For customers wondering why we must make substitutions in your flower arrangements, this is the reason. The flower markets in Melbourne and Sydney are completely bare. And we have been told that it is unlikely to change for 2 to 3 weeks.
Blood, sweat and tears are going into our efforts to source the highest quality flowers direct from local farms. However, there is a shortage of flowers due to a combination of weather events and the effects of COVID-19.
A picture tells 1000 words, but flowers say so much more. For centuries flowers have been the best way to say a bunch. And during this pandemic demand for flowers has skyrocket as lockdown kept at home. For centuries we have marked important life occasions with flowers and during these challenging times people have been sending more flowers than ever.
Only this morning, when we arrived at the market, did we understand the full impact that COVID-19 has had on our grower partners. Local flower growers have been operating under a cloud of uncertainty the past 8 weeks, not knowing whether our industry would be shut down. As a consequence, growers have scaled back their operations to minimise the risk of wastage on a massive scale.
Some of you might have seen the haunting images of flower wastage. Huge mountains of flowers, moved by heavy earth equipment and dumped straight into landfill.
This downscaling in local production came at a time when demand for local flowers was increasing for the reasons above, and also due to the absence of floral imports which were disrupted by COVID-19. Florists who would normally purchase imported product, switched to local suppliers and accelerated the exhaustion of their inventory.
We developing a range of alternative gifts including autumn foliage bouquets, preserved flower arrangements and gift boxes. Looking forward to sharing these with you in the coming days.
We appreciate your understanding during these truly exceptional circumstances xx
