Bouquets in Sydney

Bouquets in Sydney: the stems, the form and the photo before it leaves

Sydney's flower growers farm on the Central Coast, at Horsley Park and Leppington and around Dural and Glenorie, all within two to three hours of the growers-only Flemington market where the city's florists buy. About half the cut flowers sold in Australia are imported, so bouquets in Sydney are usually put together from both local and flown-in stems. The choice for anyone buying a bouquet in Sydney starts with the flower itself, and with where it will stand once it arrives.

Roses, lisianthus or hydrangea: the stems in a Sydney bouquet

The Sydney catalogue runs to Ecuadorian and French roses, lisianthus, lilies, gerberas, hydrangea and peonies. French is not a variety: it is a florist's trick, bending the outer petals back by hand to open the head wider, and a dozen tied together carry a bouquet on their own, as in 11 French Roses.

Waratah is the flower on the New South Wales emblem, and around Sydney it blooms in spring, from September into October. It never appears in a bouquet here, so a spring order is still built from the catalogue's roses, lisianthus and peonies rather than the local wildflower. Roughly half of Australia's cut flowers arrive from Malaysia, Kenya, Ecuador, China and Colombia, which is why an Ecuadorian rose can sit next to a Sydney-grown stem in the same hand-tied bunch.

Lilies deserve a second thought if a cat lives in the house. RSPCA NSW repeats the warning every year: the pollen, and even the water left in the vase, are toxic to cats, so a bouquet without lilies is the safer gift. Hydrangea works the other way round: its heads are large enough that a handful of stems already reads as a full bouquet, the idea behind Hydrangea and Misty Bouquet.

Wrapped to be carried, potted to stay: choosing the bouquet's form

A wrapped bouquet, in kraft paper or plain wrap, is built to be handed over and unwrapped at the door, then set straight into the receiver's own vase. That suits a bouquet bound for somewhere else afterwards: a desk, a second address, a car.

Sympathy flowers in Australia are often sent the other way, already standing in a vase, a basket or a box, so the family can take them home without needing a container of their own. Choosing flowers in a planter or a bouquet in a bag answers that need directly: both stand on their own, asking nothing of whoever receives them. White and soft pastel tend to lead the colour choice for sympathy, though customs vary from family to family across a multicultural city, and colour often matters more than the variety itself. For a hotel room or a hospital ward, more sits on the flowers in Sydney page.

Bouquet delivery in Sydney, from your photo or the florist's pick

Through chat, you can send a photo of a bouquet you like and the florist answers with similar work already made up, prices attached, then puts together a match. The same works the other way for anyone ordering a bouquet online: describe the occasion and a budget, and a manager sends back a few options with photos and prices before anything is paid.

Every bouquet here is made to order, and the florist photographs it before the courier leaves, so a change can still be asked for from that photo. If one flower is not to hand it is swapped for something close in shade and price, and the swap shows on the same picture. Delivery is free in the centre; outside it, the price of the recipient's delivery zone is confirmed before payment. The timing for each bouquet sits on its own page, and most orders are handed over on the day they are placed.

Sydney's bouquets are also sorted by colour, often the fastest way in when the occasion matters more than the variety. A planter or a bag still suit anything that needs to stand on arrival by itself, and a giant bouquet is the size for a day that calls for a larger gesture.