Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and in some instances if you haven’t yet ordered flowers for your loved ones, you’re likely out of luck. My boys generally bring me spectacular flowers—with a handful of Dove chocolates for the sweet tooth—that they get from one of my favorite flower shops: Whole Foods Market. They have the most lovely white roses, and pale pink hydrangea blooms. Sometimes they have pink peonies or purple iris ... whatever they've got in store is always lovely (and really more enjoyable than a stuffy formal bouquet).

Two of my other favorite florists, in regards to unique, inventive, lasting and affordable flora, are Montgomery Florist in Raleigh and The Flower Cupboard in Cary.

• Where will you be getting your flowers on Valentine’s Day?
• What’s the going rate for a dozen roses?
• Which florist creates the most beautiful, and unusual, arrangements fit for the one you love?
• Which florists have you run across who are still taking orders for next week?
• And, do you know of any florists who expect to have loose flowers that a person can walk in off the street on Thursday to purchase?