Valentine’s Day is a reverent time for lovers to send messages of affection and appreciation to each other while exchanging gifts, all in the name of St. Valentine.
No matter the season, Kyiv’s sidewalks and underpasses are lined with colorful flower vendors: few gifts say “I love you” on Valentine’s Day better than stunning flowers.
They are beautiful, sentimental and, most importantly, they fit the occasion.
Here in the Ukrainian capital, all kinds of flowers are sold in every corner, especially at the entrances to metro stations like Lva Tolstoho Square and Universytet.
For those who want to present truly fascinating and exceptional flowers on Feb. 14, the Kyiv Post has picked out some of the best flower shops in Kyiv.
La Fleur
La Fleur works as an online store and offers a large variety of flowers, which they get from Holland, Kenya, and Ecuador. Although fresh flower arrangements are made exclusively to order, there are bouquets of dried flowers available in their store.
The place’s specialty is preserved roses that retain their appearance for 3–5 years after having been dehydrated and treated with a glycerin-based chemical solution.
Moreover, a preserved flower doesn’t require any special care It only needs to be dusted with a soft brush and kept away from direct sunlight and humidity. Such a rose can be bought in the store or on La Fleur’s website under a section called Timeless for Hr 700–900.
According to the store’s team, they enjoy creating bouquets in closed boxes from the “Ego” series the most: It’s intriguing because a recipient doesn’t immediately understand what’s inside the box and feels surprised after opening the gift.
Additionally, upon an occasion such as Valentine’s Day, La Fleur introduced a romantic gift set on their Instagram, which consists of a preserved rose and a silk sleeping mask.
A client has to specify all the necessary details on the website or by phone, including the desired types and colors of flowers, package design, delivery time and address.
La Fleur delivers bouquets in Kyiv for Hr 150.
Prices: 45–55 roses in a round white hatbox — Hr 2,800, 59 tulips — Hr 1,770
La Fleur. 35A Yaroslavska St. Mon-Sun. 10 a. m. — 8 p. m. +38096 880 6946.
Tête Fleurs
Tête Fleurs arranged its shop-window on Instagram where they show their recognizable works, like a one-meter long bouquet in minimalistic packaging.
Although the place mainly uses flowers from Holland, they sometimes order tulips, cymbidiums, and peonies from local greenhouses.
Tête Fleurs encourages clients to experiment. For example, customers love flower compositions made with gypsophila, which doesn’t fade but dries out, preserving its appearance for at least six months.
To send a bouquet, a customer should order flowers at least a week before the holiday.
To order, a customer has to decide among bouquets and send a picture of it to the store via the messengers linked to a store’s phone number, like Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram, or give them a call. The place offers free delivery in Kyiv. Foreigners can place an order in English and pay for it from abroad. A signed postcard is included in the price.
Prices: gypsophila midi bouquet — Hr 1,000
Tête Fleurs. Mon-Sun. 9 a. m. — 8 p. m. Order in messengers linked to the phone number +38096 269 7090.
Arka Flower Shop
Arka Flower Shop is an online atelier, which delivers around the clock. And they also sell ready-made bouquets in their store.
To place an order online, a client has to pick the picture of flowers they want and send it through the store’s direct messages on Instagram. After the floral composition has been made, the florist will send a photo of it to the customer for approval, allowing for some minor changes.
Arka delivers flowers in Kyiv for Hr 100, in Kyiv Oblast starting from Hr 200 depending on the distance from the capital.
For Valentine’s Day, the place designed a limited number of flower gift boxes in the shape of a heart that can be enhanced with macaroons, éclairs, candles or a stuffed toy depending on the customer’s preferences.
Furthermore, if a client doesn’t feel like choosing between the options or is short of time, they can describe the preferable budget and general demands, and the florist will do the rest for him.
In addition, the store will compliment a customer with a Polaroid photo of a ready-made bouquet as a keepsake of a precious occasion the flowers were bought for.
Prices: bouquet in a transparent box — Hr 1,500
Arka Flower Shop. 4 Reheneratorna St. Mon-Sun. Open 24 hours. +38067 454 1817.
Tsvetochnaya Lavka
Tsvetochnaya Lavka, or Flower Shop, as translated from Russian, is located at the entrance to the restaurant of the same name. The restaurant serving various kinds of dishes is made in floral design.
Although the place doesn’t normally offer a wide range of ready-made bouquets, the florist will make them to order. Tsvetochnaya Lavka sells bouquets of dried flowers and kalanchoe flowerpots for Hr 220. In order to buy them, a customer needs to contact the restaurant administrator or pre-order by phone.
However, on Valentine’s Day, the place will sell small bouquets of fresh flowers and small potted flowers, such as daffodils. It is expected that the price of a bouquet will vary from Hr 200 to 300.
In addition, when making a reservation at a restaurant for Feb. 14, guests will be offered to pre-order flowers that will be ready for the time which the reservation was made in order to surprise their significant others.
Besides flowers, the place will offer postcards and stuffed toys on Valentine’s Day.
Prices: bouquet — Hr 200–300
Tsvetochnaya Lavka. 13/42 Saksahanskoho St. Mon-Sun. 10 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38093 113 7485
Rosenville
On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day, the florists of Rosenville work until 2 a. m., and on Feb. 14 the team will start making bouquets as early as at 6 a. m., as they want to be able to arrange all the bouquets even those ordered by the most oblivious customers late at night.
Clients can choose flowers from a large assortment of options on the store’s website, come and pick them up afterward at an offline store located in the city center. An online order is available directly on the website or via messengers linked to the store’s phone number.
Rosenville provides delivery of fresh flower bouquets only in Kyiv. However, the store can mail dried flowers and stuffed toys all over Ukraine.
The cost of delivery is calculated individually depending on the distance from the city center, but, as noted by Rosenville, it does not exceed Hr 200 for Kyiv.
Despite the fact that the place’s customers tend to decide for floral arrangements with peonies hydrangeas and roses, florists from the team enjoy working with all kinds of flowers, which are ordered mainly from Holland and Ecuador.
In order to avoid their works being copied by some other stores, Rosenville will launch a new Valentine’s Day collection on Feb. 7. However, clients can already buy heart-shaped flower boxes with homemade marshmallows for Hr 2,900.
The place also offers flowers in a metal box with Cupid’s image. Such a box was created for long-term use and it can later be used as a vase.
Prices: hydrangea, freesia, and Catalina rose bouquet — Hr 1,460, cotton flower and lagurus bouquet — Hr 585
Rosenville. 101 Saksahanskoho St. Mon-Fri. 8 a. m. — 9 p. m. Sat-Sun. 10 a. m. — 9 p. m. +38098 026 5787
