Flower shops blossoming for Mother's Day

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

Do you know your mother likes flowers and plants, but you can't tell a daisy from a daffodil? All worked up over what to get her on Mother's Day? Well, there is no need to be a wallflower. West Island flower shops have well prepared themselves for Mother's Day and are happy to help you make your selection.

"There's a rush of flowers and bloom plants (right now,)" said Patrick Mascioli, manager at Floriste Camille in Pierrefonds. According to him, popular presents include all sorts of flower bouquets, as well as blooming plants, such as azaleas.

"They're all medium maintenance," said Mascioli. Azaleas or Persian violets require a lot of love and care, he added. Their soil always has to be at least somewhat humid, and direct sunlight affects them a lot, so keep them in the shade.

Camille is also well-armed to deal with customers who shop at absolutely the last minute and do not have the time to make elaborate decisions. "We pre-make 500 bouquets for just same-day pickups," Mascioli explained. However, if you really want to make a careful selection, arriving four-five days ahead of time to place your order is recommended.

Over at Floriste Karisma in Beaconsfield, owner and manager Sylva Yvanova is expecting a rush of customers as of next week for the big day. "It's still a little early," she told The Chronicle last Wednesday.

A new business that just started last year, Yvanova said her store still attracts mostly women, as men are more conservative in their flower-buying habits and tend to gravitate toward what they already know. One effect of having more women shoppers is that they are usually more familiar with their mothers' tastes. "If it's your mother, you know (their favourite flowers)," she said.

However, if a customer arrives without such knowledge, Yvanova said she can still start building personalized bouquets based on the mother's favourite colours. "So if they like pink and white, we can start by using pink and white, for example."

Both shops said they would expect traffic to be very high during Mother's Day, even more than Valentine's Day.

Whereas Valentine's Day buyers are usually men, everyone buys presents for their mothers. "Not everyone has a wife or a lover," said Yvanova, but everyone does have a mom.

Hollandia Plantes in Dollard des Ormeaux manager Helen Yim said her store is certainly seeing more business already in preparation for Mother's Day. It is the place to be for affordable arrangements of cut flowers. "We start at $3.99 for small bouquets," she said.