Flower Baskets in New York

Flower baskets in New York: rose counts, June peonies and the handover

Brighton Beach, on the southern tip of Brooklyn, has been home to Soviet emigrants since the mid-1970s, and in Russian-speaking families odd numbers go to the living, which is why flower baskets in New York are often built on 51 or 101 stems. Elsewhere in the city the count rarely matters and a dozen roses is just as ordinary, so the choice usually starts with the flower, the colour and where the basket will stand once it arrives.

Red, white or spray roses: a New York rose basket by colour and count

Almost four fifths of the cut flowers sold in the US are imported, and about a quarter of that comes from Ecuador. That is why "Ecuadorian" in a basket's name is ordinary here rather than a special order.

Colour carries its own shorthand. Red reads as passion, white suggests purity, pink as the same feeling said more softly, though there is no fixed rulebook behind any of it. The by colour subsection sorts the baskets by shade for anyone working from a colour first.

Scale is the other variable, and it is where the city's history shows. A Russian-speaking household sending flowers to someone living will often ask for an odd count, 51 or 101 stems in one basket of roses. Anyone else can take whichever size suits the table, the budget or simply looks right. Both 101 White Ecuadorian Roses in a Basket and Basket of 101 Misty Bubble Roses are built the same way: a large, single-colour rose count, without a long list of extras alongside them.

Lilies all year, peonies in early summer: choosing the flower

Lilies are grown under glass, so a lily basket is on the shelf every month of the year rather than tied to one season. That makes it a safe choice for a date fixed well in advance.

Peonies around New York flower from late May into early June. Outside those weeks, peonies usually come from another growing season; the Dutch harvest runs roughly from late April to June. Lilies are toxic to cats, so a household with one at home is safer with a rose basket or a mixed one instead. The by the flower subsection is the simplest place to start if the flower matters more than the colour.

Handed over by the handle: where a basket stands once it arrives

A basket changes hands by its handle and stands on its own once it is set down, with no vase to find and no water to pour at the door. That is the point of choosing a basket over a wrapped bouquet for an address where nobody can be sure what is waiting in the kitchen.

For a family visit to Brighton Beach, the basket can be set on the table without a vase. For a restaurant, the timing is worth agreeing with the venue beforehand, so the basket can be brought out with dessert or a toast rather than sitting at the host stand. If the recipient is not in when the courier calls, the basket is left with a concierge or at reception, but only with the sender's go-ahead. Delivery to hotels, wards and the city's busy dates has its own rules, covered where those addresses are discussed.

Flower basket delivery in New York with a card and sweets in one order

Most orders are delivered the day they are placed, and the exact window shows on the basket's own page rather than in the article. Before the courier sets off, the finished basket is photographed, so the colour and the stem count can be checked against the order first.

A card is included at no extra cost, and chocolate, sweets or a balloon can be added into the same basket rather than sent separately. Once it arrives, the foam block at the base is watered daily in a thin stream over the whole surface; the basket is never tilted to do it. Rates run by zone, and the centre is covered without a delivery charge; the zones and delivery terms page lists the rest.

Choosing a flower basket in New York is easier the other way round: start with by colour or by size, then decide if a gift to go with it belongs in the same order.