Can you give men flowers?

All over the world many people indulge in valentine’s days and many think of giving the beloved partner a gift of red roses. Just recently I was walking near my house and noticed a local motorcycle shop was branching out into selling roses! Interested to know how the leather jackets, oil and grease of the motorbike world decided selling roses were a good idea, I decided to investigate!

The shop owner was full of great ideas, he said quite often his customers spoke of how they got told off by their wives/girlfriends/partners because another year had gone buy and no flowers were given! So he thought this year he would help his customers out by selling flowers and reminding them of the need to show their love through red roses. He said it had been a great success and was fast running out of stock. Impressed with his business tenacity I asked him some more questions. I asked had any women come past the shop to buy flowers for their man? He said NOT ONE! Now my interest was peaked! Granted women probably don't think about going to a motorcycle shop to buy flowers, but it raised an important question, can you buy flowers for men?

Well realising I was a man I thought I’d asked myself would I want my girlfriend to give me some flowers? The problem is I work for Give Gift Boutique and we spend our days scouring the globe for the best flowers, floral gifts, bouquets, hampers to show to our loyal customer in Hong Kong and abroad. So, I am probably a little bit biased. But it did make me think a bit, and I realised I had a favourite flower, being from the UK my mum in the spring always filled the house with daffodils. She loved them! So when I see them today I buy them as they remind me of her. So want to get me some flowers now you know which ones! Men in general though?

Why we worry to give men flowers?

In the past it was an unwritten rule that given guys flowers was emasculating for them, give them some red roses, upon receipt they would turn redder than the rose itself out of embarrassment. Times are changing however, men get their nails done, have spa days, and in some countries have a wider range of beauty products that their female counterparts. So with the shift in societies view of masculinity and people realising that appreciating the beauty of nature is nothing to do with one's gender. As a leading florist in Hong Kong we pride ourselves on knowing what our customers want, and more and more we are seeing flowers sent to men, so to answer our blog’s main question: flowers are now an acceptable gift for you most loved man!

What flowers are appropriate for men?

Despite the shift though there may still be a need to tread carefully so as not to offend or embarass, what do we mean? Well if you send the brightest pinkest bouquet you can think of (the kind your grandmother would love) to your loved ones office full of other blokes, that might cause embarrassment, so what flowers then should you send?

Based on our experience and talking to men we know try to keep in mind the following points:

• Avoid pastel colours and busy arrangements
• When choosing colour look for darker shades
• Look for arrangements with a minimalist design
• Consider a plant such as bamboo or a bonsai tree for those men who love a project

Yes with a little forethought your gift of flowers will be much loved and appreciated.

When is a good time to give men flowers?

For the same reasons men give flowers to women, women can also give flowers to men, there are many opportunities. Special occasions, anniversaries, achievements at work, condolences even apologies are all great reasons to send flowers. Keep in mind though that context is important, if your man works in an office sending him flowers might get a giggle from fellow workmates but would still be appropriate and would brighten up his desk. If though he works in a factory or on a building site sending flowers to his place of work may end up in them getting bulldozed, why not save the gift as a surprise for when he comes home. Just remember that when you send the flowers to men give careful thought to who of his friends and workmates might be around, we don’t want to cause any embarrassment.

We hope our blog this week has been helpful, now you know it’s ok to give men flowers why not keep on the lookout for some of our fantastic bouquets or floral arrangements and expand you gift options for you most loved man. Still unsure what to send him, why not contact our team here at Give Gift Boutique and we can guide you to select the best flowers for your man.

Other than flowers what can you give him? Keep an eye out for our future post, How to buy gifts for a man!