Flowers make popular last-minute Valentine's Day gift
The bloom is on.
Kroger, the worlds largest florist, is extending hours Tuesday for Valentines Day shoppers rushing to buy roses, orchids and other sweet-smelling tokens of affection.
Its the busiest day of the year for most florists, including Kroger. Company officials declined to release financial figures or even say how many bouquets they sell each Feb. 14. But its a safe bet that the No. 1 seller will again be a dozen long-stemmed, red Private Selection roses for $19, said Rachel Betzler, Kroger spokeswoman.
Most customers at the Kroger in Hyde Park are men; most pick the traditional, time-honored favorite: red roses, said florist Bryan Goesling. In his 28 years as a Kroger florist, hes seen Valentines floral shopping become increasingly last-minute, to the point where 85 percent of customers wait until Valentines Day to make their selections.
But one customer on Sunday acted early and extravagantly. Goesling had put together a 3 1/2-foot-tall
Donnalear Robinson, the owner of Hyde Park Florist, where Obama once bought bouquets for his daughters' ballet recitals, said she "loves" his trips home. "I'd like to see him come home a little more, but I know he's busy and he has other things to do,"
I had no idea this new business was going to take off like it is," said Lacognata, who will keep another Coco Brazil store open in Tampa's Old Hyde Park Village. She has signed 67 stores across the country to carry the line. Her departure leaves 1582
Local salon and fitness center, BeneFit, rehabbed one of the neighborhood's historical buildings while Del Apgar, a florist in Hyde Park, recently opened a new space on Eastern Avenue. "I think the retail businesses are focusing on the needs of what we