25/10/2026
🌸💐 LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT REALLY GOES ON BEHIND THE DOORS OF A FLORIST SHOP… 💐🌸
I’ve been in the floristry industry for nearly 3 years now and one thing I’ve learned is that people see the beautiful flowers, but very few people actually see what goes into creating them.
And believe me, there’s a LOT more to floristry than putting a few flowers into a bunch! 😂
When you walk into Roses R Red, you see beautiful bouquets, colourful displays, funeral tributes, wedding flowers and hopefully a friendly face to welcome you.
But what you don’t see is everything that happens behind the scenes.
🌸 The early mornings when we’re in the shop before most people have even had their first coffee.
🌸 The buckets and buckets of flowers that need stripped, conditioned, cut and cared for.
🌸 The endless washing of buckets, cleaning workstations and sweeping up what feels like half a garden from the floor!
🌸 The hours spent ordering flowers, checking deliveries, calculating costs and trying to make sure we have exactly what we need.
🌸 The flowers that unfortunately don’t last as long as we’d hoped, because unlike most products, our stock is alive, delicate and perishable.
🌸 The phone ringing, customers walking in, online orders coming through, delivery drivers needing directions and somebody shouting, “Has anyone seen the scissors?” for the fifteenth time that morning! 😂
And that’s before we’ve even started making the flowers!
❤️ BUT THERE’S ANOTHER SIDE TO FLORISTRY THAT PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS THINK ABOUT…
When someone orders a £50 bouquet, they’re not simply paying £50 for a handful of flowers.
They’re paying for the flowers themselves, the experience, the knowledge, the creativity, the packaging, the preparation and the time it takes to create something beautiful.
They’re paying for a florist who knows which flowers work together, which flowers will last, how to condition them properly and how to turn a selection of stems into something special.
And sometimes, we’re working with a budget while trying to create something that looks like it belongs in a magazine! 😂
💔 NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT FUNERAL FLOWERS…
This is probably one of the biggest parts of our business, and something I’m incredibly passionate about.
People often see the finished tribute and think, “Oh, that’s lovely.”
But what they don’t see is the hours and hours of work that have gone into it.
This week we’ve been creating bespoke tributes including watches, bumblebees, teapots , trains , bingo boards and even dogs , fish ect !
And I can assure you, these don’t arrive in a box ready to pop a few flowers into!
We’re measuring, drawing, carving, cutting, shaping, building structures, securing materials and working out how on earth we’re going to turn someone’s idea into something recognisable.
Sometimes we’re literally starting with a blank piece of material and an idea in our heads.
And believe me, there are moments when I stand back and think, “What on earth have I agreed to make this time?” 😂
But then you remember WHY you’re making it.
Because that watch might have belonged to someone’s dad.
That telephone might represent a lifetime of memories.
That little bumblebee might have a meaning that nobody else in the world understands apart from the family who ordered it.
And suddenly, it’s not just a floral arrangement anymore.
It’s someone’s memories.
It’s someone’s personality.
It’s someone’s final goodbye.
And that’s a responsibility we never take lightly. ❤️
💍 WEDDINGS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!
Months of planning, consultations, flower choices, colour schemes, ordering, preparation and sometimes changing our minds about a shade of pink about 27 times! 😂
Then comes the early morning preparation, making sure every bouquet, buttonhole, table arrangement and installation is exactly how it should be.
Because while it might be another working day for us, it’s one of the biggest days of someone else’s life.
🌷 AND THEN THERE’S THE REALITY OF RUNNING AN INDEPENDENT FLORIST…
The wages, electricity, rent, insurance, vehicles, deliveries, suppliers, rising flower prices, equipment, packaging, card machine charges and all the other costs that customers understandably never see.
Sometimes I think people assume that if a bouquet costs £60, the florist has just made £60.
Oh, I wish! 😂😂
And then there’s the pressure of trying to keep customers happy, look after your staff, keep the business running and somehow remember to eat your lunch before 5 o’clock!
There are days when we are absolutely exhausted.
Days when things go wrong.
Days when I wonder why on earth I chose such a demanding industry.
But then a customer sends us a photograph of their flowers.
A bride tells us how much she loved her wedding bouquet.
Or a family takes the time, during one of the hardest moments of their lives, to thank us for creating something special for someone they’ve lost.
And those moments remind me why I fell in love with floristry in the first place. ❤️
🌸 SO HERE’S WHAT I’D LOVE PEOPLE TO REMEMBER…
When you support an independent florist, you’re supporting so much more than a flower shop.
You’re supporting skilled people who have spent years learning their craft.
You’re supporting local jobs, local families and a business that genuinely cares about the people who walk through its doors.
And you’re supporting a team who put their hearts into what they create, even on the days when they’re running on caffeine, determination and about four hours’ sleep! 😂
I’m incredibly proud of what we create at Roses R Red , and I’m proud of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.
We’re not perfect. We’re human. We have stressful days, mistakes happen and sometimes things don’t go according to plan.
But one thing I can promise is that there’s an enormous amount of hard work, care and dedication behind the flowers that leave our shop.
So the next time you see a beautiful bouquet, wedding arrangement or bespoke funeral tribute, just remember… you’re not only looking at flowers.
You’re looking at someone’s skill, creativity, patience, hard work and, quite often, several hours of their life. ❤️
And to every independent florist out there who’s still standing at their workbench long after closing time, I see you! 🌸
Love,
Andrea & staff 💕
Roses R Red 🌹 – Horden 💐
