Flower deliveries

Value4Money:The sending of flowers, be it as a romantic or congratulatory gesture, or an extension of sympathy, is an act shrouded in mystery. It requires placing a great deal of faith in the florist, as the sender rarely gets to choose exactly what is sent or even to see what eventually arrives.

We rang four florists plucked from the Golden Pages - two international operators and two independent florists - and asked them to send a bouquet to a woman PriceWatch was very keen to impress. We said we were unwilling to spend much more than €50 on making that impression (not including delivery charges), but beyond that, gave them no guidance.

We did not ask for specific colours or flowers and left the matter entirely in the individual florists' hands. The orders were placed last Monday morning. Here's what they came up with.

Mad Flowers: €50 + €13.50 delivery charge.

Highs: Well, Mad Flowers certainly lives up to its name, if this delivery is anything to go by. It was, without question, the strangest - and coolest - of the bouquets. It was delivered in a box, oddly enough, and did not make a particularly good first impression. When the cardboard was cut away, however, a splendidly unusual array of almost impossible-to-identify exotic flowers, along with some easy-to-identify lilies, pink roses and dahlias - and something that looked the spit of rhubarb stalks - was revealed. It looked considerably more expensive than it was and you'd want to have a heart of stone to remain unimpressed in the face of a delivery like this. It came with the classiest finishing and the substantial amount of hardy greenery on show suggested it would have the longest shelf-life.

Lows: The 13.50 delivery charge is quite severe and the killer impression that would almost certainly have been created was dented somewhat by the fact that Mad Flowers spelt the surname of the recipient wrong.

Verdict: The pick of the bunches.

Flowergram: €50 (no delivery charge)

Highs: This was the cheapest bouquet, but with an abundance of flowers on show, it didn't look it. The florist favoured a virginal motif, with white lilies, lisianthus and chrysanthemums predominating. There was just a splash of pink, in the form of freesia, and not a great deal of distracting foliage. The bouquet came with at least four stems on the chrysanthemums, one spray of lilies, a spray of lisianthus and three small pink dahlias. The bouquet stood unaided and was nicely tied together with what looks to be some straw.

Lows: This order was placed shortly after 9am and Flowergram promised to have the flowers delivered by midday. By 1.15pm, however, there was still no sign of them. The bouquet, while ample, was perhaps a little too fussy and might be considered somewhat old-fashioned, although that is a matter of personal taste. The purple plastic wrapping was also quite lurid. Flowergram's 1800 phone number appears to re-route to a British call centre, where the operators, while pleasant and efficient, display a lack of familiarity with Dublin and the spelling of certain fairly common Irish words, which lengthened the process slightly.

Verdict: Flowers of the old school.

Blooming Amazing: €50 + €10 delivery charge

Highs: Blooming Amazing was blooming amazingly speedy in delivering this impressive bouquet and beat its rivals by a fairly substantial margin. There were lots of pinks, reds and varying shades of greens on display and the healthy amount of seasonal foliage was pleasing on the eye. The small-headed red roses, pink lilies - unopened, suggesting a long life - pink lisianthus, great green fronds and red berries all competed for attention.

There were at least eight flower varieties included, with the striking deep-red anthurium, or wax flower, attracting most attention. The bouquet was comparatively good value and scored very highly in the impressing-the-woman stakes. Blooming Amazing - like Mad Flowers - also has an excellent website, allowing customers to make more informed choices.

Lows: While they do come with water they struggle to stand unaided in their little bag, which is a slight minus. There is also an awful lot of foliage and while it does not overshadow the flowers on display it comes pretty close.

Verdict: Looks and smells great.

Interflora €65 (no delivery charge)

Highs: When you ring the Interflora freephone number you are diverted at random to a florist in your area. On this occasion we were put through to a Sandymount florist who was very friendly and most helpful. It also sent a bouquet that would gladden the heart of the staunchest Orangeman.

There were orange lilies, orange carnations and one other orange flower that PriceWatch was unable to identify, all bound up with a great big orange sash. The lilies and the ubiquitous protea (every bunch had at least one) hardly got a look-in. There were also some daisy sprays and an average amount of foliage in the mix.

Lows: Too many of the orange lilies were open and you'd have to fear for their longevity. The orange ribbon might not be to everyone's taste and, when combined with the patterned plastic, some people could find the whole effect a little over the top.

This was the dearest of the bouquets - the florist suggested the all-in fee of 65 - and the message on the card, which should have read "welcome back, you've been gone way too long", had two misspellings.

Verdict: Not bad, despite the sash my flowers wore.