Bouquets in Miami

Bouquets in Miami: Andean stems, a bright or quiet mood, the right wrap

Bouquets in Miami often start further south than the city itself: about 86% of the cut flowers the United States imports by air come from Colombia and Ecuador, and nine in ten of those air imports land at Miami International Airport. That route says little about which bouquet suits a particular person, though. The choice here comes down to the flower, the mood and the way it's wrapped: the Miami selection includes Ecuadorian roses and reflexed French roses.

Ecuadorian roses, lilies and lisianthus: what Miami florists build on

Before 14 February the airport handles a particular rush of stems: roses, carnations, pompon chrysanthemums, hydrangea and baby's breath, all moving through in volume ahead of the holiday.

Miami's bouquet selection draws on Ecuadorian and French roses, lilies, gerberas, lisianthus, hydrangea, hyacinths and peonies. A French rose isn't a variety of its own; it's a rose a florist has reflexed by hand, easing the outer petals back so the bloom looks fuller and more open.

After landing, the stems move on to importers and wholesale warehouses in Doral before they reach a florist's bench. That full route, together with Miami's heat and its flower calendar, is covered on the flowers in Miami page. The Bunch of Gerberas, for instance, is a single-flower bouquet of gerberas, no mixing.

Bright for Calle Ocho, delicate for a family visit: setting the mood

Little Havana is the heart of Miami's Cuban community, and in March its Calle Ocho festival fills SW 8th Street between 12th and 27th Avenue with music and food, free to enter. For a get-together around those days, a bright bouquet fits the mood better than something muted: strong colour holds up outdoors, among crowds and street stalls.

A different visit calls for a different bouquet. When a family in the US is grieving, the flowers sent to the house tend to be small or medium arrangements rather than oversized ones, which makes a delicate bouquet the better choice. If the family is sitting shiva, or the notice asks for donations "in lieu of flowers," it's best to skip the bouquet entirely; food, a card or a donation is what's expected instead.

When the shade matters more than the flower itself, choosing by colour works better than choosing by variety: the bouquets by colour section keeps that choice separate from variety.

Kraft paper to carry by the bay, a bag or a planter to stay

A bouquet in kraft paper suits a walk by the water, along the Coconut Grove waterfront just south of Brickell, where it's simple to carry in both hands. A bag is easier to carry when the bouquet should stay with the recipient after handover.

A bouquet in a planter arrives already sitting in its own container, so there's no vase to find or fill before it goes on a table or a desk. Bouquet delivery in Miami includes a photo of the finished bouquet sent before the courier leaves and a card at no extra cost, and the exact delivery window is shown on the bouquet's own page; zones and timing are on the delivery page. Before any bouquet goes into a vase, the kraft paper comes off and the stems get a fresh diagonal cut.

Choosing where to start depends on where the bouquet is going. For a family visit, bouquets by colour make it easy to pick a shade rather than a variety. For an afternoon by the water, bouquets in kraft paper are made to be carried, and for a desk or a tabletop, bouquets in planters need no vase at all.