Most people assume a Byron Shire delivery means Byron Bay, so I pulled every flower order we have sent into the Shire’s main towns and villages lately to see where they actually go.
Almost none of those orders came from the Shire itself. They came from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and overseas, from people sending to someone who lives here, so where they land and what they pick should shape what we tell you.
Siobhan and I know these roads. We bought the Marine Parade shop in Kingscliff in 2006, and for the first few years we drove a lot of the Byron deliveries ourselves. We still get down to Mullumbimby at least twice a month for the markets.
Watch it in under a minute, then read on for the detail.
Nearly half the Shire’s flowers go north of the Bay
Ocean Shores comes out on top, ahead of Byron Bay. Add Brunswick Heads, South Golden Beach, New Brighton and Billinudgel to Ocean Shores and the northern end of the Shire takes nearly half of what we send into it.
I think the reason Ocean Shores beats Byron Bay is simple. Byron Bay has more holiday lets, but Ocean Shores is where a lot of people’s mums and grandparents live, and their birthdays don’t stop for the tourist season.
In 2007 I drove the same loop of Ocean Shores twice with a birthday bunch on the passenger seat, because every street seemed to bring me back to where I started. These days it comes down to the notes. The full street address and a mobile number are what get it there.
Roughly 1 in 4 orders leaves the choice to the florist
The Florists Choice Bright Mixed Bunch is our top seller in the Shire, and the plain Florist’s Choice Bunch and the birthday version both make the top 5.
It feels like a gamble when you press the button, but it’s the order I’d place myself.Siobhan Thomson · Co-founder
Lily’s Florist
I reckon leaving it to the florist makes absolute sense. If you’re in Perth and your sister is in Bangalow, you have no idea what’s good at the market this week. The florist does.
What you’re really buying is someone’s judgement on the day. Just tell us the occasion please, and the colours she likes if you know them, and the florist puts it together from the best of what they have.
It won’t match the photo exactly, and it isn’t meant to. See our Florist’s Choice range.
The Natives Bunch is second here, and that suits the air
Across Australia, the Australian Natives Bunch has been our bestseller since 2013. In the Byron Shire it comes second, behind the Florists Choice Bright Mixed Bunch. Count the bunch, the arrangement and the natives with a vase together and about 1 in 12 Shire orders is native.
15+ years on the bench
Natives are the safest thing to send into humid air. Proteas and leucadendrons have tough, leathery bracts, so grey mould, the fuzzy rot florists call botrytis, has very little to grip on.
Because the stems are woody, they drink best with the base split a few centimetres up. I learned that at the bench after watching a cleanly cut protea droop in a full vase, so it’s worth mentioning when you ring.
The natives keep going after the vase, too, because the brunia berries and protea heads dry with their shape intact and will sit on a shelf for months.
Most go as a bunch, and lilies feature
About 7 in 10 orders into the Shire go as a bunch rather than an arrangement. A bunch arrives wrapped and ready for the recipient’s own vase. If the address is a holiday let or a hotel room, there may be no vase to put a bunch in, so choose from our flowers with a vase instead.
Roughly 1 in 5 orders is a design with lilies in it, and the Rose, Gerbera & Lilies Bunch is third on the list.
15+ years on the bench
Lilies keep a bunch changing as the buds open in turn over several days, so by day 4 it looks quite different from day 1.
The orange pollen is the only catch, because a white shirt brushed against an open lily usually comes off worst. Pinching off the anthers as each bloom opens stops the stain, and in my experience the flower lasts longer for it too. It’s a tip worth passing on to whoever gets the lilies.
If you are not sure what to send
Lily’s Florist
Orders into the Shire are spread across a lot of different designs, so you’re not going to get this badly wrong. If I were stuck, I’d send the Florists Choice Bright Mixed Bunch for a birthday. If they love their garden, or you want it to last, I’d send the Australian Natives Bunch. If it’s going to a rental, add a vase please.
Flowers are a small thing to send from another state, but they’re usually what gets you a phone call that night.
Send something made for humid air
Order before 2pm on a weekday, or 10am on a Saturday, and our partner florist in the area can have it with them the same day. Order later and you simply pick the delivery date at checkout.
Shop Australian native flowersQuestions? Ring the team on 1300 360 469, 7am to 6pm weekdays and 7am to 10am Saturdays.
