For My Aunt in Tokyo

Flowers for an aunt: the category where scale is the risk

Relationships with aunts vary enormously. For some people this was the second significant adult of childhood. For others it is a relative seen once a year at a family gathering. The bouquet reflects that distance, and mistakes here usually involve size rather than variety.

Too large a bouquet in a distant relationship looks odd. Too modest a one in a close relationship stings. The simplest reference point is how the family congratulates everyone else.

What tends to be chosen

The middle ground does the work here: noticeable without being a display.

• Mixed bouquets in a warm palette, fifteen to twenty five stems.
• Seasonal flowers, which mark the date by themselves.
• Long lived varieties for anyone who rarely changes the water.
• Basket arrangements, if she lives alone and would rather not deal with a vase.

Bold experiments with form belong to close relationships. Everywhere else the classics read better.

Occasions

Birthdays, milestone years, family celebrations, an invitation to visit, thanks for help, calendar dates.

Visiting in person deserves separate thought. A bouquet handed over at the door behaves differently from a delivered one, because the host has to find a vase immediately while guests are arriving.

A small bouquet or an arrangement already in its container works better there. It goes straight onto a table without interrupting anything.

Choose a bouquet for an aunt at the scale of the family rather than the scale of your own feelings.

Practical notes

Keep the fragrance moderate if she lives in a small flat.

It is worth asking whether she keeps a vase at all. Plenty of households do not, and an arrangement that arrives ready to stand solves that quietly.

Age affects convenience. Moving a large vase full of water is hard work for an older person, and a basket beats a classic bouquet in that situation.

Colour and count are worth checking against local custom. In Eastern European practice an even number and white chrysanthemums belong to days of remembrance.

If flowers are crossing Tokyo and she is not expecting a courier, tell her first. Older relatives frequently do not open the door to strangers, and the order comes back undelivered.

JFLOO keeps flowers for an aunt alongside the other recipients. Let the closeness of the relationship set the size. It predicts the right bouquet more accurately than the occasion does.