As you may know, I’m not a formally trained florist. I’ve studied under Kevin, watched countless training videos, become addicted to #FlowerTok, and spent hours making arrangements and practicing the craft. It has been an incredible process, and I learn something new every day.
As I thought about what I would want to read on a florist’s website, I decided to share some of the foundations of floral design I’ve learned along the way. These posts aren’t definitive rulebooks. Instead, I hope they help you create your own arrangements, describe what you want for a wedding or event, or simply understand flowers a little better. When it comes to floral design, there really is no boring part.
Next, I want to talk about flower costs. Because believe me, I know. Our arrangements are expensive. I’d like to offer a little context so our customers can understand what goes into that price. I promise, we’re not making out like bandits over here.
Reason 1: The flowers
First, high-quality flowers—especially specialty varieties—can be expensive before they even reach the florist. Unlike most retail products, they also begin aging the moment they’re harvested. Florists absorb the cost of stems that arrive damaged, fail to open properly, or don’t sell in time.
Many of the flowers our customers love also travel a long way. They may be grown in South America, Europe, California, or the Pacific Northwest, then transported under refrigeration through several stages before reaching Greenhouse.
Flower prices often reflect how and where they are grown. Responsibly sourced flowers may cost more because the farms producing them invest in fair wages, safer working conditions, responsible growing practices, and the communities surrounding their farms. The least expensive flower is not always inexpensive by accident—sometimes that lower price comes at a cost that isn’t visible to the customer.
As a small florist, we may not always have complete visibility into every step of the international flower supply chain, but we can ask questions, build relationships with trusted wholesalers and growers, and make thoughtful sourcing decisions whenever possible. Buying locally and seasonally also helps us purchase directly from the people who grow the flowers.
Something else I had no idea about before entering the industry is how constantly wholesale flower prices fluctuate. Weather, transportation costs, growing conditions, seasonal availability, and holidays can dramatically change the cost of a particular flower from one week to the next. Valentine’s Day roses and Mother’s Day peonies, I’m looking at you.
Reason 2: The arrangement
Every stem requires preparation. Florists unpack, inspect, strip, trim, hydrate, organize, and properly store hundreds of individual stems before designing with them.
Professional floral design is also skilled work. A thoughtfully designed arrangement requires an understanding of color, proportion, movement, mechanics, flower care, and how each variety will open and age.
We’re also tied to the way flowers are sold—often in full bunches. Creating one varied arrangement may require us to purchase several bunches, even if the design only calls for a few stems of each variety. The remaining flowers then have to find their way into another arrangement before they expire.
Reason 3: Everything else
You’re paying for more than the blooms you see. Greenery, textural ingredients, specialty varieties, the vase, mechanics, ribbon, packaging, flower food, credit-card fees, and delivery costs all contribute to the final price.
That price also supports a local business. It helps pay for trained staff, refrigeration, rent, utilities, insurance, and the many hours of work that happen before an arrangement reaches its recipient.
Bonus: What about grocery-store flowers?
Now for the question you’re probably asking: Why not just buy flowers at the grocery store?
To be clear, I love the occasional grocery-store flower purchase. They somehow last forever, and they’re much less expensive than purchasing a professionally designed arrangement from a flower shop.
But grocery-store flowers are often priced as a traffic-driving convenience rather than as the primary product of a full-service floral business. Grocery chains purchase enormous quantities of a limited selection, giving them buying power that an independent florist simply cannot match.
Their bouquets are designed for mass appeal and efficiency. They can be cheerful, affordable, and perfectly lovely, but they generally don’t offer the specialty varieties, intentional composition, customization, or artistic point of view of a florist-designed arrangement.
Grocery-store flowers are a great option when you want a quick, casual bunch for your kitchen table. But when the flowers need to communicate something important—or you simply want them to feel truly special—a professional florist offers greater care, creativity, personalization, and meaning.