flowers Guy - Wayne Henry is the messenger of love

Flowers vendor Wayne Henry delivers love each day through his attractive array of flowers.

"I'm a flowers guy. Mi buy roses at Gorgeous flowers shop but mi sell roses pon Trafalgar Road fi make a living fi we self and send me pickney gah school," he said. Henry, who has been selling roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and other flowers in the same spot for almost two decades, told THE WEEKEND STAR that he is madly in love with the warm feeling of love.

While Henry only sells about two dozen roses daily, on average, he looks forward to Valentine's Day because he always sells out.

"That is the big day. You can sell all 200 roses Valentine's Day or more than that and yuh sell off. A nuff yout' come Valentine's Day come sell pon di stand, all who nah sell flowers as original flowers man like how me a flowers man. You see Monday coming? You a guh see some yout' wet nah sell flowers until dem time deh," he said.

Red roses, which usually go for about $700 on a regular day, are hiked up to $1,000 on February 14.

Even with this yearly assured success, Henry says he is often disappointed by the prices people try to pay him.

"Some a dem when we tell them all seven bills, dem come een like a stifle we a stifle dem and dem ting deh. To how dem bawl, we just take all a five bills [$500]," he said.

"When dem bawl dung di price still enuh, mi kinda feel a way still. But me still take wey dem gi mi. Sometime some a dem gimme all a three bills seh a three bills dem have and me take it."

Henry noted that both men and women buy roses.

"Majority of the man dem a buy roses fi dem lovers, dem baby. And more while, you have some lady buy roses fi dem self. But sometime the ladies, when you tell them the price, is like you lick dem wid a stone inna dem head. Dem a say it too dear," he said.

While the days are long, the sun is hot and the pay is sometimes minimal, Henry maintains that he is an entrepreneur and a "messenger of love".

"Yesterday, a schoolgirl and schoolboy a pass and me stop dem and say 'buy a rose fi yuh girl nuh'. Him mek she gwaan and him come back and say 'yow a three bills me have'. Him couldn't buy roses wid that but, chu him a guh a school, mi cyah pressure him, mi just take the three bills," he said.

"Right yah now me nuh willing fi work fi anybody, only work fi myself, selling my flowers. When me a sell my roses enuh, it nice and me see me way out inna it."