Working with color schemes from yellows and pinks to corals and mauves, florists across Southern Oregon devoted weeks of preparation and days of double-time crafting the bouquets honoring local moms.

B. Cazwell’s Floral Dezines in Medford is normally open until 3 p.m., but owner Sabrina Carroll anticipated that her shop at 326 Kennet St. would be open possibly as late as 10 p.m. preparing orders for Mother’s Day.

“We’ll be burning the midnight oil,” Carroll said.

Orders from repeat customers started coming in about the end of April, and Carroll orders from her flower supplier accordingly, she said.

The bulk of what she works with gets ordered a month in advance, and timing is everything in Carroll’s business. The bouquet components won’t last if they arrive too early.

“We can’t build too far in advance because they’re perishable,” Carroll said, adding that she strives to make sure flowers are arranged no more than two days before they are needed.

She can order more if necessary, but Carroll said that her supplier’s inventory drops and flower prices rise as it gets closer to the big day.

“The first thing to go is purple flowers,” Carroll said.

She had to remove some of the prearranged bouquets from her website earlier this week because some pieces are low on inventory. She recommends to people making orders late that they leave it up to the designer.

Carroll described some of the different considerations that go into her arrangements. When the container is something like a basket, one challenge can be “hiding the mechanics” — ensuring that the green foam base layer florists use to keep pieces in place stay concealed.

As for the more aesthetic considerations, Carroll said she likes to start with a focal flower “and just kind of build around that.”

At Judy’s Central Point Florist, preparation for Mother’s Day begins the day after Valentine’s Day, according to owner Rick Samuelson. They have orders in to their wholesalers and brokers by March 1.

Samuelson said he “goes to about triple staff” this week to handle roughly 500 deliveries between Friday and Saturday.

“It’s huge,” Samuelson said.

Just like in other parts of fashion and home decor, floral trends come and go. Samuelson said one accent he’s noticed making a comeback this year are large ribbon bows tied on the vase.

He pointed to examples on the shop’s website with bows such as the “Oh Momma!” and the “Judy’s Spring Dream Bouquet.” 

The Spring Dream was an idea that started with a customer wanting the shop to customize an idea the customer had seen somewhere else. Samuelson said the shop thought to grab a photo of the bouquet, and the Spring Dream is now one of the shop’s bestsellers.

“The big bow has been out for 20 years — now people love it,” Samuelson said. “It rotates back.”