For those suffering a mental block over what gift to buy a loved one flowers have long provided a reliable solution. Too often however flower buying can become a desperate, last minute, whatever sad specimen's left at the petrol station job.

This shouldn't be considered an indictment of flower giving though – really, there are potentially few more reliable gift ideas. It's just worth giving your choice a little more consideration and trying to avoid those transparently last-minute, on the way home from work moments.

One solution is to leave it to the experts, these days it doesn't take long to choose a carefully assembled bouquet from an online florist such as Interflora and have it delivered on the same day. In most cases flowers will be handily arranged according to the occasion so all you need to do is pick one that takes your fancy and you can relax in the knowledge that it'll be an appropriate choice. It's even possible to get flowers designed to order if you fill in some details about occasion, recipient and preferred colours.

But what if you want to chance something a bit more unique and personal, something you've selected yourself? Well, maybe it's time to arm yourself with a bit of basic knowledge. Let's say your intentions are romantic; a traditional choice here is roses – you still can't go far wrong with red roses, the default romantic flower. For a less predicable option, colors like cream or pink or a mixture might be less obvious and more distinctive. You could also mix it up a bit with the addition of a few complementary flowers like Lilies, Chrysanthemums or Gerbera. Other seductive varieties to consider are tulips, orchids, daisies or gardenias.

Another classic flower giving occasion is of course Mother's day. If it comes down to a choice of flowers or chocolates and mum's on a diet (this is normally my experience) then its time to get down the florist. The traditional choice is carnations but if you think this is a bit boringly predictable then you can't really go far wrong with a wide range of seasonal spring blooms. Go for bright, colourful and attractively scented and you'll be guaranteed a place in mum's good books.