Occasions in Melbourne

Occasions in Melbourne: a mum for Mother's Day and flowers for the rest

Of all the occasions in Melbourne that call for flowers, Mother's Day carries its own double meaning: in Australia "mum" is both a mother and a chrysanthemum. On the day itself a coloured one is worn for a mother who is here, a white one kept for memory. The second Sunday of May falls deep in the Melbourne autumn, right when local chrysanthemums are at their best, so the choice starts with the date and with who the flowers are for.

Mother's Day in late autumn, Father's Day as spring begins

Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday of May, a date that goes unmarked on the public holiday calendar. By then Melbourne is in the last weeks of autumn, and May is the local chrysanthemum peak, which keeps the colour choice close to home. A chrysanthemum holds for two to three weeks in a vase, though its lower leaves tend to yellow before the bloom does, and a florist strips them off at the first sign.

A coloured chrysanthemum is for a mother who is here; a white one is kept for memory. Mother's Day shopping in Melbourne follows this custom closely.

Along with Valentine's Day, Mother's Day is one of the busiest days on the florist's calendar: orders run several times higher than on an ordinary Sunday, and slots fill faster. Placing the order a few days ahead keeps more of them open.

Father's Day follows in spring, on the first Sunday of September, another date without a public holiday attached to it. The season has just turned, and the Dandenong Ranges growers are cutting the first tulips of the year, with Silvan's own tulip festival running through September and into October. A bunch of tulips reads as a seasonal choice here rather than a fixed custom, and it sits well on a Father's Day card at this time of year.

Easter weekend and 25 April: a gift and a remembrance

Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays in Victoria, and because the date of Easter shifts every year, the weekend lands differently from one autumn to the next. For a gift that marks the holiday rather than a person, the Easter range covers it.

Twenty-five April is a different kind of day. ANZAC Day opens with dawn services across the city, a sprig of rosemary worn on the lapel, red poppies laid by the names on war memorials, and wreaths set at their base. It is a day of remembrance, not of gifts, and flowers sent for it follow that tone rather than a festive one.

When the flowers are meant in memory of a particular person, the flowers in memory range is the place to look, on any date of the year. One more local habit is worth knowing before you choose a size: an even or an odd number of stems carries no meaning in Melbourne, and a dozen is as ordinary a count as any other.

A housewarming or an anniversary: what Victoria grows, month by month

Victorian growers supply roughly two-fifths of the cut flowers sold around Australia, by the wholesale market's own count. The Dandenong Ranges are a flower-growing district about 35 kilometres east of the city centre, and what is in season there sets a rough calendar for a gift that is about the place and the date rather than a single tradition.

Tulips come from the Dandenongs in September and October, peonies open from October and run on through the southern summer, and chrysanthemums have their local peak in May. Outside those windows more of the stock is flown in from further afield, and winter in particular leans on imports.

Australian native flowers make their own case for a new home or a milestone date: waxflower, kangaroo paw, banksia, protea, leucadendron, eucalyptus and waratah, grown across Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Rather than guess which of those turn up in a given bunch, it is worth writing to the florist directly. They can put a bouquet together around the occasion and the budget, and send a photo with the price before anything is charged. A wedding anniversary present works the same way, and so does a gift for moving into a new home.

The card and extras for an occasion bouquet in Melbourne

The card that comes with the bouquet is free, and it can carry a message or stay blank for an anonymous delivery. Balloons, sweets, a soft toy or a vase go into the same cart as the flowers, through the gifts to go with the bouquet range.

Occasion flower delivery in Melbourne covers a restaurant timed with the venue too, with the specifics on the delivery terms page and on hotels, wards and orders from abroad.

Start the choice with the date: Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in September, or a housewarming whenever a friend moves house. Each range opens with what fits that particular day, season and address.