I’m a Former Florist, and This Is My Favorite Online Flower Delivery Service

Tested by Morgan Faulkner

When it comes to the little luxuries in life, having a vase overflowing with fresh flowers is at the top of my list. These blooms have a way of boosting the spirits of both me and my home. Plus, there are so many situations where flowers are the ultimate solution. Having a bad day? I buy flowers. Dreary weather? I buy flowers. Needing a last-minute gift? I buy flowers. And maybe it's just because I spent six years working as a florist, but I am a fresh flower enthusiast through and through.

As online shopping continues to evolve, I've noticed more and more online flower delivery services coming onto the market. And while I highly encourage reaching out to and supporting your local florist first, there may be a situation where an online flower service can come in handy. Whether you're sending an arrangement long-distance, wanting a special Mother's Day or Valentine's Day present, or are looking for a specific flower type that is unavailable in your area, these companies offer the ability to order what you need right at your fingertips.

Given my experience working in a flower shop, these companies have always intrigued me. The promotional photos often feature bright, big and beautiful blooms and even out-of-season or hard-to-come-by varieties. But how do these arrangements actually look in real life? Are they as fresh and bountiful as they look in the website's pictures? Are they worth the extra money to order online instead of picking up from the grocery store? I decided to put a couple of popular online flower companies to the test to find out. (Spoiler alert: The Bouqs Company won my top pick thanks to their organic farm-fresh bouquets that held up for an average of seven to eight days.)

About The Bouqs Company

The Bouqs Company was founded over 10 years ago by John Tabis and JP Montufar, a third-generation farmer. The company partners with flower farms in Ecuador and beyond to send the blooms from their fields directly to your doorstep. The brand boasts that the farms they source from are verified to be eco-friendly and sustainable by third parties like Rainforest Alliance, Bloomcheck and Florverde Sustainable Flowers. This means the arrangements you receive are organic and free of pesticides and hazardous chemicals. The company was even featured on Shark Tank in 2014, though walked away without a deal.

This direct-from-farm approach is what has helped The Bouqs thrive in the online floral delivery space for over a decade, even as their competition has grown throughout the years. Currently, the brand offers over 100 fresh flower arrangements and potted plant varieties to choose from on their website. Depending on your location, select bouquets are available for next-day and even same-day delivery. Want a Bouqs arrangement in your home all year round? They offer a flower subscription service that ships fresh, seasonal bouquets to your doorstep on your choice of a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly basis.

What I Tested From The Bouqs Company

In total, I tested four different bouquets from The Bouqs Company. I chose my selections based on the flower types included, ranging from delicate stems like anemones and ranunculus to longer-lasting blooms like carnations and alstromeria. I chose the "Original" option for all four arrangements, which is the smallest of their offerings. While I enjoyed each bouquet and would recommend all of them, I've ranked the bouquets below based on longevity, appearance and freshness.

Note: My reviews are based on the bouquets I received when ordering. Each bouquet and its longevity will vary from order to order. It should also be noted that bouquets may differ slightly (color variations and flower types) from the company's website due to seasonality and availability from the flower farms.

Online Pictures Versus What I Received

Now, to answer the question I posed earlier in the article: How do these arrangements actually look in real life? I compared each bouquet I received to the photos displayed on The Bouq's website (left). The photos of my bouquets were taken three days after receiving them to ensure most of the blooms were fully opened (right). For the most part, I kept the bouquets arranged as I received them, but there were a few stems that I rearranged in the bouquets to my liking.

As previously mentioned, the bouquets shipped may differ slightly from the online photos due to seasonality and availability. I found the arrangements I received to be pretty spot on, with only a few color variations from the original photos. The vases are not included in the base listing price and are an additional cost.

Buttercream Bouquet

Bejeweled Bouquet

Picnic Bouquet

Velveteen Bouquet

How I Tested The Bouqs Company

After testing two popular online floral delivery companies, I narrowed my favorite down to The Bouqs Company. I began by thoroughly browsing their website and considering the types of flowers in each bouquet offered, choosing four arrangements in varying styles and with varying flower types to be shipped to my house.

Ordering: Once I chose the arrangements I wanted to order, I went to each listing page to choose the specifics. On the listing itself, you can select the delivery date, the size of the bouquet (Original, Deluxe or Grand), whether you want to add on a vase for an additional charge, and whether you want to start a subscription for the bouquet or a one-time purchase. At checkout, you can add your message for the included note card and also select the occasion for ordering the flowers. Overall, the ordering interface was straightforward and easy to navigate.

Unboxing: Once I received the bouquets on my chosen delivery date (which was accompanied by very helpful tracking emails), I began the unboxing process. Each bouquet arrived in its own branded cardboard box. When you open the box, you're greeted with a flap that houses the note card. The flowers are packaged under a beautiful paper protector that keeps the blooms safe during transit. The bouquets arrive dry-packed (without water) to prevent early blooming, so it's normal if a few stems look a little droopy when you first unbox them. After you give the stems a fresh cut and put them in water, they will perk back up.

Arranging: After unboxing, I laid each bouquet out on my table and removed any packaging, rubber bands, flower food packets, extra foliage, etc. I then added one packet of flower food to each vase and filled it with cool tap water. Next, I placed the stems against the vase to gauge how much I needed to cut off and used my shears to make the cuts at an angle. After placing the bouquets in the water, I mostly kept the stems arranged as they came grouped originally, but there were a few stems that I rearranged to my liking.

Refreshing: I evaluated the bouquets each day to determine which stems looked fresh and which ones did not. Then, every couple of days, I removed the bouquets from their vases, snipped about an inch or two off the bottom of the stems with my shears, and filled each vase with fresh water (no flower food this time). I removed any stems that were dead or wilted and assembled the bouquets back in their vases.

Enjoying: The final step to my testing process was to simply enjoy the bouquets of fresh flowers. I was able to appreciate them all for well over a week, and some stems for up to two weeks. I was impressed with the quality and longevity of the flowers I received, and I agree with the company when they say their blooms last longer because they're sourced directly from the flower farm.

What I Loved About The Bouqs Company

The stems arrive cleaned and arranged.

The task I disliked doing the most when I was a florist was cleaning flower stems (removing extra leaves on foliage branches, dethorning roses, etc.). That's why I appreciated that the flowers from The Bouqs Company came pre-cleaned of any extra foliage on the bottom of the stems and were ready to cut. The bouquet also comes beautifully arranged and grouped together. Because of these two things, all the recipient has to do is give the stems a fresh cut and place into water. (They even include a packet of flower food.)

They offer a wide assortment of arrangements and flower types.

Whether you want to choose your recipient's favorite flower or are looking for a specific color in your arrangement, The Bouqs Company has a vast online catalog to choose from. At the time of writing this article, the company offers over 80 different bouquets to choose from. This may seem overwhelming at first, but it's actually fun to scroll through all the gorgeous options. And, on their website, you can sort the arrangements by flower name as well as flower color. Not sure what you want? You can also browse by occasions like birthday, get well, thanks, etc., or simply sort by bestsellers to see their most popular arrangements. Aside from fresh flowers, the brand also offers plants, dried flowers and giftables.

Most of the flowers arrive in bud form, giving the bouquet longevity.

This might be a con for a few people, but some of the blooms may arrive in bud form and, at first, appear closed up and small. After cutting the stems and placing them in water, the buds usually take one to three days to fully open up to the beautiful blossom you're used to seeing. This means the stems are at the beginning of their flowering stage and will last longer in the vase, giving you extended time to enjoy their beauty.

What I Didn't Love About The Bouqs Company

The shipping costs are expensive and cannot be combined when ordering multiple bouquets.

The shipping cost for each Bouqs bouquet is $25. However, if you sign up for a Bouqs account, you can save $7 on the delivery fee, making the shipping cost for each bouquet $18. If you want the bouquet delivered on a Saturday, there's an extra $12 charge for that. While I understand there are a lot of factors that go into this cost, the aspect that I didn't like was that this fee has to be paid for each bouquet in your order, even if they're being delivered to the same address on the same day. I assume this is because the bouquets are shipped from different flower farms, but this cost is something to keep in mind when ordering.

The bouquets could use more stems of greenery.

I am a firm believer that greenery is just as important in a bouquet as the flowers themselves. So, I was a little disappointed to see that The Bouqs included only a couple of stems of greenery, and sometimes none at all, in their arrangements. The greenery that was included in my bouquets (Baby eucalyptus and Florida ruscus) didn't add much visual appeal. I think a broad-leaf greenery, like salal, or a flowy greenery, like Silver Dollar eucalyptus, could really amp up the arrangements.

Why You Should Trust Our Tester

The writer and tester of this article, Morgan Faulkner, is a shopping editor and lifestyle writer for HGTV. She has been creating floral content for the brand for over eight years, including a step-by-step centerpiece tutorial, fresh flower arrangements for Mother's Day, wedding bouquet inspiration and much more. Before her time working in the digital lifestyle space, Morgan worked as a florist for six years. She specialized in designing and creating everyday floral arrangements, bridal bouquets and wedding centerpieces.

Why You Should Trust HGTV Shopping Experts

HGTV Shopping Experts believe the best method for testing products is based on how our fans are going to use them in the real world. In each of our Tested and Reviewed stories, products are not tested in sterile laboratory settings that don't mimic real life. Instead, we test products in real homes that reflect our readers' real lives, which can also include pets, kids, partners and more. We follow rigorous testing rubrics designed by our expert editors and take copious notes during the testing process. When choosing our top picks, we evaluate all of our testing data and take into consideration many factors, including ease of use, price, product availability and practicality. Our goal is to choose the best products for our readers.