Sending flowers used to be special. And while I’m the first one to defend tech upgrades, in this case, the internet kind of ruined it.
Instead of beautiful, fresh flowers picked lovingly by an admirer or close friend and delivered to your door with a smile, it became about sad, generic flowers shoved in a box that ended up sitting on your porch all day while you were at work… and now you have to spend 20 minutes unpacking them, only to find half are dead. So romantic!
The good news: This new indie flower delivery site may be able to bring the shriveled plant of a situation back to life. And in the most stylish way ever.
If using 1-800-Flowers is like ordering pizza from Domino’s, choosing Floom is like using Caviar to get a wood-fired pizza made with local vegetables delivered. In other words, you end up with better quality flowers made by talented people with great taste and who care about the product, from independent, local spots.
(See the photo above for the bouquet I ordered. Beautiful)
I got particularly excited when I found out about Floom because the holidays are the perfect time to refresh and ante up your flower game, whether that means decorating your own place with festive blooms or sending cheer to someone else.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Floom curates local, independent florists on its site. Emphasis on the word curate: Each bouquet is more beautiful than the next. When you browse arrangements, you can click through to see where that specific pick will be coming from, including details about the florist. For instance, I clicked through to find out more about a bouquet that was from Los Angeles’ Foxgloves and Folly and got a full intro to the florist, Kate, who “honed her floristry skills” in London and describes her current style as “natural, loose, asymmetrical and free flowing with lots of seasonal greenery, foliage and textures.”
Just like me: Natural, asymmetrical and full of texture. We’re a match!
And since florists like Kate are driving what’s available on the site, the choices are much more diverse and design-forward than a standard online flower site. You’ll find everything from rustic wildflower arrangements to super modern, avant garde bouquets.
Finally, the flowers are fresh. You’re putting in your zip code (or the zip code of a lucky friend!) and getting flowers from that neighborhood delivered, as opposed to having them come from a warehouse from who-knows-where and sitting on a truck for days.
The one downside? Right now delivery is only available in select parts of Los Angeles and New York City, so if you live in another locale, you’ll have to wait for Floom to expand.
Or hey, you could always try your luck with the grocery store flowers. I’m going to shun the crystanthemums this year and go for the Floom upgrade.
Have you tried Floom, yet? Share your flower delivery experiences, good and bad, in the comments below!
