February 14 — Valentine's Day in Barcelona

February 14 — Valentine's Day in Barcelona: the rose, the box and the Rambla

February 14 — Valentine's Day in Barcelona falls in a city where, in the nineteenth century, flowers were sold in one place only: the Rambla de les Flors, and kiosk No. 10, Flors Carolina, has traded there since 1888. That single street of flower stalls is a fair starting point for a bouquet on the fourteenth. The choices that matter come down to three things: which colour rose, what keeps it company, and which format suits the place it is going.

A "French" rose is not a variety but something a florist does by hand: the outer petals are turned back, one by one, so the flower opens into a fuller, looser shape than it would on its own. French roses, such as 11 Red French Roses and 11 White French Roses, come as eleven-stem bunches, and the choice between the two colours is really a choice of tone rather than of flower.

Victorian flower dictionaries gave red the meaning of passionate love, white the meaning of purity, and pink a softer, gentler feeling. The dictionaries do not agree on every colour, so none of this is a rule, only a starting point if a card feels harder to write than a bouquet.

According to Mercabarna-flor's forecast for Sant Jordi, around 80% of the roses sold in Barcelona come from Colombia.

Lisianthus, hydrangea, gerbera: a softer Valentine's in the mix

For a recipient who might find a dozen red roses a little loud, the alternative is a mixed bouquet that puts a rose in with something else. Lisianthus adds a rounder, papery petal, and hydrangea paired with misty brings volume without more colour. Gerbera and lily are worked in too, for size and shape. These are worth asking for by description, such as rose and lisianthus or hydrangea and misty, rather than by a printed name.

One flower is worth ruling out before it is ordered: every part of a lily, including the pollen and the water in the vase, is poisonous to cats, so a home with a cat is better sent something else.

A hat box for the dinner table, strawberries on the side

A box holds its flowers without a vase: the stems sit in soaked foam, so the arrangement is ready wherever it lands, a restaurant table, a desk, a kitchen counter with no vase to hand. The shape itself is older than the flowers inside it, borrowed from the cardboard hat boxes of the nineteenth century. Designer Box No. 2 is one option in this format.

A restaurant delivery is arranged with the venue rather than guessed at. The manager agrees the timing with the restaurant, and the box is brought in for dessert or a toast.

Strawberries and a small gift travel the same way: a punnet of chocolate-dipped strawberries, a gift from the gifts to go with the bouquet range and the free card are added to the same order, so everything arrives together rather than as separate deliveries.

Booking the fourteenth ahead: your own words, a photo first

The fourteenth brings several times the usual number of orders, so delivery windows widen and no courier promises an exact minute on the day itself. Booking ahead is the way round that, and a date and a slot can be set for any zone in the city well before the day arrives, which is the practical case for Valentine's flower delivery in Barcelona.

The card that travels with the bouquet costs nothing extra, and it can carry a signed message or stay anonymous, whichever the sender prefers. Before the courier sets off, the florist sends a photograph of the finished bouquet, so anything that needs changing in the bouquet can be fixed before the courier leaves.

Starting with a colour of rose settles most of the rest, and starting with a box settles the question of where the flowers are going. Either way, a hotel guest or an order from abroad needs only the recipient's name and phone number; the manager arranges the rest.