Cover image: @jonimaflowers Instagram
With Winter just around the corner we’re getting so excited for all the beautiful Winter blooms that have begun to enter the Sydney Flower Market! Here’s a little peak inside.
1/ Flowering Camellia
I’m sure you’ll have noticed all the incredible flowering Camellia trees dotting the streets with white, pink and red flowers at the moment. We often source bunches and branches of this from the wonderful Wayne and Alison, owners of Aliway Flowers at Bilpin (read more about their work here), who always bring the most pristine foliage from their Bilpin farm to the market.
Image Source: Getty images
Colours: Pink, red, and white with green leaves
How long it lasts in a vase: the foliage will last you weeks and weeks in these cool conditions, however the gorgeous ruffly flowers are much shorter lived, lasting 1-5 days depending on how open they are when cut from the tree.
2/ Japonica Blossom
Yet another treasure from Aliway, it’s about this time of year that unassuming blossom branches start to appear in the market. When we receive them they have little to no open flowers on them, but over the course of a week or two their buds begin to blossom into rose-like clusters and it is so beautiful to watch! Keep an eye out for Wayne and Alison's sweet smelling Daphne (which is only just starting to appear) in next month's market update.
Image Source: Alan Buckingham
Colours: White, pale green, pale pink, pale peach
How long it lasts in a vase: in this cool weather the buds open slowly at different stages over the course of a week or three, while the branches can live on forever.
Wayne and Alison's sweet smelling Daphne:
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
3/ Cymbidium Orchids
The lovely Neville Schaefer of Schaefer's Orchids only makes an appearance at Sydney Flower Market each Friday in the Winter months when his Cymbidium orchids are on full show, and what a treat it is when he's there. Our orchid order is always impeccably packed in boxes so that his prized Cymbids don't get damaged on their journey back to our studio.
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: White, shades of pink, yellows and orange, burgundy, green and coffee
How long they last in a vase: these last well, changing in colour and slowly losing blooms after 7-10 days
4/ Cyclamen
Image Source: by Floreat using Cyclamen from T and ME Schepel
Each Friday in Winter, Arietta of T and ME Schepel pulls up a truck full of bright coloured beauties inside Sydney Flower Market: cyclamen, begonia and African violets. Cyclamen are such special flowers; each stem has it's own unique character within the bunch, some with frilly edges and others with ombre colour.
Colours: white, pale pink, hot pink, watermelon and red
How long they last in a vase: although delicate in appearance, they're tougher than they look lasting sometimes up to 3-4 weeks! We like to enjoy them on their own in a small vase where each stem can be seen and appreciated.
5/ Begonia
Arietta's begonia is such a showstopper at the market, especially our favourite coral colour. It's sold cut from the plant and masses of it overflow from the white buckets.
Image Source: Better Homes and Gardens bhg.com
Colours: red, coral, pink
How long they last in a vase: ages! Jane has had some in a vase on her desk for a week and a half and they're still looking fresh. We expect they've probably got another week in them, and they've been known to last over a month. Be cautious when handling though as their stems are fragile and can snap easily.
6/ Tulips
One of the biggest supplier's of tulips in Australia is de Boer tulips (which translates to "The Farmer"), who began their family business in the fields of Holland. Based in Victoria, they are now the biggest supplier of tulips to the Sydney Flower Market and their contribution to the Australian local flower industry is invaluable. Their wide range of interesting single, double, parrot and frilly tulips are some of the most beautiful we've seen.
Image Source: @deboer_tulips Instagram
Colours: oranges, pinks, peaches, reds, burgundy, purple, yellow, white
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days and you can enjoy watching as their stems grow in the vase, sometimes up to 15cm or more!
7/ Sweet Pea
True to their name, these short-stemmed beauties have the sweetest scent. They're always handed to us tightly wrapped in paper parcels to protect their delicate petals. We've managed to get our hands on some mauve, burgundy, pink and white bunches so far, and we're looking forward to sourcing the most beautiful soft pink colour (known as "true love") from local grower David Militello as soon as they appear at the market.
Image Source: @trillefloral Instagram
8/ Poppies
Image Source: @jonimaflowers Instagram
We're a bit further into the poppy season than our last market update, so we're seeing stronger stems and longer lasting open blooms. We source our poppies from a few different growers, one of them being Jonima Flowers (read more about their family run farm here) who have tall, strong stemmed beauties in an incredible range of colours.
Colours: white, pink, peach, red, yellow and orange sold all together in one mixed bunch.
How long they last in a vase: 5-7 days, depending on their stage of life. If closed in a bud and they haven't opened after a few days, you can scald the ends in boiling water for about 10 seconds or peel their furry, green cases off to nudge them open.
9/ Flowering Eucalyptus Gum
We're keeping our fingers and toes crossed that Craig and his team from East Coast Wild Flowers will drive to Grenfell again this Winter, where they always return with the most incredible varieties of flowering Eucalyptus gum. Keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram so that you can snap some up as soon as we do.
Colours: flowers in pale pink and orangey-red with hints of yellow
How long they last in a vase: the flowers look fresh for around 5-7 days depending on their stage of life, while the silvery-blue gum leaves will dry out beautifully, holding their colour so you can keep them in a vase for months longer.
Browse the bouquets in our online shop or contact us if you'd like to place an order.
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