Is there anything better than fresh flowers in the house? We think not. But deciding on the right bud or frond to express how you feel can be tough. The trick is finding someone to help guide you to that perfect bunch, which is where this list comes in handy. Here are the finest florists in Sydney, specialising in everything from vintage-style bouquets to native blooms.
Hermetica Flowers
Opened in 2013 by Jai Winnell, Hermetica moved to a larger, warehouse-style home in Woolloomooloo in 2018, and its soaring ceilings and vast wall displays are as striking as its stylised floral gifts. As well as servicing a vast number of Sydney’s biggest restaurants and creating bespoke pieces for corporate events and weddings, Hermetica sells bouquets for every occasion, perfectly packaged in its delightful signature wrap.
248 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo
(02) 9356 8678
hermeticaflowers.com.au
Floreat Floral
This boutique florist in Darlinghurst creates eclectic, seasonal bunches of stunning natives mixed with tropical and traditional flowers, which results in “arrangements that are a unique ‘unstructured structure’,” according to owner Jane Lampe. The business has built strong relationships with growers in and around Sydney and uses local flowers where possible. And the name? Floreat is Latin for “let flourish”.
21a Barcom Avenue, Darlinghurst (by appointment only)
0410 050 630
floreatfloral.com.au
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SIGN UPPoho Flowers
This popular florist has just recently opened a beautiful new flagship in Double Bay. With blue-washed walls and sculptural furniture, the new digs are a little idiosyncratic, a little posh. Most arrangements have a subtle native theme – nothing brash, just delicate bush flowers woven into more traditional bouquets.
Shop 1, 22–24 Cross Street, Double Bay
(02) 9331 4333
poho.com.au
My Flower Man
Kieran Birchall left a career as a real estate agent to set up a florist business, and a few years later it’s still his passion. At his shopfront in Tamarama he mixes natives into his bunches to create beautiful, fragrant pieces of art. “Less structured arrangements are key. Our clients like them wild in nature, different, rather than domed,” says Birchall.
32A Fletcher Street, Tamarama
0401 107 325
myflowerman.com.au
Grandiflora
Saskia Havekes, one of the city’s most celebrated florists, opened her Potts Point store in 1995. Her designs often grace the pages of magazines, and Grandiflora was included in Broadsheet’s “Sydney Classics” series. The shop is named after Havekes’s favourite flower, the Magnolia grandiflora, in part because the street outside her small store is lined with them.
Shop 1/12 Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay
(02) 9357 7902
grandiflora.net
Bess
Bess Scott grew up around flowers: both her father and grandfather are growers on the NSW Central Coast. For her Paddington store, she uses native wildflowers straight from her father’s Passchendaele farm, in addition to seasonal blooms from the Sydney Flower Market. She learned the art of floristry under Havekes and in London before opening her own business, and has a penchant for bright flowers and sculptural designs.
27 William Street, Paddington
(02) 9356 8464
besspaddington.com
Kiko Design
Kiko Design is renowned for its vibrant colour palettes – but can also do softer colourways just as well. Its designs are sophisticated and elegant, making them suitable for a wide range of events. Founded in 2017 by creative husband and wife duo Kowsh and Josh Rawson, Kiko Designs quickly became one of the city’s best-known florists, collaborating with industry professionals across the globe. Within the studio, the team creates striking focal pieces – for events, activations, gifts and more – by day, and hand-pour candles for its new bespoke range, Alokaia, by night. Put your order in now.
0421 931 558
kikodesign.com.au
My Violet
After making the move to Rosebery in 2019 from a small Redfern hole-in-the-wall (and before that, from her own home), Myra Perez’s My Violet is more beautiful than ever. Her arrangements are bold, with dark and rich tones instead of pastels. Branches, fruits and vegetables also occasionally make appearances, lending texture and contrast to the bouquets. There’s less emphasis on ribbons, leaves and other traditional decorative fillers. The blooms are sourced from the Sydney Flower Market in Flemington, and different flowers and varieties are available depending on the season.
603 Botany Road, Rosebery
0499 901 828
myviolet.com.au
The Floral Decorator
After more than 35 years in floristry, Kelly Thomas can spot the difference between a bunch of flowers that has been picked fresh and one that has languished in a fridge for a week. Three days a week, she sets her alarm for 3.45am to head to Sydney Flower Market at Flemington, then she’s back at the shop by 8am. A proud Wurundjeri woman, Thomas’s business is certified by Supply Nation, Australia’s largest national directory of verified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
112 Erskineville Road, Erskineville
(02) 9516 3113
thefloraldecorator.com.au
Leaf Supply
Sometimes you need a succulent or a monstera to gift a little greenery to someone you love. This online plant and botanical homewares shop offers a number of plant-and-pot combos to choose from, all selected for their low maintenance hardiness. Add glass aquaculture vases, timber plant stands and gold plant stakes to your order.
leaf-supply.com
Interflora
Unlike other online florists, Interflora is made up of a network of 500 local florist shops, crafting bouquets in between servicing their bricks-and-mortar stores. It’s a do-good way to support smaller florists, while still benefiting from the ease of ordering online – whether that’s to get a little time back in your day or to send blooms interstate. It’s also been delivering beautiful bunches across Australia for more than 70 years.
September Studio
September Studio opened in a sunny corner spot in Darlinghurst in 2021. In the space – which is part ceramics studio, part florist – creative director Bryce Heyworth builds sculptural bouquets for gifting and events using locally grown natives and seasonal blooms.
27 Boundary Street, Darlinghurst
0493 100 860
septemberstudio.com.au
Little Flowers
If you’re looking for a show-stopping bunch that says happy birthday/I love you/congratulations or the like, Little Flowers’ bouquets are it. Using seasonal stems, the team creates striking bunches of dahlias, paper daisies, garden roses, among others. The online florist delivers your blooms by bike (tres romantique!) – and recently introduced a subscription option for a gift that keeps on giving. Order before 12.45pm for same-day delivery across Sydney.
From Iris
After years working at a popular eastern suburbs florist, Ruby Marsh-Cashman was inspired to opened From Iris in late 2020 after the birth of her eldest daughter. Since then, the one-woman operation has garnered an impressive following for her whimsical freeform bouquets. Moving away from minimalism, From Iris’s arrangements are a celebration of colour. Marsh-Cashman tells Broadsheet she is drawn to delicate fragrant flowers that tell a story but that she ultimately curates the bunch based on clients’ requests to ensure that, whenever possible, each recipient’s favourite bloom scores a spot in the bunch. The generous bouquets are available for delivery throughout Sydney or for pick-up from her Maroubra studio. Reach out via email or via Instagram for a response from the florist herself.
0450175011
fromirisstudio.com.au
Samambaia
The sustainable Bronte-based floral studio has removed plastics from its wrapping. Any offcuts and greenery are composted; chicken wire or glass or ceramic containers are used instead of floral foam; and the shop reuses the rubber bands bunches come bundled in, or donates them to neighbouring Iggy’s, which secures egg cartons with them. From 2022, the Samambaia team has moved from selling individual bunches to focusing on events, floral sculptures and large-scale installations.
(02) 9389 9125
samambaiaflowers.com
Daily Blooms
Spontaneous special moments needn’t go uncelebrated. Daily Blooms is an online florist that delivers bouquets on the same day you order (but you can schedule in advance too). There’s a rotating selection of seasonal blooms to choose from, so you don’t have to be an anthophile to know what’ll work together. And there’s a focus on eco-friendly wrapping with biodegradable hessian and twine as alternatives to plastic.
Floraly
If you’re looking to send blooms to lovers, friends or family interstate, farm-to-vase flower delivery service Floraly is a good option. Flowers are only cut and picked after an order has been made to reduce waste (a big problem in the industry), and they’re sent in an elegant hard letterbox to keep the buds fresh and safe.
floraly.com.au
Additional reporting by Lucy Bell Bird, Nicola Heath, Kelly Pigram, Hollie Wornes, Alice Jeffery, Lisa Fukuda and Simone Richardson.
This article was first published on February 4, 2022 and has since been updated.
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