Valentine’s Day is a gift for lovers

LYNN – Some men buy expensive truffles, lingerie or a sappy greeting card for their sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, but the real way to win over her heart is with a big, beautiful bouquet of flowers.Yes, the holiday honoring love and lovers is here once again and, in case you forgot, there is still time to pick up the perfect gift for the most romantic day of the year.While the masses tend to gravitate toward buying red roses, known as the universal symbol of love and passion, most people probably don’t know that lavender roses represent love at first sight, or that orange roses signify fascination.Brant O’Brien, owner of George’s Flower Shop at 471 Lynnfield Street said roses of all colors can be ordered for that special someone, but don’t expect to find baby’s breath or carnations tucked into his arrangements any time soon.”We tend to stay away from flowers like that and use more garden-style flowers like tulips, orchids, hyacinth and hydrangeas,” he said. “It’s a little something different from the standard one dozen red roses.”Orders for the big day have been rushing in to the intoxicatingly sweet-smelling flower shop for several days, which O’Brien said is very much in line with the amount of people who placed orders last year.Still, O’Brien said there would always be men who wait until the last possible minute to pick up flowers for their special someone on Valentine’s Day.”There is always a line out the door on Valentine’s Day?it’s just the way that it is,” he quipped. “The holiday was basically fabricated by Hallmark to generate business, but we also get a lot of loyal customers on Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.”In contrast to O’Brien’s sentiments on the sugary sweet holiday, the origins of Valentine’s Day actually date back to ancient Roman times, where festivities included the pairing of young men and women.The holiday was ultimately named after a priest named Valentine, later Saint Valentine, who was a romantic at heart and was put to death on Feb. 14 for secretly performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers despite a ruling not to by Emperor Claudius II.Apparently moved by the history of the holiday, Dan Bumiller, a longtime customer of O’Brien’s shop, placed a large order for his mother and wife at the store and left the difficult choice of picking the flowers up to O’Brien.”Whatever he thinks is nice is fine with me,” Bumiller quipped.An array of pre-mixed flower arrangements stand waiting for customers to choose from, but they can also have custom work created for something a little different as well.”You have to specialize nowadays because of all of the flowers that are sold at supermarkets and even Home Depot,” O’Brien said. “But like buying anything else, you get what you pay for.”Instead of having flowers delivered to his shop, O’Brien makes several trips per week to the Boston Flower Exchange to hand select the perfect blooms for his customers.Delivery is offered for flowers on the day of, something O’Brien said will most likely be harried if the weather doesn’t cooperate.”Valentine’s Day is typically a holiday when men buy things, so it’s always really tough,” he said. “It’s always a very, very hectic holiday.”