As Valentine’s Day approaches, many people struggle to decide which flowers to buy their significant others and where to get them. While Starkville has many florists and arrangements available at Mississippi State University’s MAFES Sales Store, those who wait until Valentine’s Day to purchase flowers may have trouble with availability. Fortunately, Starkville’s grocery stores come to the rescue with affordable floral arrangements still available today.
Kroger
Kroger has a wide selection of flowers, from classic red roses and pink tulips to sunflowers and orchids. The store offers mixed flower bouquets ranging from $7 to $22 that are clearly labeled and neatly organized. They also offer a “Grower’s Bunch” selection that has bouquets with just one type of flower like green hydrangea or baby’s breath. The most common price for these bunches is $10. While Kroger offers traditional bouquets in plastic wraps, they also offer flowers in glass vases and pink or white roses in pots. Some of the biggest and most impressive mixed bouquets in glass vases cost up to $50, which may seem pricey for grocery-store flowers.
Though Kroger has a dedicated floral department, there are some arrangements of colorful roses next to the self-checkout lines in case you forget to pick them up until the last minute of your shopping trip.
Overall, Kroger has the best variety of grocery-store flowers in Starkville with plenty of flower types and prices that fit every personality and pocketbook.
Aldi
Aldi has one sad little display of $5.99 mixed bouquets by the entrance. Pale yellow, pink, white and deep red flowers make up the bouquets, and while the unique color scheme is pretty, Aldi does not offer any other options. Some of the flowers also seem to have wilted, so customers should be sure to study each bouquet before purchase.
However, if you want to pick up a sweet, small bouquet along with some Valentine’s heart truffles, Aldi appears a solid choice — as long as you inspect the bouquet and know that the recipient expects a small romantic gesture instead of an extravagant display of red roses.
Walmart Supercenter
Feb. 6, over a week before Valentine’s Day, every aisle of the Starkville Walmart Supercenter was lacking in even a single flower bouquet to accompany their selection of giant teddy bears and chocolate samplers. There were many flower seeds and even some fake flowers that fooled me briefly, but no fresh bouquets to be seen.
At the entrance of the store, some potted pink hydrangeas and pink tulips were available, but these plants looked more like Mother’s Day gifts than Valentine’s Day flowers. A few wilted flower bouquets in the produce section were spotted around Feb. 10. That being said, Walmart Supercenter may not be the most reliable spot for last minute flowers today.
Walmart Neighborhood Market
The Walmart Neighborhood Market has two giant stations of flower bouquets close to the entrance and exit. Upon walking into the building, customers are greeted with a sea of roses, lilies and carnations.
While it is not as organized as Kroger, the smaller Walmart has bouquets ranging from $4.97 to $14.97 — these charming bouquets are certainly the best bargain for mixed flower bouquets in Starkville.
The store also has an impressive selection of roses in particular. Purple, pink, yellow, orange and red roses appear in the majority of the mixed bouquets. The Walmart Neighborhood Market has more options than Aldi and the Walmart Supercenter and is much more affordable than Kroger.
Even if you did not order from a florist months in advance, there are plenty of ways to get your special someone fresh flowers this Valentine’s day. Starkville’s grocery stores boast an impressive selection of festive flowers — if you know where to look.
