Flowers in Boxes in Abu Dhabi

Flowers in boxes in Abu Dhabi, from a jute pot to a hat box

Flowers in boxes in Abu Dhabi have one line that sets them apart: compositions in woven jute pots, rather than packed under a cardboard lid, as seen in compositions in jute pots. The first choice after that is how the gift gets handled once it arrives: a lid lifted, handles carried, or the whole thing set down where it will stay.

A box handed over at a hotel desk or picked up near the airport meets the same cooled air that keeps Abu Dhabi liveable through its hottest months, which the flowers in Abu Dhabi page covers in full.

A lid or handles for a walk along the Al Maryah waterfront

A hat box travels best held level, in front of the body with both hands, lid facing up so nothing inside shifts on the way. Local custom favours a gift offered with the right hand or with both together, and a round box naturally asks for both anyway. The person receiving it will often set the box aside and lift the lid later, alone, rather than open it in front of whoever brought it.

A flower handbag works on a different idea: it hangs from its own handles, so the hands stay free for whatever the evening holds afterwards, along The Galleria or anywhere else on Al Maryah. Of the two, hat boxes suit a handover at a table, where a lid can be lifted without anyone needing to stand. If that handover happens at a restaurant, tell the venue in advance, so the moment lands with dessert or with a toast rather than somewhere in the middle of the main course.

Cut flowers in the UAE are imported. Within that imported range, a box here tends to draw on white Ecuadorian roses, French roses, hydrangea, lilies, lisianthus, fine white gypsophila Misty for the filler, gerberas and peonies. A florist turns back the outer petals of a French rose by hand, so the head opens wider.

Which of those actually goes into a given box is a question for the florist rather than for the catalogue page. If you message the florist with the occasion and a rough colour, they can send a photo and price before payment.

Jute pots, crates and hanging baskets: no lid, no handles

A jute pot or a crate is simply set down on a shelf or a table; a hanging basket, as the name says, goes on a hook instead. None of the three carries a lid or handles, which makes them a plainer kind of gift than a hat box or a handbag.

A woven jute pot suits a flat in one of the towers on Al Reem or Al Zahiyah as easily as a house in Khalifa City, since it can be set down without finding a vase. Inside, the stems stand in wet floral foam, so no vase is needed, and crates and hanging baskets are built the same way. The foam wants water daily, poured in a thin stream across the whole surface rather than down one side, and the composition is never tilted once it has been set in place. Indoors, air conditioning keeps the air drier than the street outside, worth remembering between waterings. Among the jute pots, the Jute Pot "Piero" is one to ask for by name.

Abu Dhabi's catalogue keeps its macarons on a separate line from the flower boxes, and the two can travel together in one order. Sweets are judged by their quality rather than their price, which makes a box of macarons a safe addition to almost any flower box. Alcohol is the one thing never added, if the recipient is Emirati or Muslim.

Each flower box is put together after the order is placed, and a photo goes to the sender before the courier sets off. The card is free, and a phone number is enough to arrange the handover; an address helps but isn't required. Most orders reach the recipient on the day they're placed, the exact time for a given box shows on its own page, and zone coverage across the city is set out on the delivery terms page.

Choosing a box in Abu Dhabi starts with where it is going and what happens to it next. A hat box suits a handover at a table, while a flower handbag suits an evening that continues afterwards. A composition in a crate or a hanging basket fits a home that already has a shelf or a hook ready. A box of macarons can travel alongside, for the sweet side of the gift.