Something we hear almost daily in the shop is variations on the following...
"How much is a bunch of flowers?"
"Is the $65 one on the website a decent size?"
"How much for a big bouquet?"
I have to admit that before I started my training, I didn't have much of an idea about how flower pricing worked, and I'm sure most people are the same. Here's a few things to note when thinking about what your floral budget will get you.
1. Be clear about what you're asking for. "A decent bunch" is not a physical size. "Big" is not even a size. Be specific. Do you want something tall? Something with lots of stems of flowers? Or are you looking for visual impact? Visual impact can be achieved in many ways, and a trained florist knows how to pull that off.
The tricky thing about our industry is that the components of our products vary so much in size and value that it's near impossible to market bouquets or arrangements as "Small", "Medium" or "Large" (like coffees are). A physically small design might utilise flowers that are $10-15 per stem and cost more than a physically larger design that utilises cheaper blooms. I think we're so used to online shopping where the options are physical sizes like the coffees (small, medium and large) that it's difficult to get our heads around anything else. More about website examples shortly.
2. Product availability impacts what we can produce and dictates the price. A bouquet that had a $65 price tag this week is unlikely to be the same price at another time of year, even if all of the flowers used are available.
Like all industries that utilise agricultural product we are at the mercy of the weather, and that impacts price and availability.
Seasonal availability effects some flowers, but not all in this day and age. We are able to import flowers year-round, which can give us access to blooms that are currently out of season in our part of the world, but this comes at a greater monetary cost.
For florists in regional areas "going to the flower market" is impossible, so we're ordering often sight unseen and having flowers and foliage freighted to us. At times what we're hoping will arrive is slightly different from what's actually packed into the box, whether it's colour, bloom size, or in some cases how well the product has survived the transit. Florists if nothing else are creative, and we can usually think of a solution, but it does make it impossible to replicate a website example, or even a design from last week if we simply don't have the exact same product (regardless of price).
It's for this exact reason that when you order online from the shop's website you aren't given a range of pictures to choose from. I understand that people like to see what they're getting for their money, so what follows might help.
3. Flowers and foliage are priced by the stem, but there's a bit more to it that taking one out of this bucket, two out of that bucket and one out of that one etc. to add up to the customer's price point.
Creating a product that is visually appealing utilises the elements and principles of design, and when selecting floral materials, a trained florist follows these guidelines. Usually, we use at least two or three of the same flower in a design, rather than one of these and one of those etc. I will say that some florists do, and do this well, however they use another of the elements of design to create unity, rhythm and harmony throughout the design, even though the form and shape of each flower might be different. For example, they choose blooms of exactly the same colour. This is not always possible in day-to-day floristry when we're working with whatever the wholesaler has sent us.
I wouldn't put one fire engine red sim carnation with a peach gerbera and a yellow rose because they wouldn't look as though they were part of the same design. Creating a design based on stem count and type of flower won't generate eye appeal. There's a lot more to floral design than that.
4. "If it grows together, it goes together."
What does that mean? Well, flowers that grow in the same conditions look as though they belong together and combining them in a design makes sense to the eye. Not only that, flowers that grow in the same conditions require similar treatment for longevity.
Some flowers have soft stems, some hard. Some require small amounts of water, and others are heavy drinkers.
A trained florist will know what works together in a design. You can trust them.
5. Even though it's a quite minimalist flower "throwing in some Baby's Breath" doesn't just add a subtle enhancement to a design. It brings with it at least an $11 price tag for one spindly stem. Bouquet budget blown!
It can be difficult to tell the value of floral material by their appearance alone. Gypsophila is not as cheap as it appears that it should be. If you really want Baby's Breath have at it, but maybe don't combine it with imported Columbian roses and expect to pay under $50 for a visually impactful arrangement.
As a guide here's a few flowers that we regularly have in the fridge (mostly) year-round with a rough estimate of what they're worth per stem (on average). (This is for the shop where I work. I can't say how much this would vary in other locations, or with other suppliers.)
Roses - these vary A LOT, but expect to pay $7-9 per stem, and at least $15 for larger headed imported roses. If you work on $10 per stem that should give you a better estimate year-round.
Gerberas - around $6 per stem
Oriental Lilies - $12 per stem
Carnations - Sims around $5 per stem Sprays around $3 per stem
Banksias - around $20 per stem
Proteas - around $11 per stem
Leucadendrons - around $4 per stem
Snapdragons - around $6.50 per stem
Alstromeria - around $4 per stem
Irises - around $4 per stem
Chrysanthemums - around $7 per stem
Disbud Chrysanthemums - around $14 per stem
Sunflowers - around $7 per stem
Fill flowers, such as Emile, Golden Rod, Aster Lutea, Thryptomene, Geraldton Wax, Sweet William - around $4 per stem (sometimes a lot more)
Leather Fern - around $3 per stem
Monsterio Leaves - around $5 each
Gum - around $4 per stem, and these can vary in "fullness" too.
Also, "fill" (as in, greenery and fill flowers) has a price attached to it too. All products included in a design carry a cost. If you want a really "full" bouquet with lots of horticultural material that is factored into what you pay. A half dozen roses is not $60 (based on $10 per stem) because the design includes greenery, fill, paper and ribbon.
6. Choose a florist whose work you like and trust them. Just give them information to work with.
When ordering, if you can tell the florist what the occasion is, a little bit about the recipient and what you'd like the flowers to represent they will be able to put something together for you.
"Just something nice" doesn't really help because as a general rule professional florists aren't creating product that isn't nice.
We can work with variations on these...
"It's her birthday and she loves yellow. We want to show her that we appreciate her."
"Next week is our 20th wedding anniversary. She doesn't really like roses, but I want to send her some flowers that will last so she can appreciate them for a bit longer. She likes bright colours."
"It's Mum's birthday and I want something over the top. It doesn't matter what flowers you use as long as it's impactful and I don't mind spending over $200."
"Something in a cottage garden style in a pastel colour palette in a vase. She has a vintage vibe. I'm happy to spend $100, including delivery."
Many flowers have meanings, and in Victorian times they were used not so much to send messages but to convey intent. Sometimes using the "right" flower for the occasion and sentiment makes the gesture even more special.
Favourite flower, favourite colour, even things that you think have nothing to do with flowers ("she loves cats") can help us to create personally meaningful florals to convey just the feeling and message you would like delivered.
7. Order ahead if possible.
We need time to plan and create the magic.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
(Reminder that Valentine's Day is three weeks away.)
As it’s been over 12 months since the last blog post (OMG – that’s quite a while!) here's a couple of follow-ups in case you were wondering…
P. S. The shower has been replaced. We only waited SEVEN months. The bath tub is now used solely as a laundry hamper and a receptacle for watering the indoor plants because I no longer find baths relaxing or indulgent.
P. P. S. I managed the 52 weeks of 52Frames and became a “Weekly Warrior”, then immediately stopped. My submissions are still on the Two Togs facebook page if you’re interested. It was worthwhile doing, as I achieved what I set out to do, and now I’m working on an actual photography qualification to learn even more. So much for being done with study!
It’s been quite a party, ain’t it
Purple Fairy
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