Bare: Get creative for your valentine

You might not want to listen to me today. I'm about to suggest that you give your Valentine something other than a dozen roses. It might get you in trouble.

After all, roses top the import- and domestic-flower charts as the most popular cut flower. In 2010, floriculture was a $35.2 billion industry, according to the Society of American Florists. Fourteen percent of floral arrangements are bought for calendar occasions such as the day dedicated to sweethearts.

And while I would have bet the cost of a dozen roses that Valentine's Day is the No. 1 occasion to give flowers, the SAF says other occasions trump it. Christmas and Hanukkah garner 30 percent, Mother's Day 24 percent and Valentine's Day clocks in at 20 percent in third place.

I didn't think this opinion would be shared by the local florists I talked to while trying to get a grip on what the options for a rose-weary wooer would be. Of the four folks I spoke with, only one thought Mother's Day was bigger than Valentine's Day. "Everybody has a mother," said Marilyn Ruff of Ruff's Flower & Gift Shop, 612 S. Poplar St., "not everybody has a sweetheart." I would like to introduce the idea that not giving roses does not mean your intended isn't worthy of them. Instead, she is deserving of a more creative expression of your love. At least that can be your standard answer.

If you want to go for something different, there are options. Denise Gregory, who partners with Lisa Schaner at Imagine Flowers, 560 N. Trade St., suggested the Mokara orchid. These are hybrids between three genera of orchids that come in purple, pink, rusty oranges and yellows. They are purported to be long-lasting.

Gregory said she likes to combine these and others with the new lime-green hydrangeas that are available year-round.

"We try to give everyone a lush, gardeny look," Gregory said. "We never count flowers or use a formula for arrangements. No two come out looking the same."

Gregory said they also use a lot of green material from outdoors, aucuba and camellia foliage in particular. "We would like to get people out of that whole dozen-rose mindset," Gregory said.

"We do have lots of folks who prefer to do something different than roses," said Price Davis of Price Davis Florist, 1166 Burke St. "We probably do about half our business in roses on Valentine's."

Davis said they do many spring flower arrangements as well as roses, things like irises, tulips and hyacinths. Davis said there are many exciting new flowers coming into the trade from Japan and Europe, but the price point is way too high for Winston-Salem:

"Bouquets of sweet peas for $500, stunning ranunculus — good stuff, but for a more specialized market."

"A lot of men don't know their flowers. All they know is a red rose, and so they leave it up to us," Ruff said.

Ruff's shop does mixed arrangements with an old-fashioned look that might include lilies, stocks and alstroemerias in a pink, purple and white color scheme. They usually throw in a few roses for good measure. They also do a bit of business in potted plants, such as hydrangeas and hyacinths that can be planted outside later.

Margie Imus at MingleWood Florist, 1100 Reynolda Road at Robinhood and Reynolda roads, said one of her concerns is how far flowers travel. Much of the trade in cut flowers originates in Central and South America.

MingleWood works a lot with spring flowers, bulbs and woody ornamentals that have been forced into flower, such as pussy willows.

"One of my favorites we try to work into arrangements that is blooming now is daphne, one of the most aromatic of shrubs," Imus said.

Imus also is sourcing some flowers that are grown in greenhouses in Wilmington. These include Asiatic lilies, larkspur and delphiniums.

I have learned that in matters of the heart it's good to cover your bases, so let me say this: There is not a thing wrong with tradition. Love and roses are inextricably entwined in the romantic mind. If you are a traditionalist, go for it. If not, there are options.