housands of glass greenhouses hug the steep hillsides along the Mediterranean coast from Nice to Ventimiglia just across the Italian border from France, where the coastline begins to get too steep for any commercial activity. So it's not surprising that flowers around the Côte d'Azur are abundant and relatively cheap. At the St.-Tropez marché, for an average of FF 50 - 70 (US$ 10.00 - 15.00) you can buy 3 generous bunches of different flowers to make your own arrangement at home or you can buy grand ready-made bouquets for just a little more.

What makes the French bouquets so charming?

Certainly, it's the freshness of the greenhouse-grown flowers.

But it's also the way the French combine the flowers. . .

Romantic bouquets are created by combining flowers in the same color palette. The effect is delicate and feminine: