As commuters hurry past her flower stand in the Kitai-Gorod metro station, Olya Kudrasheva calmly spray a bunch of chrysanthemums. When a man interrupts her to ask if she can make 25 bouquets for the women in his office by this afternoon, she says no problem.


Although this is a just a little stand in the metro, not a big flower shop with a staff of arrangers and delivery boys, Kudrasheva says she is prepared.


"Of course we can do it, and the bouquets will be nice," Kudrasheva says. "It is the busiest time of the year for us, so we have more flowers, and of course the prices have been raised a little."


With International Women's Day coming up on March 8, business is brisk, not only for her but for flower sellers throughout the capital. From the kiosks at Belorussky Vokzal to the stands at Ulitsa Gertsena, the crowds are thicker and the flowers better than at any other time of the year.


This is always the case with Women's Day, but this year there is a major difference. For the first time, most of the flowers on sale at stands around the city come from Holland. Even smaller vendors like Kudrasheva have contacts with Dutch firms, which means higher prices and better variety. Russian flowers, grown mainly in greenhouses outside Moscow, are still available, but they are not as prevalent -- or as big and colorful -- as Dutch ones.


"It is timed so that the flowers bloom just after they arrive at their destination," says Jeron van Seeters, who works for the Dutch Flower Board. After being cut in Holland, the flowers are shipped in special climatized trucks, van Seeters explains, adding that 1994 is in fact the Year of the Tulip. It was 400 years ago that Dutch horticulturists invented the blossom.


The price of prestigious imported flowers will have many Russian men digging deeper into their pockets. Kudrasheva's cheapest Dutch rose costs 5,000 rubles, while the most expensive Russian rose goes for 3,000. Kudrasheva also arranges simple bouquets of three roses for 10,000 rubles.


Prices around town are consistent, but selection is not. Kudrasheva's stand is one of the best you can find in the metro. At the low end of the scale, there are carnations for 1,500; bigger spenders can get cream-colored lilies for 11,000 apiece. Flanking Belorussky Station, near the entrance to the Ring Line station, is one of Moscow's biggest flower markets. The kiosks are raised slightly so you do not have to stoop, and the vendors are eager for business -- if you so much as glance at a bouquet, they slide open their transaction window and say, "Please choose some flowers, take a look at these."


Roses go for about 8,000 rubles apiece here, and you can find lilies, carnations and chrysanthemums here for about the same price as in the metro. Mimosa costs about 1,000 rubles. It is a bustling scene there, but be careful: The area is notorious for pickpockets, so be aware and discreet.


Finally, some pointers on giving flowers .


?Most often, men give women mimosa for Women's Day.


?Unless you are planning a murder, always give an odd number of flowers. A bouquet with an even number is for funerals or graves.


?If romance has lost its zing, give your sweetheart-gone-sour yellow roses. They mean goodbye.


?If you know any national heroes, give them gladioli, traditionally for leaders, cosmonauts and sportsmen. Only available in spring and summer.


?Florists describe chrysanthemums as the "roses of the intellectual elite."


?Carnations are good for all occasions; red carnations are the symbol of young revolutionaries.