It's a job that starts bright and early.
"We have a lot of orders that need to go out," said Gloria Knight, a delivery driver for Arthur's Flower Cart in Lynchburg.
On Valentine's Day flower shops play Cupid, and that's no easy task.
"Very Hectic!" said Knight as she loaded her van with flowers Tuesday. "We try to get our businesses and our schools delivered first."
Knight has been delivering flowers for six years.
"We just stay on the go until we get it done," Knight said, adding that she enjoys the interaction with customers.
"Most of the time I'll get a nice smile, or an 'oh, I'm getting flowers!" said Knight.
For every bouquet that gets delivered, there's someone back at the shop putting another one together.
"This is a holiday where everything is down to the wire," said Kandy Scruggs, who has run Arthur's Flower Cart with her mother Joan Arthur for 40 years.
"Valentines day is one day, and people want their orders early," Scruggs said.
She spends weeks taking those orders, and several days filling them.
"It's not something you can do a lot of preparation for," said Scruggs. "Especially since you're working with a perishable item."
Of course it's hard to plan for last minute shoppers. Scruggs has to make sure she has plenty of flowers here throughout the day, for those walk-in customers that will inevitably show up.
"To be able to accommodate them and have something for them to take out the door is our goal," said Scruggs.
For deliveries there's an early cut-off. They need that time to make the Valentines extra special for the people who plan ahead.
"The end of the day doesn't come until you finish," said Knight. "Even if it's 8:00 or 9:00 PM, you get your deliveries done before you quit."
A long day for the florist, to make sure your day is perfect.
