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Best Overall
Ode à la Rose Edith
Best for Next-Day Delivery
The Bouqs Co. Dream Date
Bouquets That Last Forever
Unwilted Peony for Your Thoughts | Assorted Paper Peony Bouquet
Best for Succulents
Lula’s Garden Mother’s Day Heart Garden
The Best Flower delivery service will say what words can’t. Flowers are one of those things I didn’t fully appreciate until adulthood, like accountants or ergonomic office chairs. British Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori said it best: “The beauty of flowers lies in their gentle sequence of life: they bud, bloom, and fade away in a continuous cycle of being, and becoming.” I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t aware of the circle of life (thank you, Lion King), but it doesn’t truly hit until you start aging.
Ilori says flowers exist in a paradox. In art history, they represent impermanence and the brevity of life. In our civilization, they’re symbols of both celebration and grief. They’re present at first dates, firstborns, and funerals. They’re ephemeral but leave everlasting impressions. Anyway, I’ll leave you with that existential thought. Here are the best flower delivery services, tested and sniffed by yours truly.
Photograph: Tanja Ivanova/Getty Images
If you’re in the gift-giving mood, check out our other guides, like Best Gifts for Women, Gifts for Frequent Travelers, and Best Gifts for Coworkers.
Updated April 2025: I’ve added Unwilted, Ode à la Rose, and Lula’s Garden.
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I ordered from each service mentioned, evaluating freshness, longevity, and overall aesthetic. Delivery speed and reliability were key, especially if they offered same-day or next-day delivery. I prioritized services with seamless online shopping experiences and those that offered nationwide shipping. Note that some companies will rely on local florists, meaning the bouquet you receive may not exactly match the photo online. Those are explicitly mentioned if so.
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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best Overall
Ode à la Rose Edith
Ode à la Rose sends flowers that feel like a love letter. The company was started by two aspiring bankers from France, Louis and Olivier, who eventually ditched finance to bring some Parisian romance to the US. They source their florals and foliage from eco-conscious farms in Ecuador, Colombia, and Europe, so you’re getting peak-season.
I ordered the Edith bouquet, a hand-tied bunch of frilly Columbus double tulips. The flowers arrived fresh, like they’d just been plucked from a field in Holland. The stems were clipped to a neat 15 inches, hydrated in a travel vase, and packed inside the brand’s signature pink box. Delivery is fast and reliable nationwide, with same-day options in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, and Washington, DC.
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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best for Next-Day Delivery
The Bouqs Co. Dream Date
The Bouqs Co. works with sustainable farms (certified by Rainforest Alliance and BloomCheck) to deliver fresh, often locally sourced flowers. That means your bouquet might look different from the photo online, but that’s the price of seasonal blooms. I ordered the Dream Date, a stunning curation of pink Oriental lilies, pink roses, and red anemones in a textured white vase. The flowers arrived fresh in a recyclable box—minus one or two damaged stems—and the lilies were still in bud form to extend their life; they fully bloomed within three days.
For last-minute gifters, Bouqs offers same-day and next-day delivery. Some bestseller picks: Farmer’s Choice Peonies, Valentine’s Day Roses, and Buttercream—a pastel mix of lavender micro poms, white sweet williams, cream carnations, and peach roses. They truly have a bouquet for every kind of romance, whether it be moody and dramatic, timeless and elegant, or soft and dreamy. The Bouqs Co. also has a monthly flower subscription starting at $48 per delivery.
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Photograph: Unwilted
Bouquets That Last Forever
Unwilted Peony for Your Thoughts | Assorted Paper Peony Bouquet
Watching a hundred-dollar bouquet shrivel and die within five days is the definition of heartbreak. That’s why I adore Unwilted. Its bouquets look better as the years go on. The petals are made of Italian crepe paper, hand-cut, painted, and shaped by artists. The florals are also built on flexible wire stems, so you can adjust the height or spread them out.
I ordered the Peony for Your Thoughts, which is curated of three tones of peonies—ivory, pale pink, and cotton candy pink—complemented with greenery. Keep them out of direct sunlight unless you’d like a soft fade, and if you’re gifting to a perfectionist, a spritz of UV protectant spray will keep them pristine. To clean, hit them with a cool hair dryer.
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Photograph: Lulas Garden
Best for Succulents
Lula’s Garden Mother’s Day Heart Garden
If your mother or grandmother loves the idea of plants more than the responsibility of keeping them alive, Lula’s Garden is an excellent choice for succulents. A few of us at WIRED have gifted these over the years, and they’re always a hit. The succulents arrive tucked inside a gift box that doubles as the planter, so there’s no need for repotting. The Mother’s Day Heart Garden is lovely, and it comes with a teeny water dropper. It’s a low-maintenance gift that sticks around longer than a bouquet and feels way more thoughtful.
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Photograph: Urban Stems
Best Collaborations
Urban Stems The Sanctuary
UrbanStems is the kind of flower delivery service that makes you want to gift yourself bouquets more often. I first received one as a gift and loved it so much that I started using it myself. The Mother’s Day Collection is designed with elegance, like the Sanctuary, a sand-toned bouquet of white roses, mini hydrangea, and snapdragon flowers. I’m also a fan of the company’s collaboration with Vogue: The Flora is a rainbow arrangement of roses, ranunculus, and anemone flowers, in a striped ceramic vase. The Brillance is a sunshine garden, and the Hope leans into monochromatic white, accented with greenery.
Most bouquets arrive in bud form and should last well over a week. UrbanStems also lets you add “thoughtful extras” like chocolate truffle boxes, candles, and organic lube. They offer same-day delivery in DC, NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and Boston on orders placed before noon local time; and their subscriptions (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) start at $60 per delivery.
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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best for Variety
1-800 Flowers & Magnificent Roses
1-800-Flowers is the Amazon of flower delivery—in the sense that there’s almost nothing they don’t offer, including gift sets that aren’t flowers: food baskets, puzzles, and apparel (to name a few). The search filters are fun to browse; I like how they categorize their inventory by interests and hobbies. Is your partner a Disney adult? Disney’s Belle Red Roses ($70) might be the move. Are they obsessed with the late Betty White? There’s a bouquet for that.
In terms of actual flowers, my Contemporary Hot Pink Roses arrived vibrant but … leaking. This is an obvious downside of flowers shipped in water. While the variety here is unmatched, the quality is decent at best. That said, they’re one of the few services that let you personalize vases, and that’s fun. 1-800 Flowers also sells preserved Magnificent Roses, which last about a year with proper care.
Side note: A few years ago, I sent my boyfriend the Valentine’s Love Explosion Cake Gift Box. It comes with a mini red velvet cake and a pop-up of fake roses that quite literally explode out of the box. He still has the box, and you get to have some pretty solid cake.
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Photograph: The Sill
For Potted Plants
The Sill Pink Watercolor Orchid
Not everyone wants flowers. The Sill specializes in potted plants, including orchids, fruit trees, and succulents. It even offers faux plants for those with pets or who prefer low-maintenance care. I love how they carry unique seasonal finds, like a Genoa lemon tree, an olive tree, or a Texas pink pomegranate tree. The Sill also offers plant subscriptions, including a pet-friendly option for nontoxic flora.
