February 14 — Valentine's Day in Vancouver

February 14 — Valentine's Day in Vancouver: roses before Family Day

February 14 — Valentine's Day in Vancouver — lands on an ordinary working day in British Columbia; the only statutory holiday in February is Family Day, always the third Monday, falling within the week after the fourteenth. When the fourteenth is itself a Sunday, the weekend stretches to three days. That shift decides where the roses travel best, to a desk downtown on a weekday or to a front door once the long weekend opens.

Red French roses for a February when BC's fields are bare

Fraser Valley farms supply much of what blooms around Vancouver, tulips, daffodils, sunflowers and peonies among them, but none of that is in flower in February. Tulips in Abbotsford open from April to May, and peonies across the Pacific Northwest wait until June and July. By the fourteenth the valley's fields have nothing in bloom, so the rose on a Vancouver counter that week has already flown a long way.

Canada's cut-flower imports come mainly from two countries: Colombia supplies roughly 57 per cent by value and Ecuador about 24 per cent, together close to four-fifths of everything bought in. A French rose is not a variety but a florist's finish, each outer petal turned back by hand so the bloom opens wider than an ordinary bud. The simplest choice is 11 Red French Roses or 11 White French Roses, both among the French roses.

When the fourteenth falls on a weekday, the flowers usually reach someone at work rather than at home. A box of roses or a basket suits that trip best, since the stems sit in soaked foam and need no vase waiting on a desk. The courier needs the company name and the floor, and where the building runs a pass system, reception takes the delivery, and the sender is told who received it.

A weekend delivery goes straight to the door. When the long Family Day weekend follows close behind, the bouquet has the whole holiday stretch ahead of it, rather than a few hours at a desk. One detail: around 26 per cent of Vancouver's residents are of Chinese background, and in that tradition white flowers mark mourning, four stems are avoided, and a bouquet is handed over with both hands.

Valentine's flower delivery in Vancouver, with strawberries or chocolate

Roses rarely travel alone on the fourteenth. Chocolate-dipped strawberries or a box such as Belgian Chocolate Lips sit well next to them. The card that goes with the order costs nothing extra, whether it is signed or sent anonymously.

On Valentine's Day in Vancouver, orders run at several times the usual volume, and delivery slots widen accordingly. On this day delivery to the exact minute isn't promised, so the safer move is booking the date and slot ahead rather than on the morning itself. The florist photographs the finished bouquet before the courier leaves, under the delivery terms set for any date. Rain, hotel deliveries and ordering by phone instead of the site are covered on the flowers page.

The easiest place to start is the roses themselves, chosen red or white, or around a wider spread of flowers for loved ones if roses alone feel too narrow. A box travels better than an open bouquet whenever the address is a desk rather than a front door.