I love roses in general, and while red ones are impressive, I confess I have more of an affinity for Osiana roses. They are somewhere between orange and pink, with many describing certain strands as peach-coloured. I discovered them at a flower shop in downtown Ottawa back in ’95 when I was working in a very drab office with high walls, twisting corridors, and no windows anywhere near me. Each week or so, I would pick up some flowers to brighten up the office.
Yet I often hesitate to shell out the big bucks for them as gifts. I’d rather go out for dinner than buy something a friend of mine laments are “just going to die”. Valentine’s Day is the law of supply and demand at its worst. High demand, limited supply, very few substitutes for roses = high prices, almost predatory even. I remember sending some to a friend one time when she was feeling down and alone, and at the rate I was charged for Valentine’s Day, she could have had flowers every week for a month in just about any other month of the year.
So Jacob and I occasionally grab simple flowers if we want to give Andrea flowers, or a seasonal plant, perhaps. But back in 2005, Andrea was away for Valentine’s Day, and I wanted to get some flowers for her return. It was a pretty decent bouquet, if I do say so myself. There used to be a flower shop in the mall at work, long gone now. But it met the need that day.
