To Have and to Hold

Basic design trends turn towards monochromatic nature tones as designers look to create serene environments. Against these muted backdrops, flowers and accessories become perfect color accents, easily and inexpensively interchangeable.

Current flower trends ride the same wave of simplicity and sophistication. Single color arrangements featuring only one flower variety invoke a sense of minimalism.

Spring trends celebrate the enchantment of scented flowers, such as lilies, stock and roses.

Your Gift is a Reflection of You

"I send flowers when it's crucial to make a good impression," says Toby Daniels, director of Wealth Advisors, LLC, an Oregon-based consulting firm. "Candy is too risky, wine may be offensive to a non-drinker, and how favorably will a new client think of me when a fruit basket sits untouched in a coffee room? Flowers, on the other hand, support the image I want my clients to remember."

Your gift is truly a reflection of yourself. It expresses your style, your taste, your attention to details, your standards and your commitment to quality. The perfect gift can cement new relationships and revive old ones. It incites good work and shows proper recognition.

So why flowers? They get noticed. In a corporate world where everyone looks to stand apart from the competition, the emotional tie to fresh flowers is imminent. Perhaps it's because they are alive upon receipt, maybe it's the decadence of their pure aesthetic value, possibly it's because so many people never think to buy flowers for themselves. Whatever the reason, people remember getting flowers. And they remember who sent them.

People also tend to place flowers in visible locations and sing the praises of the sender. Flowers of the highest quality reflect a sense of taste and elegance, and a long vase life keeps the good feelings toward the sender alive.

Meredith Smith of carOrder.com began sending Flowerbud.com flowers with each new auto purchase. "We send a box of flowers to congratulate the customers on their new cars, and it's amazing how much of a response we get from the flowers! They were expecting the car, but not the flowers, and that little extra effort makes such a difference."