Who to send them to
The obvious answer is a mother or a partner, but the occasion works best for the women whose work you have watched without ever saying so: the colleague who runs the thing nobody credits her for, the friend who held a family together.
Keep it professional for colleagues. One carnation and a note about the work, not the woman.
What to send
A carnation is the safe, sincere choice — it means enduring affection and it does not tip into romance. A camellia works for someone who would find carnations old-fashioned.
Avoid pink-everything arrangements. The occasion is not about femininity; the flowers do not need to make that argument.
- For a colleague: one carnation, note about the work
- For a mother: a peony with hydrangea
- For a friend: a camellia with lavender
What to write
Name a specific thing she does that goes unremarked. “You are the reason the project ships on time and nobody knows it” is a complete Women’s Day message.
Do not write about what women in general deserve. Write about her. The general statement is what everybody else is sending.