Remember when online reviews were actually trustworthy? Before businesses started getting their mates to write glowing reviews and competitors started leaving nasty ones? We remember too, which is why in 2013 we did something that scared the living daylights out of us. We signed up with Feefo, a completely independent review platform that only collects feedback from people who actually bought flowers from us.
Here's the kicker - we can't delete bad reviews, can't edit them, can't even respond privately to convince someone to change their mind. For a flower business, where one person sees "romantic and lush" and another sees "bit over the top," that's terrifying. But after 3,025 reviews from real customers delivering to places like Camellia, with 2,406 being 4 or 5 stars, we reckon the gamble paid off. That's how we earned our Feefo Trusted Service Award, and honestly, making flower delivery decisions at the dinner table rather than in boardrooms probably helped.
> Check out Lily's Florist reviews
You might wonder how a couple who started with a tiny shop in Kingscliff ended up delivering flowers to Camellia, tucked between Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park. Truth is, we were getting calls for Sydney's western suburbs back in 2008, when we were still trying to figure out why our phone wouldn't stop ringing (thanks to that Yellow Pages ad the previous owner bought).
I still remember our first Camellia order - October 2009, a get-well bouquet for someone at Rosehill Hospital. We'd just partnered with a florist in Sydney who knew every street in Camellia, from the industrial areas near James Ruse Drive to those newer residential pockets. They told us about Camellia's transformation from purely industrial to slowly adding homes, families moving in, life taking root between the commercial buildings.
> View all our get well flowers
When you order flowers for Camellia delivery today, here's exactly what happens: Your order pops up on our system (yes, we still check every single one), and based on the delivery postcode and what flowers are needed, it gets routed to one of our partner florists in the area. If our Parramatta florist has run out of pink roses that day, it automatically goes to our Rydalmere partner, or whoever's closest with the right flowers. These aren't warehouse flowers shipped overnight - they're made fresh that morning by someone who's been arranging flowers since before we even thought about leaving Sydney ourselves.
End of the Industrial Day Surprise Camellia's industrial heart means long shifts and hard work. Nothing beats flowers waiting at home after a tough day at one of those Grand Avenue warehouses. We've sent hundreds of "thinking of you" bouquets to partners of shift workers over the years.
Welcome to Your New Camellia Home With development creeping into Camellia, we're seeing more "welcome home" orders. There's something special about flowers arriving at a new address, especially when family can't be there to help you settle in. The mix of established industry and new residential gives Camellia this unique energy.
Hospital Visits We Can't Make Being so close to several hospitals but not always being able to visit - we get it. Sometimes flowers have to say what we can't in person, whether it's Westmead or Rosehill, those deliveries mean something more.
The Unsung Business Heroes Those businesses along Grand Avenue and Devon Street keep Western Sydney running. A surprise flower delivery to reception says more than any email about appreciating the team's hard work.
Here's what hasn't changed since that sweaty day in our Kingscliff shop with baby Asha crawling around: we're still making every decision ourselves. No marketing team, no boardroom strategies, just Andrew and me figuring things out between school runs and netball games. Our daughter Asha's about to finish year 12 (where did time go?), and she might join us soon.
Our network's grown from that one brave florist in Murwillumbah to over 800 partners Australia-wide, including several servicing Camellia. But the promise remains the same - real flowers from real florists who actually care about getting it right. When you need flower delivery to Camellia, you're not just another order number. You're part of this slightly mad journey we started 18 years ago, one that somehow led from a rickety bridge over Cudgen Creek to delivering smiles across Sydney's west.
Ready to send flowers to Camellia? Order before 2PM weekdays for same-day delivery.