Best Flowers & Gift Shops

Flowers for Valentine’s Day

When selecting flowers or greenery for your sweetheart, Galentine, beloved family member or anyone else you love, select for personality first and foremost.

• Elegant and sophisticated: Your Valentine might prefer a more classic Valentine’s day arrangement. Red roses fit the bill when it comes to romance - and so do orchids, tulips, lillies and a backdrop of carnations. The latter are less ‘stand-out’ flowers but will complement the stars of the show. Classic colours for Valentine’s Day are red, pink, and white. If you’re in a new relationship, pink roses are less intense but still elegant.

• Artsy or eccentric: This creative type may prefer a bunch of bright tropical lilies, with a few Swiss-cheese plant monstera leaves as a backdrop. Diversity in the arrangement could spark their interest - for example, by mixing native flowers with garden cuts. So could a complementary clash of colours, like bold purple with light blue.

• Laid-back or boho style: The timeless fanfare of red roses may not suit someone with a laid-back personality. They may prefer a minimal arrangement of native or local flowers in a tonal palette or light colours (more relaxing on the eye), interspersed with a bit of greenery. It’s close to the earth, likely to remind them of nature, and feels less commercial than other options on this day of love.

• Practical people: may prefer something that lasts. This could be a single succulent in a pot; a ficus plant (toxic to cats and dogs, though) or a monstera plant, loved by hipsters and botanical trendsetters alike. A potted monstera plant will cost you $88 from Pearsons Florist. They’re pretty low maintenance too, probably much like their owners.

If you're looking for a bunch of birthday month flowers, the same principles of putting personality first also apply when selecting a floral arrangement.

Mother’s Day Flowers

While most Mums are likely to appreciate any gift on the first Sunday of May, often more traditional bouquets work well on Mother’s Day. These are often made up of: roses, chrysanthemums, tulips, lilies, orchids, carnations, and daisies.

• Pink or yellow roses: It can be tempting to write off roses because they’re usually linked to romance, but you don’t have to go for red roses. Pink roses are beautiful yet gentle, with pink representing affection and sweetness. Yellow is similarly cosy but more vibrant and bold, which could be more suited to extroverted mums.
• Chrysanthemums: Known as the ‘mum flower’ for their name and popularity on Mother’s Day, these unassuming and delicate beauties are symbolic of support from family and friends. These are abundantly available in May, being seasonal.
• Tulips: Tulips are seasonal flowers on Mother’s Day in Australia, which means you’re sure to find plenty of florists featuring them. A symbol of unconditional love, they’re often perfectly matched with Mother’s Day. Tulips also last long - they keep growing after they’ve been cut.
• Lilies: These are a timelessly elegant addition to a bunch of boutique flowers. Oriental and asiatic lilies have large, gorgeous star-shaped petals, and Oriental varieties also have a strong fragrance. Longiflorum lilies are a little more low key, but beautiful, too. Lilies are available in a wide range of colours to suit mum’s style.
• Orchids: Notably dubbed the Queen of Flowers, orchids may be an apt gift for the Queen of Mums.
• Carnations come in a variety of colours and light colours like pale pink and white often complement the more ‘loud/ centre-stage blooms’ like roses and lilies. They are also often cheaper than these.
• Gerbera daisies: Representing both cheerfulness and purity, gerbera daisies are a simple yet reliable addition to a Mother’s Day bouquet. Their vibrant colours often add a pop of colour to more muted bouquets.

Wedding flowers

Tips for choosing a florist

Choose a florist whose style you like.

This may sound obvious, but this is a better metric for satisfaction than finding a cheap florist or even a local one. Request the florist's portfolio to see if their work is to your taste. This will also let you surrender the creative reins to your wedding florist, which will help foster a more stress-free experience (provided the total cost is within your wedding budget).

Budget and scope of work

Wedding florists can be expensive. To get a reasonable estimate of just how expensive, get clear on the specific jobs you need from a florist, including flowers for: venue decoration, bride and bridesmaids bouquets, and table centrepieces. Also factor in any extras you’d like, like a flower wall, or greenery lacing your ceremony arch.

How can I get cheap wedding flowers?

The average estimate cost of wedding flowers in Australia is around $2,000-$3000 depending on who you ask. This is despite the fact that the average wedding flower budget is around $1, 500.

To save money on your wedding flowers, know that you don't need to go for the deluxe, no-holds barred flowers options. For example, you can choose to have flowers on every second table only. Or you can completely replace flowers with cost-effective decor alternatives like candles in vases. If you have separate venues for the ceremony and reception, you can use the same flowers for both.

Whatever you decide, make sure to find a wedding florist that can work with your budget, so you aren't later hit with unexpected financial surprises masquerading as sunshine and roses.

Coordinate wedding flowers with venue style and bridal party

You don’t have to be matchy-matchy, but thinking about the colour and style of wedding flowers - and how they can complement your wedding's overall visual design - will help provide a cohesive aesthetic that works. This is particularly the case if the flowers featuring in your wedding are big and bold, or you have lots of them.

Choose local, seasonal blooms

If this is possible, it’ll be more affordable than choosing imported and non-seasonal flowers.

Flower trends in 2020-2021

Mix and match

Choosing hybrid florals that incorporate unexpected combinations is a go-to flower trend at the moment. You can mix and match local garden flower varieties, exotic flowers, and native flowers.

This includes options like frilly roses, lush greenery, and lilies, with a variety of less conventional additions, such as dried grasses, branches, seed pods - even cacti, if you want a bit of an edge. Doing this artfully will probably require a florist’s trained eye, but you can tell them your ideas for the occasion.

Block colours

You’ll often find bouquets today showcasing various species of flower, but in a similar colour. The colour on show won’t be exactly the same shade - for example, a bouquet with a more autumnal palette will have different shades of beige and brown, and perhaps the addition of a bit of dusty pink.

Earthy tones

Colours like cream, beige, and terracotta have been popular. Sometimes this is complemented by a subtle bit of colour, like pale pink or yellow. In a nutshell (or seedpod), when it comes to colour, neutral, nature-inspired arrangements are on trend.

Native flowers

Australian native flora has also come back in vogue, complementing the earthy tones trend. These flowers and greenery (like native grasses and eucalyptus leaves) have character, with their unique palette and bold shapes. Though found in the wild, these arrangements won’t be dull in colour. For example, popular Kangaroo Paw is orange-red, banksias are yellow in autumn, and King Protea is a vibrant pink-orange. All of these beautiful blooms can be seen in the image at the start of this section.

Dried flowers

Also referred to as preserved flowers, dried flower arrangements have become a favourite for weddings. They complement a boho or rustic aesthetic. A few more plus points are that they’re cheaper than fresh flowers, and that these decorations won’t die. You can use them to style your space or keep as a wedding souvenir. If the natural colour of dried flowers is a dash too dull for you, you can dye them brighter colours.

Should I give flowers or chocolates?

This is a very personal choice and will depend entirely on the gift recipient. Some women in particular would say that they prefer flowers, as good chocolate can be quite affordable and available in supermarkets. If you can’t decide, some gift shops do both - such as Edible Blooms, with their ‘blooms’ made of chocolate.

If you’re after something more low-key, perhaps for friends or workmates, there are other gift shops that dress up sweet treats in their Sunday best to double up as gifts. For example, highly-rated Dessert Boxes makes donut bouquets and affordable dessert boxes under $40 in their 'Congratulations' range.