Two pensions for a bouquet...

The most expensive bouquet on offer today at the string of florist shops located along Banulescu-Bodoni Street in Chisinau has a price tag of 850 lei, the approximate value of two pensions a typical Moldovan retiree receives. This bouquet represents a unique combination of exotic species of flowers like Heliconia and Anthurium. According to Aurelia Malai, a florist who works here for 11 years now, the best selling flowers remain to be roses and chrysanthemums, which are seasonal flowers. The price of a chrysanthemum depends on the rarity of the variety, ranging from 10 to 30 lei. Most of them are cultivated in Moldovan hothouses and only a small share is brought from the Netherlands. These are transported in special fridges where the temperature is not higher than 8 degrees. Speaking about the current buying trends, Aurelia said that the Moldovans are not quite gifted with the sense of taste. They buy everything that is pretentious, regardless of the occasion the flowers are to be given on. For those less sophisticated, the flower shops on Ismail Street may be a good alternative. The cheapest bouquet here sells at 50 lei, and the most expensive one costs 150 lei. This is because the floral arrangements are rather simple. Here, most of the flowers are imported, also from the Netherlands. Asked where they buy their flowers from, most vendors prefer to not to tell, probably fearing competition. Still, we managed to learn something from a self-employed florist called Aliona, who says she buys most of her roses and chrysanthemums from the wholesalers, and the rest she takes from a garden on Chisinau’s outskirts. The vendors say that today there are no schools or courses where people could learn the art of floristry. It seems that the only solution for the florists is to “snatch” the art from their older colleagues, who mastered floristry in Soviet times. As it has the fame of being an elite florist shop, the most expensive bouquets are sold also on Banulescu-Bodoni Street, especially ahead of the International Women's Day on March 8. Not always the most generous customers are the richest ones, too. For example, on Women's Day a young man bought a bouquet worth 250 euros. This is the most expensive one Aurelia has ever managed to sell in her career as a florist.