Mother’s Day

Choosing Mother's Day flowers starts with a picture of her: the color she always wears, the flower she stops for at the market, the table where a vase would sit. Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May, though many of these designs are just as welcome on her birthday. They're for grandmothers, stepmothers, mothers-in-law and new moms, and for anyone who ever mothered you.

If she loves gentle, romantic color, start with the pastels. Angelica nestles pink roses and snapdragons among soft heads of hydrangea, and Cinderella adds lilies for a vase that feels abundant. Ballet Slipper lays pink roses and orchids long and low, easy to talk across at Sunday brunch. For a calm, uncluttered home, choose white and green: Grace, white roses and freesia in a mint julep cup, is small enough for her nightstand; Light Spring feels airy, like a window opened in May; and Mondial's white roses in a modern cube are as timeless as pearls.

If yellow makes her smile, Simply Yellow & White sets cheerful yellow roses against crisp white ones, and Sunburst brings bright yellow ranunculus and calla lilies to the kitchen counter. If purple is her color, Violet Splendor looks like a garden at dusk, with hydrangea, ranunculus and orchid accents in deep purple. For a mother who keeps things growing, the Orchid, Double Orchid and Triple Orchid bloom long after the day itself. A Birdsong soy candle in Hyacinth Flower adds a breath of spring.

Jerome Florists moved to this corner of Madison Avenue and 96th Street in May 1929, the month of Mother's Day, and every design is still made here by hand. Fresh flowers come through our door five days a week from the United States, Holland, Italy and South America; if one falls short, another in the same colors, of equal or greater value, takes its place, but orchids never get a stand-in. Any design can always be made without lilies: add "no lilies" to your cart's order note. Mention her pet, or a flower she dislikes, and we'll do our best to leave out whatever she'd rather not see or we know isn't good for that animal.

Sending Mother's Day flowers in NYC? Our own drivers go out seven days a week; delivery is $15 anywhere we reach in Manhattan or $25 to Brooklyn and Queens, and pickup at the shop costs nothing. For same-day delivery in Manhattan, order by 3 PM, or call after that and we'll check. Her card message is printed free with every order, or handwritten on request (a handwritten message over 150 characters is $15). Not sure what she'd love? Call 212-289-1677, ask for Peter or Constantine, and tell them about her.