A Local Florist Will Give Out 1,000 Free Bouquets to Downtown Commuters Next Week

If you're commuting from downtown next week, or find yourself in the neighborhood for an appointment, you might be in store for a floral surprise. Dr. Delphinium, a florist that has been operating in the Park Cities for over 20 years, will be handing out 1,000 free bouquets on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

The campaign, Petal it Forward, will be taking place in 48 states. In Dallas, 500 recipients will be given two bouquets, one to keep and one to give to a friend or loved one. Dr. Delphinium will be handing out arrangements of roses, farm flowers and wildflowers, says Katie Ritter, their marketing manager.

Petal It Forward has been taking place annually for the last couple of years, but this will be Dallas' first year to join in. The owner of Dr. Delphinium, Charles Ingrum, is on the board of directors of the Society of American Florists, a national trade association of growers and retailers, which sponsors the project. Hence why it ended up being the florist to lead the charge. 

Ritter kept mum on exactly where their flower elves plan to show up, but says it will be around lunchtime. "We are keeping that a little bit secret," she said. "We want to pop up and surprise everybody. But once we show up we’ll start posting [our location] to our social networks."

Ritter says that 80 percent of Dr. Delphinium's sales are to customers buying flowers "just because," rather than to celebrate Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or make up for a bad deed. And studies indicate this is good practice: Simply keeping flowers in living and working spaces has a marked positive, effect on one's mood and well-being.

But flowers are expensive to continuously buy, since many die within a week even with proper care. And the price points at Dr. Delphinium are no exception. Their small arrangements start around $50 and the decent sized ones reach into the multiple hundreds.

Wednesday may be a good opportunity to snag a couple of freebies, but Ritter also has some tips for how you can affordably take advantage of their new stock of autumn flowers, which includes tulips, sunflowers and orchids, and continue on for a year-round boost.

"At Dr. Delphinium specifically, we do of course offer our standard arrangements which are created by our designers," she says, "but if you’re looking to spend a little bit less, at both our retail locations we always carry fresh cut flower stems and you can just pick out a couple and have them arranged on the spot."

Dr. Delphinium has two locations, one in Dallas at 5806 W. Lovers Lane, and another in Richardson at 513 W. Campbell Road. Visit them online at drdelphinium.com.