Boom for Mother’s Day blooms
A Nelson florist has been run off her feet by the demand for bouquets leading up to Mother’s Day.
Expressions Florist owner-operator Rosie Seek said her team had to stop taking orders on Wednesday afternoon, after being swamped by the sheer numbers.
‘‘Business has gone above and beyond any other Mother’s Day we’ve ever had.
‘‘I’ve got over 100 orders for the next three days – it’s overwhelming, but it’s good.’’
Seek said she had been taken by surprise by the level of demand after reopening a week ago.
‘‘I thought the first week back we would be twiddling our thumbs and it was going to be a slow ease into it.
‘‘There were babies, and birthdays and bereavements that had happened during lockdown, and people hadn’t been able to reach out to their loved ones properly.’’
Seek said she was hoping to resume taking bouquet orders by the beginning of next week.
With the demand for flowers so high, there was a struggle for growers to keep up supply, and for florists to find the time to put orders together.
‘‘Usually ordering for Mother’s Day is straightforward, but this year we’ve had to make a few emergency calls just to makes sure we’ve got enough stock to keep things running.
‘‘With people unable to take Mum to lunch or pop round to visit, a lot of florists and growers are definitely feeling the strain, because right now everyone wants flowers.’’
With no way to keep the business running under lockdown restrictions, she said the enforced time off had been a chance to ‘‘recharge the batteries’’.
‘‘It was the most time I’ve had off in more than 10 years. You can’t control it, so I just treated it like a holiday – and made the most of it with other things.’’
Seek said she was thankful to have so much support from the community, after what had been a difficult time for the business during Alert Level 4.
‘‘It’s great to see people still using small businesses and supporting local artisans.
‘‘It was cool to get so much support and know that people had kept my business in mind during the lockdown.’’