Men Want Flowers

(DM) — This is your ultimate guide if you need help in giving a man flowers. If you are asking if it okay to give a man flowers, the answer is yes. There are many reasons to give a man flowers. From a simple I love you sentiment to an apology. Stroking his ego with a congratulations to special occasions including Valentines — giving a man flowers is only awkward if you make it awkward. If it comes from the heart, flowers are the right gift for a man.

Men Never Get Flowers

There is an old song by Naked Eye’s called, (No) Flowers Please.  It often comes to mind as we men never seem to receive flowers.

A Man’s Response To Receiving Flowers

Yesterday I received flowers. Yes a man can receive flowers. When I asked my friends Jordan and Paul that were visiting for the day they both agreed, men think getting flowers is a good thing and far from uncool.

Is It Okay To Give A Man Flowers?

I just had to research this later. I learned that over 60% of men would like to receive flowers for Valentines, but I’m here to tell you that men want to be appreciated for love not just on Valentines.

The Basic Rules In Giving A Man Flowers

Understand the man’s mind. We are practical creatures, masculine in nature. You may already have narrowed down the field in your selection with this foundational guide.

Here Is Your Study Guide

If you search on studies about how flowers affect people you’ll find that just about everything that applies to women applies to men.

If flowers enhance happiness and social connections with women, what do you think it does for a man? Just imagine how much better your relationship can be with such a simple thought. It is not exactly the same from my research so I will add this, women displayed greater levels of emotion, where men showed increased eye contact in conversation, and have more truer smiles after receiving flowers.  Mind you this is only what was noticeable to researchers.

The lingering study question.

What kind of flowers do you give a man? 

Men and Roses

Red. The ultimate masculine color. It makes perfect sense to give a man red roses! Wrong. Roses, particularly long stem roses are too closely associated as the highest romantic gesture that a man can offer to a woman. Roses are out of the question and relegated as a women only present.

Carnations For Men

Men are practical. Carnations are practical! Again, wrong for a man in general. Why? If carnations are tacky for a woman, they are tacky for a man. Sorry ladies, you don’t get off cheap with carnations.

Carnations are no good for anyone except as something you know you want to last a while. And unless your man has recently died, this is not the time for carnations. They have a place but you need to know when they are appropriate.

Give A Man Scented Flowers?

Scented flowers for a man? See that is where you get into trouble. Men are manly!

So you got to know that when you give a man flowers he must feel appreciated but not emasculated. Which is one more reason you should steer away from roses.  As my friend Paul said:

“Roses are good for men from the stem down because they are thorny.”

Color

The appeal of flowers is limited but no less powerful when you make a smart choice. For instance while it is true smell is a powerful stimulant, men will first notice color.  Do you need to guess which color is best? Yes. It is red.

Roses are Red, Roses Are Red

If we had a Fight I’d Forget What Was Said.

And Roses are Red, Roses Are Red,

If Love is Blind

I’ll Get You Out of My Head

-Lars Hindsley (Roses Are Red)

Red, masculine. You got that. Yellow, uplifting with the feeling of sunshine. It’s alright when mixed with red for contrast. Don’t make yellow the primary color. Green is out of course. Blue is sincere. Purple… We’ll get to that, but rest assured purple is hard to work with. Sure there are exceptions to every rule, there is bound to be some hot shot florist out there that can pull it off.  Just be warned it is not a good idea in general to go with shades of purple. Pink. Seriously?

Theme

Following the masculine line is smart. Ladies, red is going to be your goto. Almost always. Let it lead you. Variants of red all the way towards orange work. Blue is safe if your man favors blue. When blue leans towards lavenders and purple you are venturing into a mistake in the making. That is of course unless you know your man so well! Perhaps he loves regal colors such as royal purple and gold accents. Other themes of what a man enjoys will play for the less complex men out there. Sadly, some men will eagerly appreciate flowers in team colors. Those men are probably not true candidates for flowers. Maybe they would rather have the team coaster set.

Dead or Alive

A flowering plant may be good, but frankly I think you need to know your man quite well when making this choice. Having the responsibility of watering a plant is great and keeps memories lingering but don’t kid yourself, it takes something away from the whole receiving flowers thing when it is a plant. And yet, men are practical. Know your audience, they say. In this case, know your man.

If you must go with a plant without flowers at all, don’t go with bamboo or that phony bamboo plant called, “Lucky Bamboo”.

Go Big or Go Home – Or Go Big and Go Small!

In fact if you must make your man responsible for watering a plant, give him a real test.

Give him a bonsai.

Your monetary sacrifice won’t go unappreciated either when it comes back to you. If you know what I mean.

We Finally Reach The Promised Land – Cut Flowers

Cut flowers. Here are your specifics for cut flowers.

Specific Flower Recommendations – Flowers Men Like

What? You thought we wouldn’t actually get to this point?

Well here is where homework pays off. Keep this list if you’re the typical woman who enjoys being prepared when the time comes:

• African Daisies / Gazania
• Alstroemeria (A borderline choice)
• Gerbera Daises
• Iris
• Dahlia
• Daisies (densely arranged)
• Wild Flowers
• Small sunflowers
• Roses (In Fitting Occasion)

Arrangements that are not complicated by too many colors. Less is more. Elegance is predicated on fewer parts. This is how a man thinks. Think that’s a stereotype? Yes, but it’s also true. Need proof? Men think in efficiency of anything they make. Fewer parts means less to go wrong or break. Design works that way, and it comes back to a man’s practical means of thinking. Again. Elegance is predicated on fewer parts. Your arrangement should reflect this logical concept.

On the exotic side:

• Lillies are good if they are compact and dense.
• Dendrobium Orchids have striking visual impact too.
• A tropical Bird of Paradise is cool but don’t go cheap, get it right. The arrangement is important when giving this flower as a gift.

Stay away from:

• Daffodils
• Tulips
• Calla Lilies
• Carnations
• Freesia
• Larkspur
• Roses (In general)
• Gladiolus (unless red)
• Chrysanthemums
• Don’t go with single potted orchids either, they look good at first but later come off as lonely and sad when trying to maintain it.

We men don’t get wound up about what they come in unless you are not using your head. For instance a married man won’t mind if the vase is in a theme of soda fountain, but neither a single or married man would want to see his flowers in a vase shaped like a old fashioned coffee pot or water bucket. Wicker baskets are acceptable but do lean to the feminine side. Avoid them unless your man likes fishing for example. We go back to theme there.

Remember we men are masculine and strong vivid colors are great but we also are sensitive to a skimpy arrangement. We men like to see large clusters of flowers in an arrangement. So unless your plan is a minimalist look then be aware of how men like to visualize. Now you are armed with info! Go shower him with flowers!

The post The Ultimate Guide To Giving A Man Flowers appeared first on DangerMan Media by Lars Hindsley.