In Bloom

An open admission, I love flowers. My thumb is the opposite of green and I would not be able to name most easily distinguishable species. But there’s just something innately satisfying when it comes to looking at flowers. I think flowers started to deeply resonate with me from my years at Temple Ambler. Going to a campus that was an arboretum really encapsulated me in the natural beauty surrounding me.

So here’s the flower edition of Your Gift Giving Bro.

A Quick Guide to Buying Flowers

Online options i’ve used:

• Bouqs - This is subscription based model so keep that in mind if you’re ordering from here. They also don’t have the flowers already packaged in the containers. Your recipient will need to cut the stems. I also got an AMEX offer which paired with a first time purchase discount covered most of the cost the first time I sent it out.

• Teleflora - My go to for sending flowers. Mostly because of the ease and convenience. This is another one that AMEX will regularly provide offers for.

• There is no shortage of online options. I’m sure I’ll try others in the future.

Your local florist - I was visiting some of my favorite people in Sarasota last November. And I stopped by a local florist to purchase some thank you flowers for my host. (See cover photo for this article). I spent the first part of the conversation negotiating price. Then as the florist arranged three bouquets on the spot, he educated me about everything that goes into: sourcing, financing, importing, arranging, and selling flowers. It was like attending a masterclass on being a florist. That conversation reaffirmed my belief to try and buy from a local florist whenever possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, check out The Farmer’s Petals.

Grocery Store - I basically keep the florist at my local Wegmans on retainer.

Don’t like live flowers? Tired of sneezing all the time?

• Paper Flowers from Unwilted

• Pop Up Flower Cards from Fresh Cut Paper or Love Pop

• Wood Flowers from Sola Wood Flowers

• Crochet Flowers from The Bloom Crafter or Forever Florist London

• Build Your Own Lego Flowers

• Make Origami flowers

Now Go See Some Flowers

(Highlighting Philadelphia Area options. Sorry to my non Philly readers)

• Philadelphia Flower Show

• Sunflower/Tulip Field

• Wildflower Field

• Longwood Gardens

• The plethora of local gardens. I recommend having a Summer picnic at one.

To the guys reading, this is your sign to go buy some flowers. Women drop some not so subtle hints to the men in your lives to buy you some flowers. Or just follow Miley’s advice and buy your own damn flowers. But I hope everyone gets to enjoy some flowers this week.

Keep on giving,

Your Gift Giving Bro

Have a suggested topic for me to write about? Drop a comment or reply to this email!

P.S. I’ve created a website to house my gift giving resources and experiments: ineedagift.net is now live.

P.P.S I’m looking for stories about gifts that are insanely memorable, incredibly thoughtful, or transformational. If you have a story you’d want to share that I can write about, please fill out this form. If your story is selected, you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card.