A Strange February For Florists In The United States

Illustration. (Alisa Anton / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - In the flower shop business since 40 years ago, Deborah De La Flor has never experienced a February like this year. On the one hand, she still takes orders for loved ones. On the other hand, she also serves orders for loved ones who have passed away.

"When someone says 'I love you', they will send an 'I love you' card", she said as she was preparing a bouquet and cards for Valentine's Day while making sure other orders were fulfilled for those who had lost loved ones due to COVID-19.

The week leading up to Valentine's Day is the busiest and most profitable time for the woman who runs a flower shop business called De La Florist & Gardens near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States.

Three thousand miles away in Los Angeles, florist Fernando Perata has helped more than 100 families in the past two months who have lost family members to the coronavirus. Many of the bereaved families were old clients.

Illustration. (Roman Kraft / Unsplash)

“One day you see the client, the next day they leave. Usually, the mother for years buys flowers for her children. Recently, his sons and daughters came to buy roses for their mother's funeral”, said Perata, reported Reuters.

It is ironic that the flower industry is worth up to 35 billion dollars that come from the joys, sorrows, and accomplishments of others. Where Valentine's Day on February 14 coincides with an increase in the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States which is approaching 460 thousand people.

The CEO of California Flower Mall, one of the largest flower shops in downtown Los Angeles, Mark Chatoff said, when California imposed its first lockdown in March, several flower shops were closed as weddings, graduations, conventions, and other major events were postponed or canceled almost overnight. Then came the pandemic funeral.

"This is Valentine's Day and funeral day. We are busy because of the funeral. It tastes bitterly sweet, we are busy for the wrong reasons", explained Mark Chatoff.

Meanwhile, with a heavy heart, David Flowers is forced to turn down a family looking for funeral flowers because of his Valentine's Day flower request.

Illustration. (adrianna geo / Unsplash)

"It's sad. It breaks our hearts. It's very difficult to tell the family that we can't make flowers for their funeral. We know a lot about them. They send their family members to the hospital, a few days later they die. They tell their stories", said Alvarez.

Alvarez said it was difficult to tell grieving people how much funeral flowers cost. Due to the supply crisis, and heavy demand, the price of funeral bouquets has gone from USD 85 to USD 120 in just a few weeks.

“Many of these families, they don't have jobs. It's a lot of money for them. We want to help them and give them the original price, but we can't. Flowers are very expensive now", he explained.

According to the Society of American Florists, the largest trading group representing the US flower industry, most of the flowers sold in the country are imported from Colombia and Ecuador.