The high-society florists

jai winnell and edwa rd west

There is no shortage of disposable income for many in Sydney’s upmarket Potts Point, where there are customers of the florist Poho who have a “standing order” for staff to fill their homes with blooms once a week. “We know they want a certain number of vases filled – for the dining table, bedrooms, bathrooms and entertaining areas. We go in and do just that,” says Edward (above, right), who co-owns Poho with Jai.

The pair specialise in hard-to-get flowers, including Kenyan spray roses jetted in from Africa on Emirates planes. They cost $9 a stem, but can be up to 1.5 metres tall with four or five buds on each. “The minute you unwrap them, people gravitate towards them,” Edward says. The fashionable florist caters for private homes, businesses and events, where a new trend is to forgo flowers for vast arrangements of variegated leaves with striking veins and colourings. “Also on trend is just three elements or less – beautiful foliage, local flowers and then something complementary. We are moving away from overly mixed bouquets.”

While Jai has been a florist for a decade, Edward was once a personal concierge who frequented the shop, but then became hooked and joined the trade.