Australian Seasonal Flower Guide
Writing a seasonal flower guide has been on my to do list for so many reasons. Although I have always been an eco and sustainable focused florist I am wanting to find ways to do better and encourage others to do so to. That's where you come into it. If you are reading this blog it's because you are either a florist wanting to do better for the environment, about to embark on your flower planning journey or maybe even just wanting to know a little more about flowers for curiosity sake. Knowing that you care enough to read this blog is a step in the right direction. I am wanting to hold myself accountable, learn more about the seasons, use less imported blooms and be more mindful of educating myself on the best of the seasons and what they have to offer. This seasonal flower guide is only just a start for me. Throughout the year I will be taking note of what's in season and monitoring the time of which it's blooming and then coming out of season again. I will update this list with my findings to keep it current and create a more extensive list as a result. Seasons are shifting and outside influences will always impact the season of flowers. You can use this for a guide but please know we are working with nature and only the man above can make the perfect seasonal flower guide.
More than ever right now we are needing to support local and Australian businesses. Not just in the flower industry, but all industries. Here's a little on how the industry has been effected by Covid. For every wedding postponed or cancelled a grower had an order cancelled. In order for a grower to have a fruitful business they need demand. Demand is built over a long period of time, as are wedding bookings. If this demand all of a sudden stops the growers loose income and need to increase prices overnight to compensate loss of income. A grower will be planning their supply based on demand so therefore the more of us who over time switch to locally grown flowers the more stock they can produce resulting in more flower varieties available and less reliability on overseas growers. With a more stable income for growers due to a higher demand more flower farms will pop up as a result. When the first wave of Covid hit the industry was in a shambles. Given that so much stock is flown in from overseas and this suddenly stopped overnight so much pressure was put on local growers as a result. Due to so many postponements us florists have all been working double time to take on the extra workload therefore needing more flowers to complete our designs when weddings were back into full swing. Prices sky rocketed as a result because there was high demand and little stock. This very well could have been avoided if we all supported the little guys more.
Now, with that being said you all have a design in your mind you would like us florists to create. Pinterest and Instagram doesn't have a disclaimer on every post saying what season those flowers are from or if they were local or imported. We get it, you fall in love with a design and want us to create it. Given that certain flowers grow in certain seasons it is a big help to know how you can achieve that look based on the time of year those flowers will be in bloom. If flowers are really important to you and your whole day will be based off of this style, flower type or colour palette then I would highly suggest asking your florist if your favourites and in season or if before you set your date check out this guide to help you decide when the best time to get married is.
I fall in love with different colour pallets throughout the year. Certain colours that fit so perfectly within a palette will be in abundance and should be embraced. For example, right now there are so many yellows and whites growing all around us. This colour palette works so well with soft textural wildflowers. It's a real sunshine 70's vibe going on. I honestly feel wattle was put on this earth to bloom around this time to brighten the winter blues.
Moving on from winter I love the dark and moody tones that come next. Nothing beats the combo of deep toned Rannunculus, Anemones and Dark foliages. So dark, moody and romantic. Perfect for a forest elopement or industrial style wedding.
The single most best thing about going seasonal is the fact that you will have a snapshot in time of what was blooming when you got married. Every year you can be reminded of the best day of your lives when that flower is back in season growing all around you.
I am yet to touch on the effect of importing flowers from overseas. Here's where you will really be shocked. Did you know that flowers are dipped in roundup before being imported to Australia. Imported flowers are devitalised using this method. They are sprayed, rinsed and dipped with chemicals that have been banned here for decades. Imported flowers are fumigated with is methyl bromide. This is a carcinogenic spray that is highly toxic.
There's no regulation on this.
Once picked and treated the flowers go through a series of steps. It can take 7 days to land here after being picked. For every extra day spent travelling flowers lose 15% of their life span. Ever wonder why those supermarket flowers don't last as long?
So if supporting the Australian economy, reducing carbon emissions, looking after your health and avoiding introduction of exotic pests into the country is something you care about, click on the link below to view our seasonal flower guide.
Check out our guide here:
https://www.thenakedflorist.com.au/australian-seasonal-flower-guide
If you would like to read more on sustainable floristry below are some amazing resources:
https://www.instagram.com/grown.not.flown/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/sustainablefloristry/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/flowerindustryaustralia/?hl=en
Special thanks to the following growers and suppliers for their help in producing this seasonal flower guide.
