It was only after his mother died of breast cancer two years ago that Mr Jaryl Wong realised the importance of Mother's Day.
Even though he runs wholesale business Greenhub Flowers, Mr Wong, 25, had never given his mother any flowers or celebrated Mother's Day with her.
"Now I don't have a chance to do that any more," said Mr Wong.
This year, amid the coronavirus crisis, he is even more determined to help others express their love and gratitude to their mothers through flowers for Mother's Day this Sunday.
His family business had to be suspended when circuit breaker rules kicked in last month, as it was not considered an essential service.
A Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) spokesman told The Straits Times that flower retailers and wholesalers are not allowed to open their shopfront, but they can continue to sell their flowers online and fulfil orders through delivery during the circuit breaker period.
Mr Wong said he applied for an exemption to continue operating his business at Premier @ Kaki Bukit by reducing the number of staff and implementing safe distancing measures at the workplace. Orders can only be placed online.
His application was approved and business resumed on Monday, with a limit of four workers including himself and his father allowed at the workplace to fulfil delivery of the online orders.
Said Mr Wong: "We want to ensure that mothers here have flowers. We did not import as much as in previous years because of risks such as flight cancellations and delays which can cause a lot of stress to the flowers being left in the boxes for days.
"We also want to stay open as much as possible to do our part as importers in support of our overseas suppliers. Without their support, land-scarce Singapore would not have come so far in the floral business."
Mr Wong said it is heartrending that millions of flowers are being destroyed every day as orders are cancelled due to countries going into lockdown.
This week, he managed to import close to 50,000 stalks of flowers from Holland, such as garden roses, peonies and lily of the valley. He also has roses from Kenya and China.
Mr Koh Mong Hai, 59, owner of GG Fresh Flower at Primax at 22 New Industrial Road, said he knows of five other major operators importing flowers during this circuit breaker period.
Wholesalers have to compete to secure cargo space for the few flights into Singapore every week.
Freight charges have also risen by at least three times, said Mr Koh, who has secured more than 100,000 stalks of carnations from Holland, China and Malaysia this week.
He has had to raise prices by as much as 20 per cent.
Mr Koh added that the number of carnations this year is a quarter of what he used to sell during Mother's Day in previous years.
He said in Mandarin: "I have received more orders, some of which are new from florists. I believe more have got permits to operate in recent weeks."
MTI did not reply when asked how many flower retailers and wholesalers have been granted approval to operate during the circuit breaker period.
Ms Chris Kok, marketing manager of FarEastFlora.com, said the company sold more bouquets for Mother's Day this year, compared with last year.
She declined to reveal figures and attributed the increase to families being unable to celebrate the occasion in a restaurant.
Those who do not live in the same household are also more inspired to send flowers and gifts to their mothers, mothers-in-law and extended family members, she added.
As of Wednesday, many online florists were unable to accept new orders, citing the supply crunch and limited delivery slots.
But it is still not too late to say you love mum with a bouquet.
Fresh carnations will be available at Cold Storage and FairPrice supermarkets on Mother's Day, said Mr Koh, adding that he supplies flowers to the two supermarket chains daily.
