For My Father-in-Law's Wife in New Jersey

Flowers for my father-in-law's wife in New Jersey: start with her favourite

In 1908 Anna Jarvis sent five hundred white carnations, her mother's favourite flower, to the first Mother's Day service in Grafton. The idea still holds for flowers for my father-in-law's wife in New Jersey: carnations turn up twice in the grid, in 15 Dianthus and the Carnation and Daisy Duo Bouquet, but the lesson from Grafton is to start with her favourite flower, not your own taste. She is your husband's or partner's mother, sometimes a stepmother-in-law who joined the family later, and the relationship with her is one you build over years rather than one you inherit.

Which flowers suit your father-in-law's wife

If you already know her favourite flower, order it. Carnations come as 15 Dianthus, lilies as 15 Lilies, and peonies as the Bunch of 35 Peonies. If her taste is still a guess, lean on flowers that last: chrysanthemums, carnations and alstroemeria hold for two to three weeks in a vase, while a rose lasts about a week. A chrysanthemum's leaves turn yellow before its petals do, and the simplest fix is to strip them off rather than worry about the bloom itself. Peonies have their own short season, but lilies, carnations, chrysanthemums and alstroemeria are grown in greenhouses, so they are in the catalogue whenever you need to order.

Two colour lines run through this section: lavender, in Bouquet "Lavender Smoothie", the lavender spray roses and 15 Peony Lavender Roses, and pink, in the French Pink Rose Bouquet and Pinky Rapit Bouquet. A monochrome scheme stays within shades of one colour. An analogous scheme pairs neighbours on the colour wheel, and lavender is a close neighbour of the blue used in Bouquet "Blue Field". Two flowers are worth checking before you order. If she comes from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary or Croatia, large chrysanthemums are associated with funerals there, so pick the alstroemeria or the carnations instead of 5 Pink Chrysanthemums. And if there is a cat in her house, skip lilies altogether: every part of the plant, including the pollen and even the water in the vase, is toxic to cats.

Bouquet, box or basket for her home

A hand-tied bouquet wrapped in jute or airy paper is built to go straight into a vase she already owns. A box or a basket works differently: the stems sit in floral foam, so no vase is needed at all. That foam needs watering every day, in a thin stream across the whole surface, because once it dries out it barely takes water back in. A mixed basket such as the Giant Mixed Basket with Lilies lasts only as long as its shortest-lived flower, so treat the whole arrangement by that flower's calendar. Choosing between flowers in boxes and flower baskets mostly comes down to how much table or shelf space she has free.

Flower delivery to your father-in-law's wife in New Jersey

The card that comes with the flowers is free, and you can sign it, leave it blank or write a few words of your own. The recipient is not called ahead of the delivery unless you ask for it, with one exception: buildings a courier cannot enter without being let in first. A photo of the finished bouquet is sent before the courier leaves, so if something needs changing, that is the moment to say so. Most orders are handed over on the day they are placed, and the expected timing for any bouquet appears on its own listing; for her birthday, you can instead choose a specific date and time on the delivery page.

For a first order, her favourite flower on its own is the simplest route: browse the mono bouquets and add something small from the gifts to go with the bouquet if you want more than flowers on the table.