Mother’s Day flowers: Choose wisely Pick the best of the bunch
27 March 2011
Which? Gardening experts examine the flowers
Can’t make it home for Mother’s Day this year? If you’re thinking about sending flowers on April 3, pick your bouquet carefully to avoid disappointing your mum.
In a snapshot study, experts from Which? Gardening have rated flowers from six online florists on criteria including quality, condition, longevity and similarity to photos on the website. They were disappointed to find that the Marks & Spencer bouquet arrived a day late, while Interflora's was dead within a week.
Which? Gardening editor Ceri Thomas said: 'Mother’s Day is a good excuse to spoil our mums and thank them for everything they do. So it’s really disappointing to find that some online florists are delivering scrappy bouquets that don’t even last a week.'
'I’d rather spend £30 on something that will last, such as a shrub or rose for the garden. With so many varieties out there, you may even find one with the same name as your mum.'
Best of the bunch
John Lewis’ Super Pink Patchwork and Serenata Flower’s Pink Purity bouquets achieved the highest scores in our snapshot asessment.
Ceri said: ‘The John Lewis bunch was particularly well-matched to the online picture and many of the flowers were still looking nice and perky a week later.
‘Serenata’s bouquet also lived up to its photo and was the most stylish looking of all the bouquets, thanks to its well-balanced mix of flowers and foliage.’
The most disappointing bunch came from Interflora. Its Pink Perfect Gift came with a free vase, but even this couldn’t make up for the quality of the bouquet. Our experts said it looked sparse and ‘a bit scrappy’ compared to the picture on Interflora's website. Some of the flowers and foliage listed on the website had been substituted with alternatives and many of the flowers died within seven days.
Mother's Day flowers results
| Mother's Day flowers - Snapshot assessment results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florist | Bouquet | Price of bouquet (£) | Delivery charge (£) | Arrived on time | Similarity to online picture and attractiveness | Quality and condition of flowers | Longevity (condition after seven days) | Total score (%) |
| John Lewis | Super Pink Patchwork | 30 | Free | Yes |  |  |  | 80 |
| Serenata flowers | Pink Purity | 29.99 | Free | Yes | | | | 80 |
| Next | Serenity | 28 | 3.99 | Yes | | | | 78 |
| Teleflorist | Soft Bouquet | 24.95 | 5.95 | Yes | | |  | 58 |
| Marks & Spencer | Standard Rose & Lily Bouquet | 30 | Free | No | | | | 55 |
| Interflora | Pink Perfect Gift | 26.99 | 5.99 | Yes | | | | 48 |
Table notes
Total score ignores price and is based on: 25% similarity to online picture and attractiveness, 25% quality and condition of flowers, 25% longevity, 15% whether it arrived on time, 5% whether plant food was included, 5% whether instructions were included.
Bouquet photos
For other Mother's Day gift ideas, you can browse our reviews of digital cameras, digital radios and kitchen appliances. And if you are planning a trip home to visit your mum, check out our guide to getting cheap train tickets.
