Florists and plant shops in Cardiff give their gift recommendations
Flower Chapter — Cardiff Market
Jacob Trott opened Flower Chapter during Covid and has been a florist for 10 years. When I meet him just before Valentine’s Day, he is busy putting orders together.
“It’s one of our busiest days of the year — you have Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day. But I think Valentine’s is top as everyone just goes mental for flowers.”
Jacob finds people still often stick to the classics.
“With Valentine’s Day we still mainly sell red roses. It has been mostly red roses for years,” he said.
But he has found that people have been slowly getting more creative with their floral choices including wildflowers and more seasonal flowers in their Valentine’s day bouquets.
“I have noticed quite a few more people are also moving away from red roses to make it more personal.
“We get a lot of seasonal orders in — but roses need to be force-grown for this time of year because we need them in bulk.”
A bouquet of half a dozen roses from Flower Chapter is £40.
Plant + Pot — Royal Arcade
Plant + Pot in the Royal Arcade sells potted plants, and may be a more unusual destination for those looking for gifts for February 14 — but the store has still seen a spike in customers in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, and offers romantics a unique and budget-friendly alternative.
The shop assistant points out two of the store’s biggest sellers at the moment — one is a heart-shaped “Hoya Kerrii” succulent in a red heart pot which costs £9.50. The other is an anthurium, which produces a red heart-shaped ‘flower’.
“If people are looking for last minute Valentine’s presents, we have had a few people in today already, picking up those products,” shop owner Harry Thorpe says.
“The thing with plants is you get the benefit of seeing something grow. It is nice to have that and to share that with people as well.”
The Secret Garden — Cardiff Market
The Secret Garden in Cardiff Market is run by sisters Donna and Kelly, and was established in 2007.
One of the florists tells me that Valentine’s Day is their busiest of the year before running off to pack more orders, which are overflowing across the floor of the market. The four florists at the stall are hard at work arranging bouquets and finalising orders in preparation for the day.
Their custom Valentine’s bouquets start at £45.
