There is an old song by Naked Eye's called, (No) Flowers Please.  It often comes to mind as we men never seem to receive flowers.

Yesterday I received flowers.  Yes a man can receive flowers.  When I asked my friends Jordan and Paul that were visiting for the day they both agreed, men think getting flowers is a good thing and far from uncool.  I later ran a search on the Internet of course where I learned that over 60% of men would like to receive flowers for Valentines, but I’m here to tell you that men want to be appreciated for love not just on Valentines.

If you search on studies about how flowers affect people you’ll find that just about everything that applies to women applies to men.  So if flowers enhance happiness and social connections with women, what do you think it does for a man?  Just imagine how much better your relationship can be with such a simple thought.   Now it is not exactly the same from my research so I will add this, women displayed greater levels of emotion, where men showed increased eye contact in conversation, and have more truer smiles after receiving flowers.  Mind you this is only what was noticeable to researchers. J

One of the lingering questions was what kind of flowers do you give a man?  Roses seem out of the question and relegated as a women only present.  Carnations are no good for anyone except as something you know you want to last a while; otherwise I think they are tacky in most respects.   They have a place but you need to know when they are appropriate.

Scented flowers for a man?  See that is where you get into trouble.  Men are manly!  <grin> So you got to know that when you give a man flowers he must feel appreciated but not emasculated.  Which is one reason you should steer away from roses.  As my friend Paul said, “Roses are good for men from the stem down because they are thorny.”

The appeal of flowers is limited but no less powerful when you make a smart choice.  For instance while it is true smell is a powerful stimulant men will first notice color.  Gee, you have to guess which color is best?  Red of course.  Variants of red all the way towards orange work.  Blue is safe but  when blue leans towards lavenders and purple you are making a mistake.  Sure there are exceptions to every rule so I’m sure there is some hot shot florist out there that can pull it off.  Just be warned it is not a good idea to go with purples.  Yellow is alright when mixed with red for the contrast.  I wouldn’t make yellow the primary color.  

A flowering plant may be good, but frankly I think you need to know your man quite well when making this choice.  Having the responsibility of watering a plant is great and keeps memories lingering but don’t kid yourself, it takes something away from the whole receiving flowers thing when it is a plant.  If you must go with a plant without flowers at all, don’t go with bamboo or that phony bamboo plant called, “Lucky Bamboo” either.  In fact if you must make your man responsible for watering a plant, give him a real test, a bonsai.  Your monetary sacrifice won’t go unappreciated either when it comes back to you if you know what I mean.

So what can I speak of specifically when it comes to cut flowers?  Large blooms are good.  Dense arrangements of small blooms are also a good way to go.

Well here I really did my homework.  Keep this list if you’re the typical woman that likes to be prepared when the time comes:

Gerbera Daisies, Iris, White Chrysanthemums, Yellow Daises (densely arranged), small sunflowers,  and arrangements that are not complicated by too many colors.  Less is more, and elegance is predicated on fewer parts.  This is how a man thinks. 

On the exotic side, Lillies are good if they are compact and dense.  Dendrobium Orchids have striking visual impact too. A tropical Bird of Paradise is cool but don’t go cheap, get it right the arrangement is important when giving this flower as a gift.  No I didn’t read this on the Internet, these are my own perspectives. 

Stay away from Tulips and Calla Lilies, and Gladiolus (unless red). Don’t go with single potted orchids either, they look good at first but later come off as lonely and sad when trying to maintain it.  

We men don’t get wound up about what they come in unless you just are not using your head.  For instance a married man won’t mind if the vase is in a theme of soda fountain, but neither a single or married man would want to see his flowers in a vase shaped like a old fashioned coffee pot or waterbucket.  Wicker baskets are acceptable but do lean to the feminine side so that is not preferred.

Remember we men are masculine and strong vivid colors are great but we also are sensitive to a skimpy arrangement.  We men like to see large clusters of flowers in an arrangement.  So unless your plan is a minimalist look then be aware of how men like to visualize.