Flowers — Nigeria

Delivery days, and the date you choose at checkout

The date you set at checkout is the date the florist works towards, and the calendar only offers days that can genuinely be covered. You can ask for a preferred time slot, though no one can promise an exact hour: deliveries follow the routes and the workload a florist has in front of them that day. For a birthday or a homecoming, the safest move is to name the day itself and let the florist plan the run around it. Set the date first, then choose what goes in the box.

Which details make an address deliverable?

Addresses here carry a six-digit postcode — 100001 for Lagos, for instance — and it belongs on the order alongside the street, the building and the recipient's local phone number. Florists use that number to confirm availability and the exact address, which matters more than any other field you fill in. If the flowers are going to an apartment, add the door code at checkout, since apartment deliveries often need one to get past the entrance.

Colour, greenery and the shape of a Nigerian bouquet

Arrangements here tend to be bold and densely packed, worked in bright, saturated colours rather than the pale palettes a European sender might picture, and they are usually hand-tied, cellophane-wrapped and finished with ribbon. The greenery around them is likely to be palm fronds, ferns or ixora leaves. Over 200 gifts are open to you, over 100 of them floral arrangements, and gift baskets, plants and chocolates sit alongside them for anyone you want to leave with something that outlasts the week.

The Jos Plateau, the dry season and the flowers people give Field-grown flowers seem to concentrate around the cooler climate of the Jos Plateau, and they are most available in the dry season, roughly November to March; much of Nigeria's retail trade appears to lean on imports the rest of the year. Roses, hibiscus, bougainvillea and anthurium are among the stems grown locally, while roses, lilies, chrysanthemums, carnations, orchids and hibiscus are what you will most often see sold. Wholesale trade runs through the Lagos flower and plant markets, Yaba among them. For funerals, white flowers, particularly lilies and white roses, are usual for wreaths and tributes placed at burial services and church rites; wreaths and formal pieces need 24–48 hours' notice.

When to order for Valentine's Day and weddings

Valentine's Day on 14 February and Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May are the exception to the usual schedule: florists open for the big flower days, so your order can arrive even when the date falls on a Sunday. Order at least 48 hours ahead. Both are commonly marked with flowers, Valentine's Day especially in urban centres such as Lagos and Abuja. Wedding season (owambe) concentrates around December and the Easter holiday period, when flowers go into the décor and the bridal bouquets. Easter, movable in the Western Christian calendar, and Christmas on 25 December put flowers into churches and family houses, and Eid al-Fitr, movable in the Islamic lunar calendar, into celebratory decoration at home.

How a delivery is handled when plans change

Arrangements are made with what's freshest, so if a flower is not available, the florist substitutes one of equal or greater value in a matching style and the bouquet holds its intended look. Someone mid-journey, at an airport, a railway station or a cruise terminal, is almost impossible to reach; send to their hotel, office or home address instead, timed for after they arrive. If the recipient is not home, the florist typically calls them or arranges a redelivery.

Ordering from abroad, and the card that travels with it

Most orders for Nigeria are placed from another country, and ordering from one takes a few minutes online while a local florist handles the delivery itself. Someone who went out of their way for you is worth more than a message on a screen, and this is where the card earns its place: every order includes a free card message, printed exactly as you write it. Write the card first, then pick the flowers that match its tone.