Sending flowers is a common activity for some, and a rare gesture for others.
However often one sends them, though, it is always a special day to whoever receives them.
Flowers are one of the few media which speaks in an almost universal language, and which are able to convey a diversity of emotions from sympathy to compliments and everything in between.
Many people choose to send floral arrangements to mark certain holidays, such as Easter, Valentine's Day, and the ever popular Mothers' Day.
In expectation of these holidays, a florist will usually prepare special arrangements in color schemes and traditional flora specific to the day, and larger floral shops may even have a variety of holiday-themed arrangements from which a patron can choose.
It is also popular to mark personal occasions like birthdays and funerals with an arrangement.
This is especially common when the sender cannot attend in person, but wishes to convey his or her sentiments in a universally understood medium.
For such occasions, many buyers choose to select the component flowers themselves (usually with the help of the florist's expertise to guide them), but most florists have a few standby arrangements for those who lack confidence in their inner floral designer.
Often, you will see certain blossoms recurring in consistent themes when looking in the window of a florist's shop.
This is because many plants have specific meanings and associations attached to them.
Sometimes the significance is an ancient one, like the millennia-old association of lilies with spring and rebirth.
This is why lilies are given for Easter, the Christian holiday of Jesus' return from death.
Roses are usually associated with romance, a tradition immortalized in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Juliet's famous line, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
" Sending flowers is not a perfect system, however.
Almost everyone knows, for example, that a single red rose is a tacit way of saying "I love you," but many men would still feel uncomfortable accepting such a gesture.
Also, if the sender does not know the recipient well enough, there is a very real chance that he or she may unintentionally deliver sneezing, a runny nose, and watery eyes to the new mom in the maternity ward.
And of course, there is always inevitable death of the stems.
This may be one reason some people send floral arrangements in the first place: they may not know their recipients well enough to know what kind of present to buy.
If any of the above are a problem, there are many alternatives to fresh cut flowers that still work in much the same way.
Gift baskets are very popular and come with a variety of contents.
There is a basket out there for everyone from chocoholics, to spa aficionados, to cheese and meat lovers.
If even these are too specific, or just don't suit the recipient, the safest bet is still the gift card.
Gift cards can be purchased at individual stores the recipient is known to frequent, or from one's bank or credit card company, allowing the recipient to spend the money however he or she chooses.
Whatever one chooses to give, there is still no doubting the power of flowers to convey a vast array of sentiments.
Flowers can say anything from "I'm sorry for your loss," to "Congratulations on your new baby!" The organization of different species and color variations can be considered an art form unto itself, with different tones and styles evoking different emotions.
With such complexities inherent in every arrangement the florist makes, it is easy to see why so many people choose to send them to friends and family across the street and across the country.