Sunday morning saw a flurry of activity and waiting lines in Tallinn, at Viru Street's well-known flower sellers' strip, under the shadows of the historic Viru Gate, with mostly male members of the public snapping up bouquets for the significant women in their lives.

"You always have to bring flowers and give a gift so their eyes sparkle. They are our source of joy. They are the ones who give us love, tenderness, warmth—everything. Everything must be done for their sake!" one flower buyer, Mait, told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Pavel had his hands full buying flowers and carrying his young son, Aron. He said they would be bringing flowers to his mother, his girlfriend, and to a friend's mother, since said friend was unable to make it to Tallinn.

As for non-Estonians, one, Bin, said that he had only marked the day since he came to Estonia.

"I think it's not as big in other countries as it is here. It's very important here; this kind of scene doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, I think," he said.

Naturally it was a busy week for wholesalers too. For example, more than a million stems passed through the Nurmiko wholesale warehouse last week alone.

"Flowers have been coming to Estonia from different parts of the world. The flowers that arrive at our warehouse travel the furthest, from the other side of the globe — from Ecuador and Colombia. There are also many European flowers, and a small amount from Africa," said Marika Mägi, CEO of Nurmiko.

As for her own picks, she said: "I'd like to quote the classics, the father of Estonian floristry, Jaak Ungerson, who says the best flower is that one that has been sold. But I do have some favorites — one of them is the tulip, and I also really like lisianthus," Mägi noted.

The imported flowers are transported in a dry, dormant state, only to perk up again once watered.

One change has been a fall in the volume of Estonian-grown flowers. Domestic growers are affected to some extent by the climate, but rising input costs have taken their toll. The low input costs in the warmer countries mentioned make it more economical to sell these, even with import costs added, Mägi said.

As for tips on picking a good buy, Mägi recommended for instance a white rose whose edges have lightly turned red. This shows that the rose has grown in the best possible conditions for that type of flower, she said.

Estonians still like the old familiar varieties like roses, gerberas, lisianthus, and alstroemeria, Mägi said.

Falling when it does in March, Women's Day is in the transitional zone too. "We are just moving from amaryllis to spring flowers," Mägi added.

While carnations had a negative reputation for a long time, dating back to their popularity during the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Mägi noted this was not really the flower's doing, calling it an "honest and beautiful flower whose price is among the most stable in the world."

Finally, as to the perennial question on how to keep cut flowers fresh for as long as possible, Mägi did not have any real practical tips, but noted philosophically: "There isn't a good answer, except that about a year ago I heard something on an American TV show that really changed my worldview — flowers are not in our lives to last; flowers are there so that we would remain in the moment for which they were given to us."

Valentine's Day ("Sõprade päev" in Estonian) was last month, and Mother's Day in Estonia is on Sunday, May 10, bringing a second wave in a couple of months' time. This plus the preponderance of flower-giving at ceremonies and events year-round means that florists seldom really have a totally dead period.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!