This Valentine’s Day is going to be huge for retailers, especially florists, Alan Cotton said Wednesday.

“People are tired of seeing grey and ice and snow,” he said. “They want to get out and buy something, and flowers mean spring time is coming.”

Already, he said, people are taking flowers home for their sweethearts, even though Valentine’s Day was days away.

Cotton said he ordered 2,000 roses for the holiday, and expected to order more today. This year, he’s mixing red roses with stargazer lilies for a little something different, and said the lilies will last a couple of weeks. But flowers of any kind brighten the dreary days we’ve seen this week, he said.

“We’ve had more advance orders this year than ever,” he said.

Across town at Pink Peppers, Kaylee Kuhn said they’ve had lots of moms helping their sons choose items for their girlfriends, and men buying Valentines for their kids to give to moms.

Very popular this year are charm necklaces and bracelets, she said.