Bouquet of the Year from Interflora
Interflora have created a brand new bouquet that sums up the feelings of 2020 and the impact of Coronavirus.
The coronavirus crisis, and being kept apart from family and friends, led to huge demand in flower deliveries in 2020 - now Interflora. Based an an analysis of new data, peaks in sales aligned with key milestone moments during the pandemic. The flower delivery company analysed hundreds of thousands of message cards sent with their bouquets between January and November 2020 and found that the overwhelming reason Brits sent flowers was to say ‘I love you’ - making up 44% of all flower deliveries.
Flowers sent with a ‘missing you’ card peaked in April and then May, as the nation was forced to stay at home away from loved ones, whilst flowers sent to urge people to ‘stay strong’ peaked in October, as a turbulent 2020 continued and the UK braced itself for at least another four weeks indoors.
The data also revealed that from April 2020 ‘Just Because’ entered into the top five reasons for flowers to be sent and remained there until October. This sentiment did not appear in the top five in 2019 at all, suggesting that flowers were sent for no particular reason, other than to boost mood and morale during a difficult time.
The peak of ‘cheer you up’ flowers was in April, as the nation started to feel the full effect of lockdown and were in need of a pick-me-up.
2020 certainly hasn’t been a bed of roses for anyone, and the data revealed that flower deliveries have increased throughout the year, to reflect key coronavirus Government announcements.
March topped the list, with the most flowers being sent during this month, and this peaked again in October, when news of a second lockdown was announced.
As news of the second wave hit in October, flowers sent for reasons such as ‘loneliness’, to ‘stay strong’ and ‘thinking of you’ soared to their highest peaks of the year.
The research by Interflora analysed the sentiments of card messages sent with flowers from January - November 2020. The top 10 reasons flowers were sent in 2020 were to express feelings of:
• Love you
• Miss you
• I’m sorry
• Cheer you up
• Just Because
• Get well
• Hope
• Strength
• Excitement / Anticipation
• Sadness
It seems those living in the South East were the most eager to connect with their loved ones, as the data found that residents in this region sent the most flowers for every sentiment throughout the year.
‘Gratitude’ was also a popular reason to send flowers in 2020. Messages of ‘thank you’ were sent to keyworkers, NHS staff on the frontline and neighbours for their brave work, help and commitment to fighting the virus.
With this data in mind, Interflora member Steve Betts, who runs his own shop in Birmingham, has designed the UK’s first ever Bouquet of the Year, which is made up of flowers and colours that represent the key sentiments and emotions the nation has expressed in 2020.
The hand-crafted bouquet includes red roses, pink Calla lilies and pink hydrangea to show ‘love’, pink carnations represent ‘missing you’, bouvardia indicates ‘hope’, and gerbera has connotations of ‘cheer’. Other flowers such as blue hue clematis hint at sadness, while stocks show ‘excitement’. Yellow craspedia has been chosen as the sunny colour brings good cheer and lots of greenery throughout is used, ‘just because’.
Pink is the predominant colour in the bouquet, representing the overriding emotion of the year, love.
The styling is loose and on the wild side – a reflection of the chaotic year 2020 has been.
Lyn Davies, Consumer Director from Interflora said: “2020 has been a year like no other. Our data has captured how people felt during certain points of the year, and it’s no surprise that we see some huge peaks of certain sentiments such as ‘missing you’ during the lockdown period.
“We’ve been hand-delivering emotion for almost one hundred years and today our artisan florists continue to be at the heart of local communities, helping loved ones stay connected by creating beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts that convey their sentiments exactly. We wanted to create a visual representation of the year, which brings together the key emotions expressed by flowers in our Bouquet of the Year - a reminder of a year we’ll never forget.”
