Florists around the county have been taking orders for days and, in some cases, months in preparation for today.

Advance orders are made to Madison-Finley Floral in Danville are made usually ten days or more before Valentines day, according to Florist Kay Mullins.

"Almost all of our Valentines Day orders are made in advance," said Brent Lilly, who owns Corky's Flower Shop, located on Main Street in Madison, with his wife, Kim. "Every order taken after 11 a.m. on Valentine's Day is pick-up only."

All orders are guaranteed to be delivered by five, Lilly says.

"I can't guarantee that orders made after 11 a.m. will be delivered by five," he explained.

No other day in the year comes close to the kind of volume that florists see on Valentines day,

"Valentines Day is our biggest money-making holiday of the year," Lilly said. "Second to that is Mother's Day."

For the rest of the year, flower shops generally rely on birthdays and funerals, he said.

To illustrate the profits, a dozen roses costs $57 at Corky's, plus an added delivery charge. At Madison-Finley, a dozen of roses run $65 or over depending on special orders, according to Mullins.

Some of the most expensive arrangements ordered for Valentine's Day are in the $100 range, she said.

Corky's usually has around 600 roses for Valentine's Day, but this year they are sending out 2,000.

"That's just roses," Lilly explained. "We also send out other fresh flower arrangements and gift baskets."

It's all about what the customer wants, according to Lilly.

Mullins agrees, saying that customers know what they want and their requests vary from the kind of flowers to the message on the card.

Many of those orders are sent to schools around the county, he said. However, flower shops have to follow specific rules when delivering to the schools.

"Schools have timed deliveries and some ask that we hand deliver the arrangements to each student," he said. "For most of the schools, we give them a manifest and they hand them out. One school does not allow deliveries," Lilly explained.

The staff at Corky's had a busy few days leading up to the big day.

"Everyone stayed late last night to make sure all the advanced orders were ready," Lilly said. "And the delivery truck will be running all day."