Gone are the days when flowers were scarce in Kyiv. Now every central metro station hosts an abundance of flowers from daisies and carnations to exotic orchids and blue chrysanthemums. Most offer a similar selection at similar prices.
Such convenience is the perfect salvation when you need to grab a bouquet in a hurry. But if you are searching for something special, forget it.
Flower shops, while they rarely offer much different in the way of flowers, do have some advantages. The stores usually take special orders and offer delivery services. They also sell live plants and make dry bouquets. And many of them sell everything you need to grow your own flowers at home.
Roksolana at 3 Khmelnytskoho used to be the best flower store around. For New Ukrainians, the Roksolana symbol on the cellophane wrapping was the stamp of prestige and ostentation. It was as chic as wearing Versace dress.
But competition is alive and well in Kyiv these days, and Roksolana has lost its monopoly. The former high-brow flower store now is better known for selling cosmetics. The only remnants of the store’s glory days as a super flower store are a few giant cactuses for Hr 200 and a bunch of ordinary roses.
If you are looking for unusual plant and flower accessories, look no further than Kvity in Zoryany cinema theater (31 Moskovska), which opened about a year ago. It beats out Roksolana simply because it offers such things as a huge flower pot in the form of female head for Hr 100. It’s definitely in the running as the best tacky gift. This small shop also offers a range of cactuses from Hr 10 to Hr 100.
The only drawback of Kvity is that it’s too small for a decent flower shop. That made us choose the larger two-story Kvity Ukrainy shop at Artema as best flower shop in Kyiv.
Kvity Ukrainy has been through tough times. It opened in the 1980s as the biggest and best flower shop in Kyiv but soon lost its luster. It even gave up the second floor, renting out that space to a furniture shop. But now it seems to be making a comeback, with lots of plants and customers.
With its huge palms and lemon trees, Kvity Ukrainy is like a luxurious hothouse. Undoubtedly it offers the best selection for the cheapest prices. Money trees and rubber plants start at Hr 30. Various kinds of ivy are available from Hr 9. Violet and pink begonias (Hr 25) make the perfect gift for a friend. For more pretentious clients, there is a section of expensive bouquets, including a the grand daddy of all bouquets, a colossus two meters wide for Hr 1,750. The customer who buys it should remember to bring the super-wide limo.
