When buying floral arrangements, get the most for your money: BUY LOCAL!

Just placed an order for a Get Well arrangement for my husband's mother...and I thought I would pass along a helpful hint I learned a couple of years ago. Now, it may be obvious to people, but it was news to me. When purchasing an arrangement, you shouldn't go through FTD or some big company like that. What you really need to do is call the local florist closest to where you are sending the flowers and deal with them directly.

You know how FTD have these arrangement in a smiley face cup or basket? Well, as beautiful as they are, you can get an arrangement just as beautiful for less if you call direct. Because if you use a big company like FTD, all they are going to do is call that same local florist, who will make that arrangement and then mark it up. To avoid that mark-up, call them yourself! Many florists are now online and it's just as easy to place the order with them!

Let's say you have a dollar amount in mind: you want to spend $50. If you see something that a big company makes, you can tell the florist you want something comparable for around $50 and they will make something fuller and better because they don't have to pay the fee to FTD and therefore have more room to work with.

Also, keep in mind that certain flowers are cheaper than others. Daisy and carnations are cheaper and are just as beautiful as pricier flowers that are more rare. This is coming from someone who knows little to nothing about flowers, so if you are a Flower Connoissuer and have certain flower requirements, then ....there's just no talking to you. lol! Just kidding. But if you are that "into flowers," you no doubt know all of this already.

Here's a link for more Flower Buying Advice: http://blog.timesunion.com/thelist/cheap-er-inexpensive-flowers-for-mom/509