Valentine’s Day. It’s a day where many men start breaking out in cold sweats and where women giddily prepare themselves to be lovingly romanced.
The ‘traditional’ Valentine’s Day is actually a feast day for Saint Valentine most likely named after a Christian Roman priest. According to legend and the Encyclopedia Britannica, he signed a letter to his jailer’s daughter whom he had fallen in love with “from your Valentine.” Unfortunately, Saint Valentine was martyred in 270 A.D. by Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus during the prosecution of Christians. How’s that for a tragic love story?
In Morgan Hill 2012 A.D. the stories are a little different: chocolates, valentine cards and long-stemmed red roses now replace martyrdom, but perhaps not the tradition of signing a card ‘from your Valentine.’
For local florists, Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest business days of the year. The Flower Cottage of Morgan Hill, located on 16815 Monterey Road and in business since 1977, has seen plenty of hectic Valentine’s Days. Owner Pat Samples, 60, took over for her parents Sophie and Dan Ortez 20 years ago.
Inside the cozy cottage is a plethora of all sorts of flowers: roses, carnations, you name it, they probably have it as long as it’s local. Samples prides herself in supporting California’s agriculture by buying most of her flowers from nearby Watsonville.
“I buy local as much as I can. I don’t like to buy imports unless I have to because I want to support my local growers,” said Samples.
But on Valentine’s Day, the number one seller, what 90 percent of men buy for their significant others, are red roses.
“Men want red for love,” she said. “Pink is for lust, so we get some of those too.”
Samples began preparing for the special day nearly two weeks in advance, ordering about 300 dozen red roses.
With up to 500 deliveries today with eight trucks throughout South County to Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin, Hollister and even San Jose, only four full-time employees and two part-time, the Flower Cottage is as busy as a beehive on Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s is the biggest one-day sale,” she said the Friday before Valentine’s Day behind the counter as several employees buzzed about setting up floral arrangements. “This year it’s two days, the 13th and 14th. Christmas is all month, Mother’s Day is all-week.”
Samples had a special deal this year for orders of deliveries made on the 13th, they would receive a bag of chocolates. Yet most people want their deliveries made the morning of Valentine’s Day.
“If you give it to her at 5 o’clock when she’s going home, you’re out of the hunt, they’ll want a refund,” said Samples.
She said she gets the occasional phone call from men ordering flowers that want their deliveries when their significant other gets home. “So I say, ‘Well, where does she work?’ Like, hello! A woman wants them at work, at home nobody sees them!”
Samples said she receives 80 percent of orders from men. Women who order flowers do so the week before, to remind their significant others that Valentine’s Day is coming up.
The worst thing that could happen for a florists on Valentine’s Day is for the weather to ruin the day’s flowers. That’s exactly what happened in 1997 when high winds knocked down all of the pre-arranged flowers in their outdoor area of the cottage the day before Feb. 14.
“We were up all night working on those flowers, went home and slept for a couple of hours, came back and those flowers were just everywhere. It was horrible,” Samples recalls.
They were able to salvage most of the flowers and arrangements, although every year Samples’ husband worries the same will happen again.
Since 1977, Samples has updated the business with a web site and services where people can order online. The most complaints she gets however, come from those who order online and who have unrealistic expectations about what their flowers will look like.
“Things look more grand online than you can possibly make it in a vase so people have to keep a perspective of what it’s like. Mother nature makes it, you know, they’re not perfect. These flowers, they’re nature. We all have blemishes right?,” she said.
As a florist, Samples should worry about competition from grocery stores or even street vendors. But, Samples said those other businesses serve a benefit to her floral shop.
“I’m not one florist who is upset because Trader Joe’s or Safeway has flowers. I’m happy because you know what it’s done? People go the grocery store and see flowers, and think flowers. And when they need something like for a funeral or wedding, they come here,” said Samples.
She also doesn’t see street vendors as a huge threat to her business.
“It hurts the business but, you go over there and you buy once. If they need to complain to someone, there’s no one to go to complain to. So here, if they have a complaint, we’re here six days a week,” Samples said.
What does bother her however, is when people ask why her prices are much higher than street vendor prices. Samples’ overhead costs include insurance, taxes and a business license. Street vendors don’t necessarily have any of those expenses, which lowers their cost. Samples sells, for example, a dozen roses anywhere from $79 to $99.
Over at Stems Floral Boutique, located at 423 Vineyard Town Center, florists and owner Diana Rasta, 45, also has a positive perspective on grocery stores and street vendors.
“God has a plan for all of us. If that is meant for me, to have food on the table, then no one else can take that away. I don’t feel like I am hurting someone else, I think there is enough business for everyone … Those people need jobs,” said Rasta, who has been in business since 2006.
Rasta said she loves the idea of Valentine’s Day as a day for others to celebrate their love for one another.
“I have my own fairy tale about Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is not much more then giving a dozen long-stemmed roses once a year. It is a yearly reminder about the importance of keeping the passionate embers burning all year long,” she said.
She suggested instead of giving flowers just one day a year, why not show your loved one a constant reminder with a single red rose once a month?
Rasta’s shop, which is a boutique of home décor filled with candles, artwork, lamps, vases and more, says her shop also has about 500 flower deliveries on Valentine’s Day.
“The rewarding part for me is people come afterward … and put their head in my door and go ‘Diana, thank you so much, I loved my flowers!’,” she said.
Her wide-variety of flowers are imported from Holland, Amsterdam, England, Columbia, South America or even Hawaii. Her European-style store and floral arrangements comes from her studies in Germany, where she worked in a flower shop. She wants her arrangements to be unique, which is why she adds a signature orchid flower to some of her arrangements.
For Valentine’s Day, Stems’ hand-tied mixed bouquet of flowers goes for $49 while local long-stemmed red roses, the most popular for her shop for Feb. 14, goes for $89. For military service men and women, Rasta is offering a 50 percent discount to a dozen long stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day itself.
“I do love Valentines Day. That makes me think about how many people are passionate and love one another,” said Rasta.
