There are many different ways to become a photographer, one of them I see is to stop...
A customer appears at the door of a flower shop with an unusual request: he asks to wrap and tie with a bow... chicken legs. “I want to make my friends laugh - I just work in a butcher shop. The richer I am, the happier I am!” - states the visitor.
Florist Victoria cannot be surprised by anything.
“As you say, we’ll do everything! You know, once a guy asked us to tie a bow on a kitten. It was very touching!”
Chicken under a bow. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
But most often people buy flowers from Victoria. IN small store all year round cool - no warmer than 15 degrees - this climate is ideal for storing them. The florist has to adapt: dress warmly, constantly drink hot tea. Victoria Pyanykh was a housewife all her life, then she decided to become an artist, and now she has found her calling in floristry. She spends her days arranging and selling bouquets, most often to men who need a nice apology.
Morning of the florist
“Perhaps there will be a free hour today, towards the evening, when there will be fewer customers, and I will draw a local cat - a guest of the store, she often comes to see us. I even brought paints with me,” says Victoria, opening the doors of the store.
Victoria rushes to her flower shop at 9 am. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
Victoria puts her keys on the table and begins her work day by caring for the flowers. He opens the chamber with roses, trims their stems - holds the scissors slightly at an angle so that there is an oblique cut, then changes the water in the jars. He says that even the time of cutting flowers is very important for the florist. It is better to cut stems in the evening, because plants accumulate reserves of nutrients during the day, which help them prolong their life.
Victoria is trimming chrysanthemums; the petals of one of them have faded a little. If a flower fades, then this is a reversible process. A withered flower can be fresh again after proper care.
“But every flower has its own “withering point”, when it can no longer be revived,” Victoria collects fallen leaves from the floor and throws them into the trash can. She recalls how she got into the flower business:
“At 36 years old, I suddenly felt the need to draw. But this is not surprising. My dad is an artist and my uncle. Then I entered the evening class art school. I studied and drew, it was a hobby. My husband provided for me. But at 39, just when I graduated from high school, we unexpectedly separated. I don’t want to talk about it,” Victoria hangs up her coat and turns on the radio.
It was necessary to adapt to the new life. Victoria understood that she couldn’t feed herself with painting alone. Income from paintings may come only after much work, or it may not come at all. I decided to look creative work to combine both the passion for drawing and earning money. I realized that I wanted to be a florist, that this was “hers.” Victoria completed the course, worked at a flower stall for a year, became acquainted with this cuisine, and then got ready and decided to open her own store.
Together with my sister
This family business. Victoria works together with younger sister Elizabeth. Parents often help with delivering flowers to the store. It’s difficult to run a store on your own—it’s a fast-moving, energy-intensive business. Everyone had their place in this matter. Lisa monitors fashion trends in the flower industry, manages the accounting department, and delivers goods, while Victoria creates compositions, cares for flowers, and takes calls with orders. Parents replace flower girls when they no longer have any strength left. After all, there are no days off here. The most profitable days are romantic holidays: March 8, February 14. Birthdays, anniversaries and “apologies” from men to their beloved women are the most stable source of income.
Victoria shows the latest in the flower industry. Bouquets wrapped in stiff paper with images of old newspaper pages; huge armfuls of roses, tied with a scarlet ribbon, and boxes of different shapes with flowers inside. Such unusual bouquets can last for several days - the flowers are attached to a sponge.
Flowers hidden in a box. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
“Translations have recently arrived: we translate the inscription onto a rose petal, and it turns out to be a declaration of love. What’s interesting is that men often cannot admit their guilt and ask women for forgiveness out loud, so these “translations,” believe me, will come in handy. So are soft bears and cards with the words “sorry,” which are in great demand,” explains the florist.
The latest innovation is “translations” onto flower petals. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
Victoria reaches for the air conditioner remote control, then for the kettle. She says she started to freeze:
“The usual temperature here is 15 degrees. It’s nice for flowers, cold for people, so I dress warmly all year round and drink hot tea so as not to catch a cold.”
Victoria's paintings. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
“It’s not a good idea to draw a war!”
The flower shop is decorated with Victoria's paintings. They are often bought - houses are being built in the area, families are moving into new apartments, renovations are being done, and they are being purchased for interior decoration. There are still lifes, drawings of animals and, of course, flowers.
“I draw cats, crows, and ducks... it’s not like drawing a war!”
Victoria admits that she began to draw because she was experiencing strong emotions. He says that at 20 you can also draw, but at 40 you are better able to convey your feelings.
“Creative professions require life experience, you understand,” Victoria opens the chamber with roses, trims the stems, changes the water, then waters the flowers in pots - they are very demanding to care for.
Sounds out phone call, Victoria accepts the first order. On the call Victoria has the cheeky voice of Garik Sukachev, although unobtrusive melodic music of the 90s is playing in the store.
“People like it – it’s so retro. But I listen to jazz and blues and love rock,” Victoria turns the radio down a little and starts placing the order.
Victoria takes the first order by phone. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
“We ordered roses again. They are always in fashion with us. Especially red ones,” Victoria takes out 5 gorgeous burgundy roses from the refrigerator, picks up scissors and carefully cuts off the withered leaves.
“He’s probably saving on lunches.”
While Victoria is preparing the bouquet, she tells who chooses which flowers. She is sure that some customers can guess which flowers they will choose. Dressed women in heels with good perfume and with their husbands on the arm will definitely take large expensive bouquets - it is clear that they are going to anniversaries and weddings. Young mothers always take small bouquets for some holidays at school or in kindergarten.
“For some reason, young fathers also take bells, freesia—elegant, delicate bouquets,” says Victoria. “Maybe they associate flowers with children.” Young girls love something small, cute, “cute” in their slang. And it doesn’t matter what flower or what color it has. The only exception: yellow. In our country they don’t like it, apparently, it is associated with yellow tulips - the messengers of Natasha Koroleva’s separation. Although this is the color of gold, wealth. Older ladies prefer pompous roses or long-standing chrysanthemums. Often women buy their own flowers. And they are not shy about it.”
When Victoria sees that a man is in doubt about his choice of flower, she asks how much he expects.
“Then it’s easier to choose a bouquet. We have one thrifty customer who always asks for three roses for the price of two. He is a fifth grader, buying three roses for his classmate, so touching! He’s probably saving on lunches.”
Victoria's favorite roses. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
Victoria doesn’t understand why men so rarely give her flowers.
“One buyer takes bouquets for his sister, wife, and mother for the holidays and always buys them for us too. It's nice. But you won’t believe it, as soon as the men I meet find out where I work, they no longer give me flowers. Why - because if I’m here, it means that, on the contrary, I love flowers! Here are my favorite roses,” Victoria shows me light orange Dutch roses with a scarlet edging. “I was so sorry when one guy bought my favorite flowers - he asked a girl for her hand in marriage. So, he bought about a hundred roses, fresh, just cut, and asked them to sprinkle them thickly with glitter! He just killed them with it."
A flower for every day lived without a wife
A customer appears at the door. She looks at the bouquets for a long time and carefully and stops at a basket with a bouquet of lilies.
“They say that the lily is the flower of love and happiness,” the girl smiles and hands Victoria 600 rubles.
The buyer chooses a bouquet of lilies and alstroemerias. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
The skin on Victoria’s hands is a little dry and she doesn’t have a manicure.
“It’s difficult to work with gloves—you can’t feel the colors. And so you often hold your hands cold water, you work with tools, chemicals - all this is reflected in your hands.”
Half the working day is over. Victoria took a few more orders and put the kettle back on.
“Of course, it happens, and I bring food with me, sometimes I buy it at the supermarket - it’s nearby. Once every 12 hours of work you need to eat a full meal. If you eat only sandwiches, you won't get gastritis for long. Now I don’t feel like eating anything at all. They treated me to a cake today—will you?”
Victoria pours tea into cups, cuts a cake and remembers with a smile what men think about flowers.
Victoria sometimes treats herself to cake at work. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
"To us different men come. Often guilty, as I already said. One day, a regular customer said confidently, while buying another bouquet: “Give a woman flowers - and everything will be done. That’s it!” Another even admitted that he would no longer give his girlfriend flowers, because she did not react to them at all.
And recently a sailor came to see us; he had just returned from the autonomy and bought his wife 183 roses - for each day of his absence. Another man constantly bought hydrangeas for his wife. The first time he came to us, I said: “To choose a bouquet for her, we need to know what kind of wife you have - is she a modest woman or a vamp?” And he: “Now I’ll show you!” He took off his jacket and sweater and showed us his wife’s tattoo on his arm. So we found out what she looked like and chose pink delicate hydrangeas for her,” Victoria laughs and puts the cups in the sink.
Victoria begins to finish the bouquet. Bright yellow chrysanthemums were added to the scarlet roses. She puts on the finishing touches - tying a scarlet ribbon and spraying the greenery with varnish.
"This is for beauty, to give marketable condition. See how the leaves immediately sparkled!” - explains the florist.
Victoria finished the bouquet. Photo: AiF / Alina Menkova
“In general, chrysanthemums are an autumn flower. Each flower has its own time of year, sales time. People buy roses in winter, and these flowers themselves love the cold. They last longer in winter. In spring they buy tulips, lilies of the valley, and snowdrops. When the flower beds begin to bloom, people suddenly stop buying tulips. In summer, they mainly take gladioli, bluebells, wildflowers, and large-headed chamomile.”
Victoria gets back to work.
“I won’t have time to draw today, and our cat is not visible today. I'll leave the paint on. Maybe he’ll come tomorrow!”
The Victorian era is usually associated with a Puritan time when the behavior of ladies and gentlemen was strictly regulated. Open expression of one's feelings and sympathies was regarded as a sign of bad taste and caused a storm of indignation and condemnation from society. But the Victorians found a way to express their feelings and intentions. They did this through flowers. Then just one correct bouquet could convey the volcano of passions boiling in the soul of a lover in love.
During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), flowers were used to decorate everything around us, from clothing to horse-drawn carriages. At the same time, the language of flowers (floriography) also gained popularity. Knowing the meaning of a flower was regarded as a sign of good upbringing. Even the aroma of a particular plant emanating from the envelope could tell about a person’s intentions.
In almost every home one could find a manual on floriography. Typically, these books were colorfully illustrated and clearly explained the meaning of plants. Many people have used Charlotte de la Tour's dictionary, The Language of Flowers, written in early XIX centuries, but the most popular was Miss Corutes's book "Floral Traditions: The History, Poetry and Symbolism of Flowers." The most important thing for those communicating was to use the same manual in order to correctly understand each other.
A favorite pastime of the Victorians was deciphering messages encrypted in Tussie-Mussie. This was a funny name for small bouquets in lace napkins, tied with a satin ribbon. Sometimes solving messages turned into a fun time for the ladies in the salons.
To express his adoration, the man would send a bouquet of dwarf sunflowers. Bells meant kindness, peonies - shyness, rosemary - memories, tulips - passion.
Some plants carried a negative meaning, for example, aloe meant bitterness, pomegranate meant vanity, and rhododendrons meant danger. If a man did something wrong and wanted to apologize, he had to send a sprig of lilac or blackberry as a sign of repentance.
Myrtle symbolized luck and love in marriage. In 1858, Princess Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria, included a sprig of myrtle in her wedding bouquet, taken from a bush owned by her mother-in-law. This is how the tradition of using this plant for weddings arose. In 2011, Kate Middleton also had myrtle in her wedding bouquet.
The colors of the plants also had their meaning. For example, red roses meant passionate love, pink roses expressed more tender feelings. White roses meant sincerity of thoughts, and yellow flowers could be presented as a sign of friendship.
In that era, the demand for flowers was so great that there were flower stalls on literally every corner. Among the poor, selling flowers was considered in a good way earn money.
In 1851, explorer Henry Mayhew described the flower business of the time in his book London Labor and the London Poor: “Sunday is the best day to sell flowers. According to the calculations of one experienced person, on Sundays on the streets of London four hundred children sold flowers. Girls' ages range from 6 to 20 years, and boys are no more than 10 years old. As a rule, they run after clients, urging them to buy flowers.”
Having settled down as a salesman, the Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent learned how to sell withered roses and stale lilies. I’ve been wanting to learn about the tricks of flower sellers for a long time. After all, when buying a fresh bouquet of roses with drops of morning dew on the petals, the merchants assured me that the flowers were cut literally an hour ago. But for some reason, almost immediately they lost their presentation, and the next day they were just thrown into the trash. To comprehend all the wisdom of flower growers, I decided to work in flower shop. One day was enough.
Getting a job as a rose seller is not so easy
In order to get a job as a flower girl, I had to travel around the city. I immediately visited the Kholodnogorsk flower market, then specialized shops on Alekseevka and flower stalls at the Universitet metro station. Only after this was it possible to come to an agreement with the owner of the flower shop at the Central Market.
My first working day started at 7.00 am. The night before I met the owner, Michael Samvelovich. She said I was looking for a job. In broken Russian, he asked if I had a Kharkov residence permit and a passport. I answered yes, and the owner of the flower shop suggested I try it.
You will have an internship for a day. No more. The main thing is to see at least once how an experienced implementer works, and you will immediately understand everything,” summed up Michael Samvelovich.
It was a little scary - I had never had to sell something on the subway before. Moreover, we were talking about such a delicate and perishable product as flowers.
Dry petals are not a reason to lose money
At seven in the morning I was at my workplace. The day started with cleaning. The seller changes the water and treats the flowerpots with bleach.
It is not advisable to do this. Flowers do not tolerate bleach well, but without it, the store will smell of musty water, said experienced saleswoman Snezhana.
The owner immediately brings fresh flowers. I asked where the withered roses and lilies go, but they didn’t answer me - they actually showed me.
Stale roses are given a marketable appearance with a slight movement of scissors: a skilled seller tears off the “rotten” petals, trims off the wilted leaves and sprinkles the rose with a special solution with an unknown composition, which prevents the bud from scattering for some time. “Renewed” roses are placed in the same flowerpot with fresh ones of the same variety, and, it’s hard to believe, but it’s simply impossible to distinguish one from the other! So it turns out that if a fresh rose costs from six to twenty hryvnia, and one that has stood for a week costs from three to five, then processed and fresh roses cost exactly the same! And to make the flowers look more attractive, the seller sprinkles the buds with water from a spray bottle, creating the effect of dew.
Of course, it is undesirable to do this, says Snezhana. - This can cause the buds to begin to rot.
When the rose begins to dry out (the tips of the petals darken), this, Snezhana claims, is also not a reason to lose money. The dried edges are sprinkled with glitter and filled with regular hairspray, and lo and behold: the cost of the flower doubles!
We put broken roses in the bouquet
From about nine in the morning the store becomes crowded. The first buyer asks to make a bouquet of 11 red roses.
“I’ll leave you the money, and I’ll come back in about ten minutes,” the man says.
Snezhana nods back at him with a sweet smile. As soon as we are alone, she immediately gets down to business: she selects roses and begins to pack them. I notice that two roses have damaged stems. Seeing my bewilderment, the enterprising saleswoman explains:
He won’t notice anyway, he’ll give it to his woman and forget about it. And if the owner sees broken roses, I have to pay for them! Don't worry, you'll soon get used to our little tricks! – Snezhana encourages. – Sometimes a couple comes - the bride and groom - order a huge bouquet of fresh roses, and ask to pick the petals from each bud (so that they can be sprinkled on them at the wedding). This is a very good order! You can make good money on this if you pick petals from cheap roses, for example, those that cost five to seven hryvnia (newlyweds often order Dutch roses, which cost 15 hryvnia). You'll keep the difference. Believe me, neither the groom nor the bride will notice the substitution.
I also noticed that on the top shelf of the display case there was a packaged bouquet of lilies, which was obviously two weeks old, and on it was a price tag: 70 hryvnia. The leaves turned yellow, the saleswoman tore off the stamens three days ago. I decided to get smart:
Michael Samvelovich, the bouquet was spoiled, and the price is not small.
The owner, hearing this, began to grumble at Snezhana.
I told you a week ago: bet 30 hryvnia! And you're still greedy! And now we won’t even get thirty, we’ll take it to the landfill!
Snezhana calmly replied that they would take the bouquet now for 30 hryvnia. And I was not mistaken. Less than two hours had passed before she handed this bouquet to the smiling black man.
We deceive the natives
The man took the bouquet with a surprise, thanked the saleswoman and left. After some time, a young Chinese woman came into the store, who clearly did not know the language and could not explain what she needed. Without hesitation, he points his finger at a yellow rose for seven hryvnia. Snezhana gets up from her seat with displeasure and packs the rose in transparent cellophane (the cost of such packaging is two hryvnia). The Chinese woman is trying to show with gestures that there is no need to pack.
We do not release flowers without packaging! – the saleswoman shouts irritably.
The Chinese woman silently agrees. Having packed the flower, Snezhana names the price - 15 hryvnia! This despite the fact that a rose including packaging costs nine hryvnia! The buyer pays and leaves. I remain silent, holding back with all my strength. Snezhana herself begins to open up:
I can't stand these Chinese! Let's come in large numbers, I'll save you from them! And I can’t stand blacks either. When a native comes to me, I’ll definitely rip it off for coffee.
So, gaining “experience”, I spent my first working day. In the evening the owner came again. He treated us to coffee.
Tomorrow you go out on your own. Do not be late. Write down everything you sell. Place the money in your pencil case, next to your notebook. In general, tomorrow morning I’ll still bring you some fresh food. “And I’ll explain that you won’t understand,” Michael Samvelovich admonished me.
I refused. One day as a flower shop saleswoman was enough for me. Now it is unlikely that sellers of roses, lilies and orchids will be able to push me stale goods.
Important!
Smell matters
1. Before you buy a rose, smell it. The fresh flower has a tart, fresh aroma.
2. A fresh rose's bud is always elastic and bright.
3. When you decide to buy a bouquet, choose each rose yourself. Pay attention to the length of the stem: the longer, the better.
4. To select fresh lilies, pay attention to the stamens. Freshly cut flowers are bright in color and covered in pollen, while standing flowers are dark and dry.
5. Don't buy lilies without stamens. In order to hide the “age” of this flower, enterprising traders tear them off.
The stronger the smell of lilies, the longer they cannot be sold.
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Peculiarities flower business or how much you can earn by selling flowers on March 8
There is not much time left until March 8th when you will need to buy a basket of fresh flowers. Flower sellers are looking forward to this day, because Women's Day (and September 1st) feeds them for a whole year. One flower brings 200-300 percent profit. We decided to trace the entire flower path of this business: from a greenhouse or overseas lawn to a cold Moscow counter. Where do roses and tulips come from at our flower markets? What profit do the sellers have? And how much, for example, can a newbie in this business earn on March 8 if he decides to resell what he bought on wholesale base roses.
I didn’t count on sky-high profits - I would like to get my money back, and at least earn enough for a cup of Americano with milk. This is what I modestly thought when I went to the flower base to buy a dozen popular flowers at a penny price and resell them near the nearest metro station.
Trade vein
Retail sale of flowers is considered one of the most profitable businesses in Russia. According to unofficial statistics, flower turnover is domestic market is about $2 billion per year. Wholesalers, who on normal days receive 80–100 thousand rubles in profit, can earn up to 4–5 million rubles on hot three or four days in March.
My appetites were much more modest. I planned to spend 250 rubles on flowers - that’s how much a package of 10 roses costs at a wholesale flower base. I was afraid to buy more - after all, my business is illegal.
- Mmmm, have you decided to trade? Yourself?- There was a catch in the voice of the saleswoman at the base.
- No, I’ll hire a person and put him near the metro,- I immediately backed down. Well, we don’t have a commercial streak in our family!
The saleswoman not only had it, but was in full swing. Feeling that she smelt of a wholesale purchase, she skillfully began promoting the client.
- We sell roses 50 cm long for 44 rubles each. They are Dutch, high quality, and will last a long time. Bush flowers cost 39 and 49 rubles - these flowers are not for everyone,- the girl chattered. - There are tulips - all for 29 rubles, only Moscow ones have 25 pieces in a package, and Dutch ones - 29. I advise you to take imported ones, they cost longer and bloom more slowly.
Flower business: Bet on roses
In flower stalls, such beauty is at odds with a 100% markup: roses are sold there for 100 (or even 130) rubles apiece, and tulips for 40–60. Moreover, no one makes any special secrets about where the flowers come from. Take, for example, Moscow tulips.
If a wholesaler notifies the local state farm of his intention to purchase the desired flower ornamental crops in the fall or early winter (no later than January), when the flower is still “at the bulbous stage,” its price will be 12–15 rubles per piece (depending on the variety). At the beginning of the year, it will grow by 2–3 rubles, and on the eve of holidays, such as March 8, flowers from the manufacturer will fly away with a bang for 20–25 rubles. But even this price allows the reseller to make a 100% increase in order to bring it to the market average - 50 rubles per piece. And on the eve of March 8, 70 of them will be torn off by hand.
However, I decided to bet on roses. At 25 rubles apiece, I could only buy short roses, 40 cm long. The flowers came from Holland, although the label listed Kenya as the country of origin.
With them I went to a busy place - to the nearest metro. There were competitors there at every turn - my modest bouquet was filled with their variety from five flower stalls at once, and two more shops with real florists. The women with bouquets, however, did not stand - the time had not yet come. on their vacancies I headed off with my modest roses.
- Can I stand next to you?- I politely asked a guy in camouflage who was selling bath accessories.
He was already taken aback:
- What do you need? You don't look like a huckster. They walk around with trunks, but where are your flowers?
I say, I decided to make money on coffee.
- So don't suffer in vain! At least now I’ll buy you coffee in the next tent for 15 rubles.
That's how we met. Vasily turned out to be unromantic, but very practical. He had everything under control at this point. From him I learned that if the consignment is large, resellers pay 5 rubles per flower, that the local police are not dangerous, but you need to be afraid of district raids.
- Stay close and no one will touch you, - Vasily summed up. - Recently there was an inspection, the “leftists” were already scared off. You have an hour. Can you handle it?
I can manage, but how can I sell these damn roses?!
Unsuccessful marketing ploy in the flower business
"Attention! Promotion! One flower - 40 rubles, a bouquet of three - for 100!” “Buy roses, only from the greenhouse!”
I instantly changed the slogans, but people just looked askance and weren’t going to buy.
In a fit of despair, I even tried to give away the entire ill-fated bouquet at face value - 25 rubles apiece. Many asked the price, but no one took it.
After half an hour of trampling, I examined every crack in the petals, counted all the thorns on the stems, and the more I looked at my treasure, the more I realized that the word “roses” did not suit my flowers at all. “Roses” - still all right. Well, yes, they didn’t grow up. A saleswoman from a nearby flower stall even dubbed them “Kenyan trash.” Explained:
- At the base they sell re-grades. What is not quoted at auctions in Holland is bought by resellers for pennies and brought to us. The flower bases are filled with this substandard quality. But are these flowers?
The lady florist from the store turned out to be more economically savvy. Looking at the bouquet skeptically, she said that my choice was a bad marketing move:
-The most popular flowers among resellers are roses with a long stem and a bud the size of a fist, so you can make money on them. At an auction in Holland, such flowers cost approximately 14–16 rubles, the retail price for them starts from 100 rubles per piece; before the March 8 holiday, sellers usually add another 20%.
According to her, the formula for the flower business is as follows: the initial cost of the flower plus a markup at customs to enter the shipment legally, then wholesalers add 20–30% to the price, but even after that the seller may well include a 100% profit. You get golden flowers!
I thought this: everyone who could have already made money from my rose - and, without regret at all, I gave away the flowers.
Chronicle of flower wars
Load chrysanthemums by truck
Although flowers are a perishable commodity, they can even wait a month for their finest hour in refrigerators. Therefore, wholesalers are preparing in advance for the March grain days. Thus, more than 100 flower trucks pass through one customs post on hot February days, each of which can accommodate tons of cargo.
- Where do the flower trucks come from? customs posts Moscow region?
Mostly cargo consignments come from the Republic of Lithuania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. This is due to the fact that trade is carried out on international markets, and therefore consignments are often completed in Baltic warehouses. But at the same time, the countries of origin of flowers are the Netherlands, Ecuador, Colombia and Kenya - they occupy a leading position. A small percentage of goods come from Turkey, Israel, Ethiopia and some African countries.
We don't control domestic market and we cannot say how many flower products remained in Moscow and how many went to the regions.
Flowers arrive in even batches throughout the year. Although they are considered a perishable product, they are stored in refrigerators for quite a long time. However, we still note a slight increase in registration volumes at the end of January - beginning of February and, as a rule, in August. These outbursts are quite understandable.
- What were the largest shipments that passed through the customs department?
According to one declaration, we usually process about 2-3 tons of flower products, which are transported by one truck. It usually contains groupage cargo: bush roses, piece roses, and greenery for making bouquets; flowers in pots can also be carried there. The names of the colors are also different. In addition to popular roses, they also bring chrysanthemums, orchids, gladioli, and other flowers. One product batch, for example, can contain up to 100 thousand roses.
- In what cases is a biased inspection carried out?
Only if there is a violation of the law. For example, when employees suspect that the declaration contains false information. If, say, expensive flowers are transported with less valuable varieties, but at the same time they indicate that in the shipment cheap roses make up 80%, expensive ones - 20%, but in fact everything is exactly the opposite. It happens that the declaration contains false information about the country of origin of goods in order to avoid prohibitions and restrictions established by law.
- What punishment does violators face?
The most common punishment, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, is from half to three times the cost of the consignment with or without confiscation. From the beginning of 2011 to the present, 100 cases of administrative offenses have been initiated and fines in the amount of 4 million 476 thousand rubles have been imposed.
Opinions
Tatyana Mikhalkova, President charitable foundation"Russian with silhouette":
My discovery is mimosa. Yes, these worn out, vulgar flowers that have been sold at the metro all my life. But when I saw mimosa blooming in Spain, in Italy (and there are just kilometers of these flowers), I literally fell in love with them.
Olga Krasko, actress:
I grow flowers myself in my dacha, and my greatest pride is clematis. Huge, climbing, crawling: One of those famous flowers that can be used to cover gazebos.
Angelina Vovk, TV presenter:
Traditionally, since Soviet times, the most festive flowers are tulips. On March 8, I give preference to them. I love pink, yellow, white - so that there is a palette of the most delicate shades.
Galina Polskikh, actress:
Jasmine. Very delicate flowers; when they bloom, they have an incredibly pleasant smell. True, they don’t last long, but nevertheless I manage to enjoy them.
Auction
Everything is serious in Holland
More than 80% of the flowers sold and bought around the world go through an auction in Aalsmeer (near Amsterdam). This does not mean that all flowers are grown in Holland. The best roses come to the auction from Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia and Kenya, irises and carnations from Spain, Turkey and Israel. Israel also supplies greenery to decorate bouquets, and Türkiye also supplies gerberas. But the best quality tulips are still grown by little Holland.
More than 20 million flowers and plants pass through the auction every day. In just four hours of the exchange's operation, 12 million roses are sold. The main product runs out by 09.00. At the operator’s signal, on the electronic board, which resembles a clock dial (and there are several of them in one room), a light comes on at the “100” mark, indicating the maximum price for one flower. At this time, samples of the offered goods are moving around the hall on a special conveyor. The lights light up and go out, moving from “100” to “1”. Bidding always starts at the highest price, and it quickly falls.
According to this scheme, up to 1.5 thousand transactions are made in one hour, information about which is immediately entered into the computer. In addition, in recent years a system has been used electronic trading. It makes it possible to lead remote trading, that is, buy in real time and have equal rights with ordinary auction players, without being physically present at it.
Everywhere you look, everyone is talking about food prices, meat, fruits and vegetables. Whatever one may say, these are the sad realities of our time and this issue worries most of all the majority of our population. But there should still be a place in this life for beauty. So we decided to find out how things are in the flower business in the South of Russia. We met Natalya, who works in a flower shop in Novorossiysk, spends her days inhaling the intoxicating aromas of roses, lilies, gladioli and understands all the intricacies of the flower business like no one else. True, at first the saleswoman was categorical.
If you didn’t rent the bouquet, return it!
Write about food prices and do the right thing! - Natalya said, sorting through the colorful ribbons. - Alas, but now no one takes a hundred roses for their loved ones. True, today a guy came in looking gloomier than a cloud and said that he had a big fight with a girl. I collected a bouquet of roses for him. An hour later, this sad guy trudges along with my bouquet, saying, the beauty turned me off, your bouquet didn’t help. And I think to myself, it would be better if you bought a whole lot of food for the beauty, look, and she would become prettier after tasting the delicacies. By the way, even if they were given a bouquet “turn and turn,” no one now throws the bouquets out of frustration, as they show in films; some even try to return the bouquets. The other day, Muscovites stopped by. We were surprised that the prices were the same as in the capital. For some reason, they naively thought that in the south flowers were cheap and you could pick armfuls of them.
No one is going to give flowers that are delivered to the Coast from the regional center for pennies. So, a tall rose costs one hundred rubles apiece, while smaller beauties cost eighty. That is why stories about bouquets of one hundred roses for loved ones have long been relegated to the realm of legend. But life is life. People get married, have children, bury loved ones, and flowers are indispensable. Therefore, they are still taken and will be taken. And of course, it’s very disappointing when the beauties you’ve just given fade before your eyes, thereby hinting that maybe the giver is not as sincere in his feelings for you as he’s trying to show. But the point is not at all in him and not in his feelings, but in the fact that you most likely received flowers that were not the freshest.
Crumpled flowers are the freshest
Imbued with trust, Natalya shares the secrets of flower sellers.
— Do you know which roses are the freshest? - asks the girl, taking a burgundy rose from the vase, - those whose lower petals are slightly crushed. This flower, which arrived this morning, has its teeth crushed, but it still looks gorgeous. Then these lower petals are peeled off, as they wither first. You see, a rose with perfectly smooth petals - its lower petals have already been torn off, as it began to lose appearance.
- And if it’s not going to be sold, then the fading beauty will go to the trash heap?!
How fast you are! - Natalya laughs. - She won’t go anywhere! You've probably seen ornate bouquets where the bases of the flowers are adorned with pretty cuffs.
- I’ve seen it more than once. By the way, as I noticed, they are in demand. I was always sure that the sellers, the creators of these compositions, dream of being florists, so they while away their days creating small masterpieces.
- My dear, everything is much more prosaic. When the rose bends completely, its head sadly tilts to one side. It's a no brainer that this is rubbish. And then a toothpick is taken and inserted into the bud, forcing it to hold the head victoriously again. A colorful cuff is placed at its base, which hides a toothpick and a rapidly withering bud. And, of course, all kinds of grass and tinsel are inserted into the bouquet in order to distract attention from the dead flowers. No matter how funny it may seem, sometimes such elegant bouquets actually cost more than fresh roses that are ready to please the eye for a week. My friend bought a gorgeous bouquet for the lady of his heart, and when he went to her house, he awkwardly brushed it against the doorframe. The head of the flower with a toothpick sticking out fell to the floor. The lady turned out to be humorous and suggested that he use a toothpick after a romantic dinner, which would take place only if the bouquet was sent to the trash heap...
My red rose, I’m getting used to the pain...
The rose is rightfully considered the queen of flowers. But, interestingly, other flowers are not inferior to it in price. The lily season has now begun. So, for one flower they ask for at least a hundred rubles. One sprig of chrysanthemum costs the same. For a beautiful lush bouquet you will have to fork out for at least nine branches. Bouquets of meadow flowers appeared on the shelves. A thin bouquet of blue, yellow, and white flowers will cost 200 rubles. So even romantics will have to fork out money here.
“Natalya, how can you tell if a flower is fresh?” I ask the question point-blank.
“Fresh flowers smell like greenery,” Natalya noisily inhales the air. - This scent lasts for the first two days. Well, everyone knows what fading flowers smell like.
“I like your work,” I admit to Natalya, “you sit like a queen with air conditioning, all in flowers, people, mostly joyful, come to you.” Lovers...
- Maybe you like this too?
Oh my God! Natalya holds out her tattered hands to me, bleeding.
— Apparently, you are the happy owner of a jungle cat?
- No, they just brought the freshest roses this morning. I have to process hundreds of flowers, stripping off the extra leaves on the stems of each one. Oh, and these roses are prickly! How my hands hurt after them! But for this I get seven hundred rubles a day. As you can see, beauty requires sacrifice...
