Pop & Circumstance | Guidebook for Beautiful Living

Roses and boxed chocolates have long been the hallmarks of Valentine’s Day, but this year let’s shake it up a little! There are plenty of blooms beyond roses that signify romance. Guys, you will actually get credit for getting creative (and you can leave it to the professionals, you just have to know what to ask for). In my search for a stunning alternative arrangement I turned to one of the nation’s most renowned florists, Winston Flowers.

Winston Flowers is a third generation and family owned company which started from humble roots in 1944 with just a push cart on Newbury Street. Founder Maynard Wilson was one of the first to import flowers from overseas to expand his inventory and offer clients exceptional options. Having long been innovators in their industry, I knew that Winston Flowers would be happy to take on my unique request.

Manager of the Financial District store, Liz Hylan Ferreira, graciously showed me around the shop and introduced me to their Valentine’s Day collection. She described the process of designing the Valentine’s Day collection as being similar to a fashion designer doing a small capsule collection (it is NYFW this week after all). Each piece in the collection is elegant, sophisticated, and sensuous.

With 120 drivers making deliveries and 6,000 orders to be delivered on Thursday alone, Winston estimates that they will deliver more than 350,000 roses this week. Even with the huge uptick in orders, each arrangement is individually assembled by a Winston’s floral designer, assuring the highest attention to detail and quality. In addition to roses, the diverse collection offers plenty of out of the box options. I’m happy to be highlighting 3 of these special options just in time for the holiday!

All three arrangements are breathtaking in person. Each comes in a sleek black (and very heavy) glass container, which is an impressive gift in and of itself. All of the vases and vessels that Winston uses are custom made for the company. David Winston travels the world to find unique containers to pair with the impressive arrangements.

The first arrangement is a beautiful arc of orchids over plum anthurium lilies. Orchids are an exotic pick and I love the vibrant hues. If you like this arrangement, it’s most similar to the Fuschia Rhapsody offered in Winston’s online shop.

This gathering of deep purple tulips makes me daydream about a never-ending Dutch field of flowers. Bunches of these richly colored tulips spread throughout the shop made it feel like a European flower market. Although it’s a tough choice, I have to say this arrangement was my favorite.

The Amethyst Gathering is a European gathered design of magenta woodstock hyacinth, purple tulips and pink calla lilies. The three flowers blend brilliantly to make the perfect mix of colors and scents. Just like any retail business, Winston Flowers has their own buying team and has developed great relationships worldwide with growers. All of the flowers that come to the shop are grown only for them. I was blown away to find out that Winston is currently getting 95% of all the woodstock hyacinth grown in the world.

Count on Winston to leave no detail overlooked. Their bags are heavy, waterproof and perfect for commuting clients to “carry and go.” They also offer artisanal chocolates in boxes of 8 or 18, so you can take care of everything in one stop. I included a shot of one of their rose arrangements to satisfy the rose lovers. Even this gathering offers a twist on tradition with the addition of orchids. There are so many sophisticated options and I highly suggest you stop into one of the Winston locations tomorrow or Thursday! Happy Valentine’s everyone!

I’d love to hear which of the arrangements is your favorite! Do you like the arc of orchids, bunch of tulips, or gathering of calla lilies, hyacinth and tulips? Or do you prefer a traditional rose arrangement?