Flowers for a new baby

Flowers for a new baby go to the house rather than the hospital. Most maternity wards will not take them, and the house is where the flowers will be seen for a fortnight of visitors. Soft colours and gentle scent suit a room with a newborn in it: sweet peas, freesia and ranunculus in the spring, spray roses and astilbe later on, nothing heavy with pollen. A plant arrangement is the lasting choice for a household that is not going to remember to change the water.

Wait a day or two after the birth before sending, so the flowers arrive once everyone is home. The van delivers across Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells; the letterbox box reaches grandparents anywhere in the UK. The card carries the name and the date; say if you would like the weight on it too.