The phone rang continuously in Sweet Peas Floral Designs of Distinction on Monday as one order after another was scribbled down amid the snap of pruning shears against flower stems.

The week of Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest weeks of the year for many florists, and despite a cooler full of roses and other colorful blooms, many still worry about having enough flowers to fill late orders on Wednesday.

There are ways to improve your chances of getting the best possible bouquet for your valentine though.  The easiest? Don’t wait until the very last minute.

“With any florist ­— not just myself, but any local florist — placing the order in advance or if you can come by and pick things up if you are a little more last minute, then that helps out a lot,” said Mechelle Wheless, the owner of Sweet Peas Floral Designs. “If a florist does have to turn you down, it is certainly not because they don’t want to help you. It is just a lot to handle in one day.”

Wheless said that Sweet Peas often has to close ordering the afternoon before Valentine’s Day, so ordering by Tuesday morning at the latest is recommended. This year, she hopes she will have enough flowers to help a few people ordering at the last minute, but options will likely become limited for late orders.  Uncommon flowers often have to be ordered weeks in advance, so last minute orders will depend on what flowers have been popular.

“If it is something really specific, usually three weeks out,” Wheless said. “I have some customers who want a specific rose or a specific tropical or something, and that I really have to order in advance. Otherwise, I am ordering more of my mixture that I just carry on a daily basis.”

One of the most popular types of bouquets ordered for this holiday at Sweet Peas includes a colorful variety of flowers arranged to catch the eye.

“It is a mixed cut,” Wheless said. “We use Gerber Daisies and roses and Belles of Ireland, which is a signature of ours.  That is very popular, and of course always roses are popular, but we are seeing a lot of our mixed cuts this year. It is a Sweet Peas special.”

The arrangement is one of Wheless’ personal favorites.

“My favorite thing to make is a mixture because it is a little more creative,” Wheless said.

“I was just speaking with a regular customer who said ‘just be creative like you are every year, and all the girls at my wife’s office are always excited because she gets a big something. They all enjoy it.’ It just allows you to be a little more creative than the roses do. We approach our flowers as art more than just turning them out.”

Wheless encouraged anyone who feels lost on how to select flowers to contact a local florist to walk them through the process.

“We walk them through it because most guys think that they are going to have to be specific with us. Unless their significant other just loves tulips or loves roses  we can usually walk them through and explain that we can do these different options, and give them a price range,” Wheless said. “That helps them a lot. They don’t have to know anything about flowers.”

Sweet Pea’s Floral Designs of Distinction is located at 609 Greenville Street and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

For more information, call (706) 882-5800 or visit Sweetpeasflorist.net.