I’ve always thought that in my previous life, I was probably a florist.
For some reason, I’ve always enjoyed flowers and especially picking out a nice arrangement for that special someone. When I was much younger, that person was my mom, and these days it’s my wife, Mary.
So whenever Valentine’s Day rolls around, I look forward to taking a trip to a local flower shop, looking through the selection of fresh cut flowers and putting together a bouquet that I know my love will appreciate.
Don’t get me wrong, the arrangements already in the cooler are great and will be much appreciated by whoever receives them, but I personally like the challenge of picking out different varieties and colors to make it my own.
Now I know that Valentine’s Day is next week, and this story had to be written last week, so of course that meant my wife was going to get her flowers a little early, but as you can probably guess, she enjoyed them just as much.
There are many great places to get flowers in Concord, but I had to choose one. So on my way home last Friday, I swung by D. McLeod Florist at 49 S. State St.
I had met owner Fred Keach last year during our Valentine’s issue, and he once again was there to help out.
I explained what I wanted to do, and so he brought me back to the cooler – which he or any other employee will do for you as well; it’s not just because of our Insider fame – and let me scope out the selection.
While he said the inventory was a little low, I felt there was more than enough to choose from. It was more of finding the right combination.
After scoping out all the flowers on hand, I started with a pair of purple carnations (two different shades, of course). I added two snapdragons, one purple and the other pink. A white mum, yellow gerbera daisy and rubrum lily were must-haves.
To cap it all off, I put in a single dark purple iris and a stem of red spray roses, which are smaller than your traditional rose and have multiple blooms.
And just so you know, I didn’t know all the names, but I’ve seen them all before and bought most of them previously as well.
“Most people aren’t familiar with flower names, but if they see it, they know what they like,” Keach said.
As you can see from the picture, I knocked this arrangement out of the park, and it was a nice surprise for my wife when she got home from a long day at work.
While I went to McLeod’s and was more than happy with both the flowers and the service, like I said before, there are a couple other great florists in town that will set you up nicely to make your special someone’s Valentine’s Day. There’s Cobblestone Design Company at 89 Fort Eddy Road (in the Planet Fitness plaza) and Cole Gardens, 430 Loudon Road.
And good luck picking out your arrangement. Just remember, they’ll love it no matter what you put in that vase. But don’t wait till the last minute, because even though most places will have thousands of roses on hand, you don’t want to miss out.
