There's no doubt spring is in full swing now - the beautiful warm weather has stepped it up a notch, and so have the flowers!! After all the beautiful rain, and now the warm weather, this week is going to see some absolute stunners emerge at the markets in abundance, and I am very excited about what we will have in store!!!
1. Lilac
Lilac is one of those flowers that isn't around for a long time, but a good time. They only flower locally for around a month, so while they do, we make the most of it!! With a beautiful scent, and soft, delicate petals, I couldn't think of much I love more than a bunch of beautiful lilac.
Image Source: Our Food Stories
Colours: Lilacs come in white (which are quite rare), a soft mauve colour, and a darker purple.
How long they last in a vase: Lilacs are not long lasting blooms, they tend to last 4-5 days, but the scent is so heavenly, and I think that makes up for it!
2. Azalea
In full bloom, azalea are amazing, and, coming in a range of colours, including a huge range of beautiful pinks, are perfect for making a statement.
We love using the brighter colours in our bright bouquets, and the softer pinks etc in our rustic bouquets.
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: From soft pink to fuschia and many pinks in between, purple, orange, white, yellow.
How long they last in a vase: 7+ days
3. Guelder rose (or viburnum snowball)
Guelder rose is the perfect preamble to hydrangea, and mixed with lilac, is one of my all time favourite combos.
Unlike hydrangea, the "snowball" flowers grow, along with beautiful lime green leaves, along woody stems so that they can be quite tall and elegant.
Image Source: Floreat Floral
Colours: Guelder rose starts as a lime green flower, and as it gets through it's (short) season, becomes a beautiful ivory colour.
How long they last in a vase: 4-10 days, depending where it is in the season.
4. Flannel Flowers
If you know the right people, you can usually get your hands on the odd bunch of flannel flowers all year round, but over the next few weeks, flannel flowers are in their element. They are beautiful and long, and their perfectly simple faces are even more perfect than usual.
Image Source: @craigioscott
Colours: white
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days
5. Paper daisies
Paper daisies are Australian natives, and are also known as straw flowers. Our paper daisies are grown locally on the central coast by the amazing Luff Farm - they are simply stunning, and are beautiful, both fresh and dried. Beautiful in a bouquet, or dried on a wreath.
Image Source: @flowersvasette
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: White, yellows, oranges, pinks, Burgundy
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days (they don't like too much water), and they also dry out beautifully
6. Crabapple and later varieties of blossom
Blossom is still exploding around the market. The varieties are changing every week, and they should be around for another month or so.
Some of the later varieties include different types of crabapple, and Wayne and Alison Inglis's cherry blossom in pink, white and lemon.
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: Burgundy and soft pink crabapple, and soft pink, white and lemon cherry blossom
How long it lasts in a vase: Depending how open the buds are when picked, this could last anywhere between 4-10 days.
Here's a little recap of what we talked about last month, which lucky for us, is still around!
7. Jasmine (Polyanthum)
We absolutely love jasmine all year round. But when the soft pink buds started to appear in August we really get excited. When the buds open up into small, star-like white flowers is when you will probably smell it before you can see it, and if you're sinus' don't mind it then it is the best and most familiar smell of spring. We really love putting this in a vase en masse on it's own and letting it's long vines drape down onto the table beneath it.
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: pink buds morphing into white flower and glossy, dark green leaves.
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days
8. Waratah (Telopea)
You'll recognise this beautiful flower as the NSW floral emblem and one of Australia's most well known native flowers. East Coast Wildflowers (our source of all amazing Australian natives) bring the most perfect Waratahs to the Sydney flower market and we admire the care they take in growing them - they manually place a cover on every single individual pink flower to protect them from sun damage. We'll often use them in mixed bouquets but they are so magnificent displayed in a vase on their own.
Predominantly a beautiful, traditional red, for a brief moment, we will also see amazing pink and white Waratahs in the market soon!
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: red, "shady lady", pink, white and "fire and brimstone"
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days
9. Forget me nots (Myosotis)
One of the only naturally "true blue" flowers available through the year, forget me nots have been sneaking in to the market over the last few weeks.
Symbolizing faithful love and memories, forget me nots are a dainty flower, the size of a tiny button, with a hint of yellow in the centre, and such a pretty element to a garden style bouquet, or even gorgeous just to have a pretty posy of this on your own next to your bed or in the bathroom.
Image Source: Pinterest
10. Pieris
You might have already noticed the white or pink pieris flowers blooming on people's front lawns. Sometimes called Lily-of-the-valley shrub, pieris have chains of urn-shaped flowers, resembling the well-loved Lily-of-the Valley. At the height of the season the bunches are so lush and filled with masses of flowers, which drape down in really long and elegant tassels in our all white bouquets, also making them a really beautiful choice for weddings.
Image Source: Canva
Colours: pink or white with dark green leaves
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days
11. Rhododendron
Rhododendron are often confused with Azalea, but with their much thicker, paddle-shaped evergreen leaves and big round clusters of brightly coloured flowers, which when flowering are so breathtaking they want to make you whip out your phone for a pic.
While they are often deceivingly unassuming when picked, being tight with brown buds, but they are worth sticking with because when fully open, they are striking.
Photo by Randall Schieber, Image Source bhg.com
Image Source: Canva
Colours: Shades of Purple, Red, White, Pink, Yellow
How long they last in a vase: 5-10 days depending on their stage of opening
12. Anenomes
Anenomes are such an appealing flower for so many people. They have a softness about them that's very pretty and inviting, yet their bold, black centres also make them striking and a little bit edgy. We often source these from Andrew McFarland, the owner of Eugalo (read more about his work here) who year after year produces the most beautiful, blush coloured anenomes - so beautiful that one time we almost had to battle another florist for them.
Image Source: Elise Hassey for Floreat
Colours: white with a green centre, blush pink, white, bright purple, fuschia or red, with a black centre.
How long they last in a vase: 5-10 days
13. Ranunculus
Ranunculus are one of the most perfect flowers! Their rose-like heads, which are formed from layers of tissue-thin petals, bring so much joy to everyone who sees them. Don't be fooled by their delicate petals though, they are surprisingly robust and long lasting. When fresh, their heads are tightly closed and smaller in size, opening up over a few days to reveal the most soft and fluffy flowers.
Image Source: @floretflower Instagram
Image Source: @trillefloral Instagram
Colours: colours range from pale yellow to apricot, red, white, pink, orange and burgundy.
How long they last in a vase: 5-10 days, their colour fading and changing slightly over this time.
14. Sweet Pea
True to their name, sweet pea have the sweetest scent. For a relatively small and delicate flower, their fragrance packs a pretty big punch. Those sold at the Sydney Flower Market normally have straight, strong stems that are around 15-20cm tall, which makes them perfect in a short vase on their own. We also love using them en masse as a bridal bouquet, so they've arrived just in time for wedding season.
Image Source: Canva
Colours: Sweet Pea come in the most unique colours, shades that aren't very common in flowers, such as watermelon, really interesting shades of purple, blush pink, and a deep, rich burgundy.
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days but as the lower petals start to brown you can just pick them off and enjoy the top blooms for days longer.
15. Wax flower
For a very hardy, robust flower these are super delicate and pretty to the eye. Over the last year or so we've noticed the range of wax flower coming into the Sydney market has grown substantially and we are not complaining. The more common red bud and white varieties have been joined by a wider range of pink and purple shades. Some have pretty flowers dispersed throughout their lemon-scented leaves, while others are more densely packed with cluster upon cluster of waxy flowers.
Image Source: @craigiosciott Instagram
Colours: white, red, pink and purple
How long they last in a vase: 7-10 days.
Browse Floreat's bouquets in our online shop or contact us if you'd like to chat about something in particular!
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