Crazy Times - Valentine's Day

A florist's life – the crazy week before Valentine's Day

The week leading up to Valentine's Day is absolute madness in our Brisbane Northside florist shop. One moment, the shelves are full of fresh, beautiful flowers, and the next – boom! They’re flying out the door.

We’re based in Stafford, but we deliver all over the place – Grange, Alderley, Newmarket, and beyond. Valentine's Day is one of the busiest days of the year, and we thought we’d share a little bit of that journey with you. 

Galantine’s Day

This year, we considered hopping onto the trend of Galantine’s Day. At first, we thought it was a bit gimmicky, but we sat down and discussed it, and you know what? We found out that we loved that there is a day for ladies to show their appreciation for their friends, regardless of whether they are in a relationship or not. We did have quite a few ladies order online or come in and buy some incredible flowers and gifts for their friends, and we are glad we were prepared for this. 

The chaos before Valentine's Day

The early mornings start with a trip to several flower markets to pick out the freshest roses, native Aussie blooms, and so many other varietals. 3am wake up’s, being first in line at the markets to get the freshest and best flowers – only the best will do at Green Darling Flowers. A quick bite to eat on the way back to the shop, where we all jump into action:

• Designs are confirmed, and updated if necessary.
• Florists carefully arrange each bouquet so it looks just right. Stems are trimmed, roses are reflexed, flowers are wrapped, and vases are washed and prepared.
• Delivery drivers plan their routes around Everton Park, Ashgrove, Kedron, and other suburbs to make sure no one’s left waiting.
• Social media posts are fretted over, multiple times, by the social media team.
• Online orders are closely monitored all month. We can’t have too many orders come in, as each bouquet, arrangement, hamper and rose is put together following a strict formula – too many orders would mean that this process would be rushed, resulting in something potentially not being perfect. For our perfectionist florists, this was simply not an option. We had to stop taking online orders two days before Valentine’s Day. That way, we could make sure everything was perfect and ready for delivery.

The whole shop is buzzing. There’s music and the smell of coffee floating over from the café, and the sound of scissors snipping and paper rustling as we wrap bouquet after bouquet. Fun fact: Our florists operate on 3 hours of sleep a day in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day. The need for coffee is very, very real. 

Valentine’s Day: game time

When Valentine's Day arrives, it’s another 3am start before the full-on rush arrives. Balloons are blown up, the shop changes colour to shades of pink and red. People are coming in all day to grab flowers for their partners, family, or even themselves (because why not?).

Our delivery team races all over – Wilston, Mitchelton, Windsor, Lutwyche, Herston, Clayfield – dropping off bouquets at houses, offices, and schools. Some people order our fantastic arrangements, while others just want a simple bunch of roses. But no matter the size, each one carries a that little bit of love.

By the end of the day, we’re exhausted but happy. The most trying time of the day is the 2pm to 5pm slot, where the body is now operating as if it were on auto-pilot. No more coffee can be consumed. No more take away food is considered. 

The aftermath: so, what happens next?

Once the last bouquet is delivered, we take a deep breath. The shop is a mess – petals on the floor, empty shelves, and a bunch of half-finished coffees we forgot about. The next couple of days are all about:

✔️ Cleaning up
✔️ Restocking for everyday orders
✔️ Taking a much-needed nap. Ok – we needed several naps to catch up.

 Next up: Mother's Day!

Now that Valentine's Day is done, we start planning and prepping for Mother's Day. It’s another huge one – probably just as busy, if not busier. Flowers are the perfect gift for mums, so we’ll be creating special Mother's Day collections and making sure deliveries run smoothly from Nundah right through to Red Hill.

Even though it’s crazy, we love what we do. There’s something special about bringing people joy with flowers, and we can’t wait to do it all over again.

 Want flowers for a special occasion? Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or just because, we’re always here to help. See you for Mother's Day!