Hundreds of roses have been trucked into Katherine ahead of the one day residents get romantic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Each year Lana Read - the only florist for hundreds of kilometres - imports roses from South Africa, Ecuador and Spain and sees them delivered around the small town, and to large stations in the middle of the barren outback.
She says Valentine's Day is the one day residents bear their hearts, and has ordered 650 roses to supply demand, a fair hike up from her usual order of just two dozen per week.
"Katherine is still a small rural town with men and women who have been brought up to be tough and live on the land - romance and flowers are not always the first thing they think about," Mrs Read said.
But that all changes around February 14.
Mrs Read wakes early and the florist is a hive of activity from the moment she opens her doors.
Cowboys and girls passing through the town on their way home to stations drop by to pick up a rose, partners call up to place orders, and last minute purchases are made by the forgetful few.
"It is our busiest day of the year so far, and that is the case for the whole of Australia usually - there is a nationwide shortage of roses on Valentine's Day, and it is worse this year because of the impacts of the bushfires," Mrs Read said.
Most likely because of its size, but maybe because of our lack of interest, Katherine didn't get a mention on a national map of 'Australia's most romantic people'.
Researchers analysed the statistics of "romantic" queries on the internet, including searches of terms like "Valentine's Day", "love confession", "flowers" and "love".
It found the most romantic Australians live in Darwin, Launceston, and Bundaberg - Gladstone turned out to be the least romantic place and Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie turned out to be quite unromantic as well.
Mrs Read said the amount of people who changed their tune for the one day of the year was always a surprise.
"I get partners coming in and pouring their hearts into cards for Valentine's Day and it blows me away what they come up with - but it is just this one day.
"The rest of the year, people mostly come in for flowers to say 'I am sorry' or for a birthday or anniversary."
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.