The Embassy Suburb That Feels Like Another Country

There's something about Yarralumla that doesn't feel quite like Australia. You're driving down Adelaide Avenue, turn off, and suddenly you're passing the American Embassy, then the Chinese one, flags everywhere, security gates, manicured hedges that probably cost more to maintain than our first car. Andrew's Mum, Ann, has family on that side in Canberra and growing up he'd visit a few times a year. He still remembers driving through Yarralumla as a kid, face pressed against the window, trying to spot which country each flag belonged to. "That's Papua New Guinea," his uncle would say. "No idea what the other one is."

That was the 80s. These days we deliver flowers to Yarralumla regularly, including to some of those embassies, and let me tell you, diplomatic flower delivery is a whole different world.

How Yarralumla Became Part of Our Network

Yarralumla wasn't a separate consideration when we first started delivering to Canberra back in 2008. It was just, well, Canberra. We had one brave florist partner over at Bailey Place who agreed to help us with orders coming from our little shop in Kingscliff. "You want to send us orders from WHERE?" she asked when we first called. "Northern NSW," we said. Long pause. Then, "Why not? Let's give it a go."

Back then we had no idea about embassy protocols or diplomatic functions or any of that. An order to Yarralumla was just an order to Canberra. Put the address in, send it to the florist, job done. It wasn't until we started getting specific requests that we realised Yarralumla plays by different rules.

The first embassy order we remember was chaos. Not bad chaos, just confusing. Someone wanted flowers delivered to one of the European embassies for some function. Our florist rocks up, and there's security at the gate wanting to know everything. Who sent them, what's in the arrangement, can they inspect it. Forty minutes later, flowers delivered. We learned pretty quick that embassy deliveries need extra time built in.

Andrew's Family Connection

Andrew's Mum Ann has family scattered through Canberra, and Yarralumla was always on the drive to somewhere. Past the embassies, around to Deakin, over to Woden. Those Canberra trips stick with you when you're a kid from Sydney. The cold mostly. Canberra cold is different. It gets into your bones in a way that coastal cold never does.

In 2019 we did a family trip down to Perisher, stopped in Canberra for the night. Ivy was 10 and got sick basically the moment we arrived. Spent the whole time in the Airbnb wrapped in blankets instead of doing the Parliament House tour we'd planned. Could see it from the window though, so that was something.

* A family pic of us. Andrew, Ivy, me, and Asha

The irony wasn't lost on us. Here we were, stuck in a city we deliver to daily but had never properly explored as a family. Through the apartment window we could see suburbs we knew by postcode, streets our partner florists drive every day. Yarralumla was probably a 10 minute drive away but we never made it.

Same Day Flower Delivery to Yarralumla

Order before 2PM weekdays and our partner florists will deliver same day to Yarralumla. Saturdays the cutoff is 10AM. We deliver to the residential streets, to the embassies (with the extra time built in for security), to businesses in the area.

Our florists know the suburb. They know which embassy gates are easier than others. They know the residential streets that wind around confusingly. They know that Yarralumla deliveries often have a certain expectation of quality that matches the neighbourhood.

$16.95 delivery fee, same as everywhere else. We don't charge extra for embassy deliveries even though they take longer. That's just part of servicing the area properly.

What Our Customers Say

We partnered with Feefo back in 2013 for independent reviews. They only collect feedback from people who actually bought something. We can't fake them, can't delete the bad ones. After 22,000+ reviews nationwide, including hundreds from Canberra, we won Feefo's Trusted Service Award for 2024 and 2025.

Sally from Canberra said she "searched many online florist sites in Canberra" and found us "easy to use and the best value." Cathy mentioned her native arrangement "was stunning and has lasted so long." Janice appreciated that we "took the stress out of waiting and waiting."

These are real reviews from real customers, not marketing quotes we made up. After 16 years, that matters more to us than any fancy website.

> Read all our reviews

From Kingscliff to Yarralumla

It's a bit mental when you think about it. We started with a florist and gift shop in Kingscliff NSW in 2006. The previous owner had taken out a Yellow Pages ad (yeah, the book) and we kept getting calls for flowers to random places around Australia. Canberra came up constantly. Maybe 20, 30 calls a month. At first we turned them all away. "Sorry, we can't help you there."

Then one quiet June day, with about $20 in the till, we thought, what if we actually said yes? What if we found florists in those areas and asked them to help us?

* This is our flower shop in Kingscliff before going fully online with flowers late in 2009.

That one idea became Lily's Florist. That first brave florist in Canberra became a network across the territory. Now we deliver to Yarralumla, to the embassies Andrew used to gawk at as a kid, to the leafy streets where diplomatic functions happen and residents expect quality.

We're still a Mum and Dad business. Still make decisions at the dinner table. Still have our customer service team in Armidale, real Aussies, no offshore call centres. Our daughters Asha (nearly 19 now) and Ivy (14) still get dragged into conversations about the business whether they like it or not.

> Read more about us

Ready to Send Flowers to Yarralumla?

Order online or call our team on 1800 466 534. We're available Monday to Friday 7AM to 6PM, Saturdays 7AM to 12:30PM. Same day delivery when you order before 2PM weekdays (10AM Saturdays).

Embassy delivery? Just give us the details and we'll make sure extra time is built in for security protocols. Residential delivery? Our florists know the winding streets.

Yarralumla might feel like another country with all those embassies and diplomatic residences, but it's been part of our delivery network for 16 years now. From Andrew pressing his face against the car window as a kid, to delivering flowers across the suburb today. Funny how things work out.