Say it with flowers
"Say it with flowers" is, to me, the perfect marketing slogan. Conceived in 1917 and never copyrighted it's such a good encapsulation of everything it needs to be. The default gift or gesture for the indecisive and inarticulate.
Obviously Valentine's is a huge deal for florists. It's their Christmas. As well as Christmas. Mother's Day is massive as well. But also everyday birthdays, anniversaries, sympathies, congratulations, apologies, and gloomy Tuesdays to brighten up.
Flowers for every occasion. Not sure what to say or do? Flowers. That's marketing. It's rampant consumerism but as a sentence it does its job perfectly and I respect that.
There's probably been a huge amount of panic buying flowers this weekend. In which case what is being said with those flowers is not very complimentary.
A lot of people object to cut flowers philosophically. They just die, etc. And environmentally. They are generally coming long distances. I think in the UK a lot come from Kenya, for instance, though the Netherlands is a big player and there's more of a push for UK nurseries. All completely reasonable objections. I mostly grow veg in my garden but I do try to grow some flowers because I care more about the latter complaint than the former.
The massive seasonality in the shops is always curious. It seems to make some people really mad. Valentine's cards in the shops in January! they storm. Easter Eggs in February! Hot cross buns in - and here I interject. Steady on now. I'll eat hot cross buns all year round, I love them.
The thing is, it works. Shops don't do this for fun, they do it because they make money on it. They treat us like mindless consumers who will buy stuff just because it's there... because we are.
My hairdresser told me just before Christmas was their busiest time of year. When I was getting my hair cut just before Christmas. I knew that was true of retail... but hairdressers? Yep. Second busiest: just before the school summer holidays. Which makes sense.
I'm not going to buy any flowers but I will snip some of the bright yellow jasmine from the garden to put on the dining table. And what I'm saying with that is "I wish winter was over already."