February 11, 2014

By Renee Schilb

Wake up and smell the roses this Valentine’s Day. Tiger Garden has a dozen fresh-cut deals to celebrate the holiday.

As Valentine’s Day draws near, students gather heart-shaped candies and heartfelt cards to express their affections for their significant others. Whether it’s for a girlfriend, boyfriend, family member or teacher, Tiger Garden has the perfect gift.

Located in the Agriculture building, Tiger Garden is a predominantly student-run, full-service floral shop and offers a variety of floral arrangements and gifts year-round.

On Monday, Tiger Garden began a series of holiday deals and giveaways featuring rose arrangements, candy bags, plush teddy bears and all the necessities of a sweet Valentine’s Day.

“The incentives give our customers extras and make our lives a little easier, … so it is a win-win for everyone,” manager Kim Martin said.

Other specials during the week include two dinner giveaways worth $50 and $100, and an Instagram drawing for a free MU gift basket.

For Tiger Garden, Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest events of the year, with more than 1,000 orders placed during the week preceding the holiday.

“Valentine’s Day is such a hectic day … customers walking through the door, and the amount of deliveries we will do is just crazy,” Martin said.

Tiger Garden encourages students to order early by offering lower priced delivery than traditional floral shops and is available for both on- and off-campus delivery.

It’s also offering three different price points for students on all different budgets during the holiday with almost 15 different flower choices at each of the price points.

“We have several levels of designs made from the floral arrangement classes to the 20 experienced student staff members working at the Tiger Garden,” events coordinator Becky Means said. “We love getting so many orders because then the students have to make them and they learn so much.”

Tiger Garden, in addition to being a full-service floral shop, helps educate students on both arrangement and flower care, along with the running of a small business. It encourages students and Columbia residents to choose Tiger Garden for gifts during the holiday with the interest of furthering student education in mind. Tiger Garden will even be partnering with hospitality management majors in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources this year to provide chocolate-covered strawberries Wednesday through Friday.

“If you have no idea what you want we can help you get going in the right direction,” Martin said. “When you come to Tiger Garden, you can expect quality products with a trendy and youthful flair.”