We all know the frustration of getting home from the market with a fresh lot of blooms, only to find that they’ve dried out, closed up and died after a week. So annoying!
But how do you know what to look for at the market? How do you pick the flowers that are going to last over the flowers that won’t?
Well, after many years of trial and error, here are our top tips for choosing flowers and foliage that are going to look good for longer in your vases.
Check the stems
The first thing to have a look at is whether you’ve got bright green flower stems and vivid foliage. Any yellowing or slimy leaves are a bad sign, and those flowers won’t have much life left in them.
You should also check how the stems feel. They should be stiff, but supple. This shows that the entire flower is well hydrated and healthy––meaning longer vase life for you!
Check the buds
If there are flowers or buds present, make sure that most of the blooms are closed, and any that are open look vibrant and fresh. Buds should be colourful, so if you’re noticing a lot of colourless, tight buds then the blooms were likely cut prematurely!
The buds should also not be transparent or have any visible veins protruding. When this is happening, it’s usually an indication that the flowers have been cold-stored for too long. This results in blooms that fail to open and flowers that are drying out quickly.
Check the petals
Healthy flower petals will have bright, vivid colours and––like the buds––should not have any visible veins sticking out. Remember, visible veins = dry flowers!
There should also not be any holes or tears that you can see in the petals, or the stems. Damaged flowers are going to have much shorter lives and any tears open the flower up to bacteria growth.
Choose local growers
We do our best to source locally grown botanical material that has been treated with love and respect. Flowers that have been cultivated by hand and grown with care are likely to be much healthier and more vibrant than heavily fumigated imports.
Imported flowers are usually grown with harmful pesticides, go through lengthy shipping times and are fumigated before they can enter the country. By the time they arrive at the wholesale market, they’re already on their last legs. If you really want your flowers to last as long as possible, local flowers will trump imports any day.
Here are a few of our favourite local growers here in Victoria:
- Scout’s Garden is an eco-florist located in Beechworth, VIC. They are proudly part of the “slow flower” movement here in Australia, consciously producing sustainable, seasonal flowers.
- Maxiflora is a sustainable and holistic flower practice based on beautiful Phillip Island. The van der Zwet family are third generation flower growers, who pride themselves on innovating and utilising new technology to sustainably grow, nurture and harvest their flowers.
- Geelong Flower Farm proudly stocks the largest variety of fresh cut flowers in Western Victoria. They are locally owned and operated, and their extensive experience in the horticultural industry means that they are only selecting the best quality flowers!
- Sunny Hill Flowers is a family owned Aussie business located in Silvan, Victoria. Their climate controlled greenhouses mean that they are not limited by the Australian climate, so the flowers they produce are consistently the best quality, all year round.
- Australian Roses is a flower farm located in Silvan, Victoria. The Neil family have been growing roses since 1936, and they grow and propagate their stunning roses year round.
Now that you know what to look for at the flower markets, let’s show you how to create some stunning new arrangements! Check out our online course, Bloom Basics, for everything you need to know about flower arranging.