Forget Regular Flowers— These Cool Experience Flowers Double As a DIY Activity

• Appearance: 18/20
• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Affordability: 18/20
• Experience: 18/20
• Longevity: 18/20

TOTAL: 91/100

Every year, come Mother’s Day, it’s the same thing: You wait a little too long to order a gift and wind up sending a bouquet of flowers. And while they’re lovely, to be sure (some more than others, if you ask us—this FTD April bouquet, $114, is the cream of the crop), this year, we’ve got a better idea: Bouquet Box. We tested this floral arrangement experience not once, but twice, to see if was really worth the hype, and not only can we confirm that it’s absolutely a must-try, it’s a really great Mother’s Day gift that the two of you can do together—even if you waited until the last minute to order. While, at this point, you won't get the delivery by Sunday, we're sure mom will be overjoyed to learn that a DIY bouquet is on the way, especially if you're saving a date to pay her a visit once it arrives.

Bouquet Box is a floral kit that’s shipped to your home for you to arrange, either solo or with someone else—like, say, dear old mom. It comes with all of the necessary tools you’ll need to put together an absolutely stunning array of flowers: We’re talking the roses, the vase, the shears, the thorn stripper and even a ruler—the whole nine.

Each month, you can order a new bouquet in one of three sizes (petite, $99, classic, $149 or deluxe, $169) as a one-time purchase or as a subscription service at a discounted rate every one, two or three months (something we highly recommend if you plan to belatedly try one with mom, so you’ll still have a subscription to tell her about her come the big day—most of the timelier one-time delivery options are sold out).

Each month’s bouquets are wildly different, and founder and co-designer Courtney Sixx also does special collections on occasion, too, like the Meaningful Blooms arrangement she created in collaboration with Cindy Crawford, which comes with an optional Meaningful Beauty Youth Activating melon serum and can be ordered by May 14 for a May 25 delivery. “Most of the arrangements are inspired by beautiful works of art and a couple runway shows,” Sixx said in a walk-through of the arrangement, noting that she and co-designer Mark Held of Mark’s Gardens (aka the designer behind floral arrangements for major awards shows like the Oscars, the Emmys, the Golden Globes) pulled one idea from Gucci.

They’re also designed with Ecuadorian roses (the “best in the world,” according to Sixx) and shipped on a cold train that stays refrigerated overnight to make sure the flowers stay as fresh as humanly possible while they’re en route to you.

Once they arrive, you’ll have everything you need to get started, including a step-by-step instruction card that walks you through the process.

“But wait!” you’re thinking. “I’ve never done this. What if I spend all this money on a kit and it turns out…bad?” to which I say, impossible. While I like to think that I am relatively creative, when it comes to physically doing crafts, my skill level is…well, we'll say stunted.

The vase features a gridded nine-square lid that’s designed to work “like [a] paint-by-number…system,” as Sixx says, making the arrangement all but foolproof, meaning you’re practically guaranteed to get a gorgeous bouquet, every time. (The squares also help to keep the flowers perfectly in place, as Sixx points out.)

I tried out two different Bouquet Boxes, one of which I was guided through step-by-step on a video call by Sixx herself and one of which I attempted on my own.

The first time around, after receiving the flowers, I made the mistake of letting the box sit until I was ready to assemble it a few days later, thinking that it would save space and keep the flowers fresh longer. Alas, I think I killed a few in the process.

There were still enough good eggs to make an arrangement, however, and I got to work following the prep instructions.

I learned two very valuable lessons at this stage.

The first: Give yourself lots of space. Living in a small condo at the time, I attempted my arrangement on a very compact desk. Long story short, while stripping a rose stem, I wound up knocking over my pre-filled vase of water near my boyfriend’s expensive musical equipment, and panic ensued. (Lucky for me, the equipment survived.)

The second was that I apparently did not need to squeeze the flower stripper like my life depended on it to efficiently clear my flower's thorns. In fact, by squeezing as tightly as I was, I wound up cutting into the actual stem. Once I eased up on my grip, the process went much smoother (both for my hands and the flowers).

From there, the arranging was a breeze. I cut each flower to its recommended specifications and placed each one in the allotted space in the gridded lid. While the vase was very tightly packed by the time I was through, it looked like a legitimate floral professional arrangement.

By my second Bouquet Box, I was basically an old pro. I opened my delivery immediately and knew exactly where to set myself up for arrangement. (I moved my operation to the more spacious living room table, far away from any electronics.) I also knew just how to use the thorn stripper.

In addition, since I had Sixx to walk me through, I picked up a few of her best pro tips: Trim the stems at a 45-degree angle instead of straight across to give them the best chance to drink the water, trim any leaves that fall below the water line to keep it fresher, longer, and gently pull back each rose petal for a fuller appearance.

I like to think that the results speak for themselves.

There were a lot of things I liked about Bouquet Box. For starters, it was a really fun, relaxing activity that was completely out of the ordinary for me, and something I could totally see myself doing with my mom or even a friend.

The instructions are nice and clear, making the process a total breeze (as long as you’re not clamping the thorn stripper for dear life).

I also have to call out the price point. As anyone who’s ever ordered a bouquet knows, even if the arrangement costs $50 or less, by the time the delivery fees get tacked on, you’re looking at $80 to $100 for a one-time delivery—and that’s just for the flowers. This offers those same flowers at a far higher quality than many shops, plus the vase, the prepping materials and a fun activity that will take your mind off the world for a good thirty minutes to an hour for roughly the same price for a classic kit. (And FYI—were you to buy these same classic arrangements from a shop, they’d run you about $225 to $250 a pop.) The different sizes and price point variations are also a major plus for the budget-conscious shopper.

I’m also really impressed with the variation of flowers offered. Don’t like red roses? No problem—September’s arrangement is a sunflower-lovers delight. The ever-changing collections keep things exciting, even if you’re on a long-term subscription-based plan.

This is definitely an activity that I feel is best suited to a larger space, and not having one obviously hampered my experience a tiny bit the first time around. That being said, I knew this going in the second time, and had a lot more fun once I was properly set up. TLDR: Bouquet Box can be done in close quarters with the proper planning, but is more enjoyable when you have more room.

I do also wish the flowers were a little fresher upon arrival. While I very likely shortened their life span by leaving them in the box the first time, one or two from the second box were also starting to wilt by the time they reached me. I imagine that this is less of an issue for those living in major cities, but as I had mine shipped to a teeny town in Michigan that likely tacked on extra delivery time, I had to over-trim a few to salvage them. That said, once I had my arrangements all set up, both lasted over a week (the second one nearly two), brightening up my house for about the same length of time as my no-chip nails stay chip-free.

Last but not least, I realized upon shipment of my second Bouquet Box that I still had all of the tools from the first one. The measuring sticks, shears and clippers are all things that could be reusable, so if you’re a repeat or subscription customer, it feels a little wasteful to receive those item again each month. I would love to see an option when ordering that allowed you to cut that part of the kit out (perhaps at a discounted rate).

If flowers are on the brain for mom or yourself, I’d highly recommend trying Bouquet Box over a regular arrangement. It’s better quality, comes at a better value and it’s a lot of fun. Plus, you and mom can do it together—and what better gift to give her than the one of quality time?

The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what's worth the spend—and what's total hype. Learn more about our process here.

Nicole is PureWow's Commerce Director. With a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Michigan State University and more than 15 years of experience writing and editing shopping content, she has made a career for herself covering her favorite topics: fashion, lifestyle, travel and rock 'n' roll. She lives in Florida with her boyfriend and two cats, and she can usually be found stalking hairless animals on the internet. Check out her blog at nicolebjean.com. (You can also follow her on Twitter or Instagram.)

PureWow is the best friend you never had when it comes to finding the best, most useful lifestyle products online. Founded in 2010, our company’s editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which ones are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series, which sees each and every item we test being ranked on a 100-point scale of awesomeness, to the painstakingly curated lists our fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family editors create as vertical experts, you can trust that our recommendations include some of the greatest items you’ll find on the internet. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.