Hint of spring

Medical workers in Wuhan, Hubei province, receive forget-me-not flowers from the volunteer group.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The orders came after one buyer shared the store's story on Sina Weibo, which was reposted by netizens more than 10,000 times. On Valentine's Day, two top search topics on the micro-blogging site were "one million roses destroyed" and "the lady from Hangzhou who sells flowers to help the growers".

The posts also drew questions and negative comments. Some buyers complained the flowers were damaged during shipment, while others said the flowers were hardly trimmed and cleaned-in a rougher shape than those sold in flower stores.

Wu says buyers can get a refund if more than 10 percent of their flowers are damaged.

As to the latter complaint, Zheng explains that the flowers are sent directly from the fields, which means they are likely to be fresher than those sold in stores, and buyers can easily deal with the trimming and cleaning themselves.

Wu says she has received many photos from buyers showing the roses in blossom in their homes. "It's amazing how much comfort flowers can bring to people."

The photos also encouraged Wu to continue with the project.

"For people in cities, buying flowers means being romantic, while for the growers in Yunnan, selling them means livelihood," Wu adds.

By March 14, the group's donation of 100,000 yuan were used in two ways-80 percent was donated to the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation to buy vacuum cups and sanitary towels for medical workers in Wuhan and 20 percent to buy forget-me-not flowers to give them.