Flowers are always a good choice for Valentine's Day. (Luis Gomez Photos)

By Jana Petersen. You can email her at Jana@borderstan.com and follow her on Twitter @jana_petersen.

Ladies (and gents) — it’s here again. Valentine’s Day. Red hearts, candy hearts, ‘I love you’ cards, and fuzzy white bears line CVS and Rite Aid walls and shelves all over the District.

Every year, as I anticipate the plans and questions and material items (What to do? Whom with? What to get and where?), I’m flooded by fond memories of years past: You know, the days when the big questions were “Which cartoon card should I tell my mom to mass order for my classmates? What color should my Valentine’s Day mailbox be?”

All of that said, just because mailboxes and candy hearts don’t necessarily characterize my days leading up to the holiday and the holiday itself, that doesn’t mean Valentine’s Day – as a twenty-something year-old — can’t be equally as lovely.

While Valentine’s Day activities may vary — Bachelor marathon turned champagne drinking game, anyone? (yes, I have friends doing this), or a night out with a significant other — there’s one thing I believe friends, lovers and acquaintances (okay, maybe not acquaintances — that could be creepy) overlook:

The power of flowers.

I can’t speak for every person out there. But, I will say nothing makes me feel happier or more fulfilled than a few flowers in my apartment, or some on my desk at work.  Some may argue “Why flowers? They die, and aren’t edible!” Well, for one – I don’t risk eating all of them (or any) in one fell swoop (or at all). Two, they’re pretty for the time they’re alive.  And finally, when they do die,  dried flowers make AWESOME wall-hangings.

All of this to say, friends and lovers, get out there and buy some flowers. Give some flowers. Or one flower (but not from a neighbor’s garden).

Where to Buy Flowers in the Neighborhood

• Flowers on 14th, 1712 14th Street NW
• Lee’s Flower and Card Shop, 1026 U Street NW
• Palace Florists, 1305 19th Street NW
• Caruso’s, 1717 M Street NW
• Whole Foods Market, 1440 P Street NW

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Related posts:

1. Wednesday’s Photo: “Flowers on 14th”
2. Flowers on Fourteenth Moving, But Staying on 14th
3. Flowers in My Garden
4. Monday’s Photo: “January Flowers on R Street NW”
5. Wednesday’s Photo: “11th Street Flowers”