light source if you can help it. This is a bit of a catch 22, because the flowers look so great under a spotlight, but best practice is to put them there only during your party or event. The same applies to placing flowers in Southern exposure windows, the light and heat will zap the lifespan of your blooms.
I hope this has been helpful and if there you have any further questions, please fee free to email at orders@atelierashleyflowers.com or dm me on instagram!