Parents choose bouquets over gladioli for first school day

Flower growers and florists in southern Kurzeme are preparing for September 1, with parents increasingly choosing bouquets instead of cut gladioli and asters for the first day of school, LSM reported, citing Latvian Radio correspondent Inga Ozola.

Bouquets currently cost between 5 and 20 euros, while Latvian Radio found that some bouquets ordered from shops in Liepaja cost as much as 40 euros. Dahlias are among the most popular flowers used in the arrangements.

At the Ketverči rural homestead in Rucava parish, flower grower Liga Ate is preparing bouquets for customers who will collect them at the farm. She said she expected to work through the night on August 31 and continue on the morning of September 1.

Ate grows various flowers, including autumn chrysanthemums that can bloom until Christmas. Her greenhouse also contains dahlias in bright pink and purple shades.

“Asters, dahlias, sweet peas and some lizantes are still available for September 1. Delphiniums are flowering for a second time,” Ate said.

She said smaller dahlias were cheaper and could be combined with sweet peas to create a large bouquet at a lower price than one made with lizantes, for which a single stem costs 2 euros.