A bed of roses

Imagine forgetting a birthday or an anniversary of your better half, how many times has a bouquet of flowers come to your rescue? And if it’s red roses, you know you can’t go wrong. Even when you’ve had a fight with a close friend, a yellow rose could be a sign of apologising and making up. Now, what if we told you could make that apology or a special occasion even more special by getting a rose that doesn’t wilt the next day or even for the next few years? 

UK-based Endura Roses offers a collection of exclusive and preserved roses that come in the most unusual arrangements. They import handpicked roses from the world’s best sites in South America, Europe and Africa. These flowers — in black, blue, gold, red, purple, white and rainbow colours — are preserved using a secret formula and placed in a delicately balanced microclimate for stabilisation, and can last for up to 10 years. For a loved one, you could go for their signature Belle Exclusive collection. The vintage ensemble of one preserved red rose is dusted with real diamond and sits on preserved moss. To keep it shielded, it comes enclosed in a shiny glass dome, and this piece will cost you around Rs.32,000. The company also offers tailored flower arrangements for corporate events and office décor to brighten your working environment and weddings, with delivery options on its website.

If you are looking for something closer home, luxury Indian florist – One Roze – has a collection of roses that have a life span ranging from one to five years depending on their size. The company imports these from Ecuador and says, “Those who know their roses; know that the best roses come from there.” Plucked after full bloom, they are dehydrated and injected with a wax based non-toxic solution to stunt the growth. But the texture and softness of the flower are kept intact. They are known to be of the highest quality because of their proximity to the equator and come in various sizes — mini petite, petite, regular, large and grande. “We source these unique flowers from globally acknowledged labs that have access to the patented technology of preservation. We recommend keeping the flowers covered in a dust free environment for a longer shelf life,” says Likhitha Koduri, the store manager.

It is not just the magical nature of the Ecuadorian roses, but also the presentation and arrangements mastered by One Roze that makes the company’s offerings unique. Their Bella collection is inspired by the classic story Beauty and the Beast’s iconic rose in a glass dome. One full-blown long lasting rose in classic red or blush pink inside a golden base glass dome is priced at Rs.7,000.

Their Celeste collection offers fragrant heart shaped roses in pink, red, white and blue. Each grande rose is as big as a palm and comes packed in a velvet box. One such rose would cost you Rs.5,250.  If you want to gift a bunch of premium flowers or make your office space look opulent, you could go for their Vrindhavan collection, which has six varieties of flower arrangements. One such set called the Prakruti arrangement has long lasting red/pink and gold flowers arranged on Bonsai driftwood. With around 10-12 stems of roses of different sizes, this arrangement is worth Rs.24,500 and is only available for store pickup. One Roze has stores in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, but delivers its products to all metro cities in the country. “We also offer corporate gifting options and make customised arrangements for occasions such as Diwali and wedding invite hampers,” says Koduri.

So, get your hands on these timeless beauties and light up that someone special’s day or start your rosy affair.