With a flower delivery service you can order flowers online and have them delivered anywhere in the USA that has a physical location (no PO Boxes). You just need a name and address. You can have flowers delivered to a home, apartment, place of work, a funeral home, etc.

Many online flower delivery websites contract with local florists to fulfill their orders. Others have their own growers and stores. Some online florists are more transparent about this than others. There are advantages to both.

When you place an order online, the website may tell you that your order will be fulfilled by an “affiliated florist.” This means that your order will be transmitted electronically to a local florist. They will arrange your flowers and deliver it themselves. So even though you order from a wire service like FTD or Teleflora, the flowers may be delivered by a local company. This is good because the flowers will be fresh and if there are any problems you know who to go to.

The wire services provide the networks for independent shops and facilitate the transfer of orders nationally and internationally. This helps allow a seamless, speedy method of delivery of fresh flowers around the world.

Be aware that your flower arrangement may not look exactly as you expect based on what you saw online. That’s because most arrangements you order online include a photograph that represents the type of arrangement that will be delivered. This is not an exact image of the exact arrangement. The florist will try to deliver an arrangement as close to the picture as possible. The more exotic or precise the picture, the less likely your arrangement will look like it. Having worked at a florist we always did our best to match what the customer ordered, but sometimes we couldn’t do it for the price or else we didn’t have the particular items in stock.

Some online florists have their own distribution centers across the country and they ship all orders directly from these sources. The flowers may be coming from another country. Just remember that even if your order is sub-contracted to a local florist, the website you order from will accept your payment directly. The web site owners pay a fee to the online store who referred them and pay them for your order.

Here are some florists we recommend who offer flower delivery:

JustFlowers.com

USA Florist

Flowers for Mothers Day

I go for the classic when it comes to Mother’s Day – I buy my mom flowers. If you need some help, check out JustFlowers Mother’s Day collection. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10th, so about a month away. Make sure you order early because Mother’s Day is 2nd to Valentine’s Day in the florist business – expect it to be busy! I got my start in the florist business delivering flowers on Mothers Day. After that the florist offered me a job year-round and it turned out to be one of my favorite jobs ever (hence the site and blog).

Here are my recommendations for Mothers Day Flowers:

• Even though they’re gorgeous for Spring – avoid tulips. They fall apart too easily.
• Consider a potted Easter lily or other flowering plant so your mom can enjoy the flowers for weeks. Pansies are simple, hearty and beautiful – I planted one in a pot I bought at Walmart. It looks classy and is easy on the budget.
• Older moms might appreciate a wrist corsage – esp. if she goes to church. She’ll feel special and can show off her flowers to her friends.
• Lilies of all kinds are very hardy and I love them mixed with roses (not red but colored roses).
• My favorite is monochromatic flower mixes – so all white with touches of color – or all in a similar color scheme.

If you’re not getting flowers for your mom, what are you planning to get her? And don’t worry I won’t tell her!

Judging from our web site, many people are probably looking for an online florist with same day delivery. JustFlowers, a site that we review provides same day delivery. It’s probably too late for Valentine’s Day delivery but you could try!

Other online florists who have same day delivery are below:

USAFlorist.com

FlowerDelivery has the following terms for same day delivery:

Express Delivery

We are normally able to deliver within 4 hours on florist delivered orders when our express delivery option is available during checkout. If your item is not delivered within 4 hours we can credit your express delivery fee back to your account. We will do our best to deliver within that time frame.

Same-day orders are processed immediately, and usually cannot be changed. Due to the urgent nature of florist delivered products we are unable to cancel or change orders already in process at the florist, en route or delivered.

I worked two Valentine’s Days at a local florist and it was TOTALLY CRAZY. We were working for days on end with little sleep getting ready. Sometimes we could hardly see straight. Then a customer would come in on Valentine’s Day and make a large order. We couldn’t really handle it then – though this year, with the economy, maybe you could get away with it. But I recommend planning in advance.

Please remember to TIP your flower delivery person and be kind. It’s the biggest day of the year for florists but while fun, it’s also a little bit stressful. Tomorrow I’ll tell you my favorite flower delivery story that happened on Valentine’s Day.