When I buy her flowers

*The most exciting thing about He Said, She Said is wondering if we’ll still be married by the end of each post! We both write on the same topic but only get to read the other’s work after it’s published.*

He said:

Flowers are a complete waste of money… or are they?

She said:

When he buys me flowers? Day = Made.

What’s more, he says:

I’ve always been of the opinion that flowers are just a massive waste of money. They look nice for a few days then I’m charged with emptying them and their filthy stinking water in the garbage without getting anything on my clothes. To me it felt like putting money in a vase then throwing it away a week later.

Notice I say ‘felt’. My father-in-law was the type of complete gentleman I’d only ever thought existed in a black and white movie. I’m not just talking about opening a door for a lady or letting her go first. He took things to another level. And would bring Christina’s mum flowers all the time.

I decided to give this a whirl myself. Not because I wanted to be some virtuoso Casanova or because I was trying to replace a father figure, but because, when I decided to buy Christina her first bunch of flowers, I saw how happy it made her.

From that point on, I tried to maintain a regular flow of blooms to Christina’s hand. You know what? I was scoring serious brownie points! For this reason I can’t recommend buying her flowers enough.

Man tips:

• Don’t wait for a special occasion. Women get off on our spontaneity – if they get something out if it!
• Go to your local florist if possible. Gas stations and supermarkets are not going to cut it. And she’ll know where you got them.
• Your local florist will have specials. Ask them. They still won’t be as cheap as your $2 a bunch stinking-of-petrol service station flowers, but they’ll be better received.
• Don’t just go with the cheapest or easiest to carry. Take a minute to think what she might like. If you’re a bit late home, I promise you she’ll forgive you.
• Feel stupid about carrying a bunch of flowers down the street? Don’t. Other guys in fact feel a bit jealous because they know you’ll be getting some. Girls will be all ‘oh, he’s so romantic. What a catch.’ The rest: they don’t know what they’re missing!
• Short on time but full of good intentions? Shopping online saves you going into florists and lugging bouquets around. And when it comes to fast flower delivery Sydney and other metropolitan areas usually have plenty of options. Most deliver regionally too of course.

And another thing, she says:

Jim has big shoes to fill as my dad was a bit of a romantic.

Growing up our house was full of cane baskets. Each birthday, anniversary or special occasion a giant basket of flowers would be delivered to our front door, right on time. He never missed a date. There are still piles of cane baskets on top of Mum’s kitchen cupboards.

Dad loved the grand gesture, but he also would do the little things, like pick up groceries on the way home or buy a small bunch of flowers just because.

I love having plants and flowers in my home. I’m not so good at looking after plants, so flowers are my favourite. I even buy them on holidays if I’m staying somewhere longer than a week.

When Jim surprises me with flowers, it makes my day. He knows me well and always chooses something I love.

My absolute favourite are peonies, but their season is so short in Australia. I wish I could find them all year round, but then maybe they wouldn’t feel so special.

Images by Mrs Romance – all from Instagram @HairRomance