Valentine's gifts classic and unusual

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Melissa Cullen of La Fleure Floriste with Valentine's Day bouquets including purple dolcetto roses.

Boxes of chocolates and red roses are the usual suspects for Valentine's Day gifts, but some Masterton shops are offering something different.

Melissa Cullen, manager of La Fleure Floriste in Masterton, said it was starting to get busy as usual with red roses going fast, but other colours were available.

She had ordered 350 roses in a variety of colours including red, pink, yellow, white, orange and even purple dolcetto roses.

"There are other options if people want to be a bit different. Sometimes it's nice to do something different.

"[But] people are still traditional.

"You get the odd person but the red is beautiful and classic."

She said this year people had a bit more time to think about it, with it falling on a Saturday, and some would be taking advantage of that.

"Some of the guys wake up and realise they've done nothing and go running around."

Senior florist Andrea Wolland said staff were so busy she couldn't keep count of how many orders they had done.

"We just keep going till it's done.

"We stay a bit later and start a bit earlier.

"Valentine's is the most intense. Everyone wants it on the day."

Ten O'clock Cookie Bakery Cafe manager Monique Kloeg said the cafe had special love themed treats on offer.

"We're doing little chocolate Valentine's lollipops, with Belgian chocolate. It's the good stuff."

The cafe also had rose-frosted Death by Chocolate desserts.

"We have done them for quite a few years now. They are popular; a little dessert to share on Valentine's night."

She said the bakers would be making about 100 of them.

Tomorrow night the cafe would also have a special Valentine's shared dessert platter as part of its new coffee and dessert nights. "We've got quite a few bookings for that."

Miss Kloeg said the shop had been trialling the coffee and dessert nights on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout summer.

A light dinner menu was also available.