“I’ve never missed an early morning flower market in 30 years, and I’ve never slept in. Never,” says Saskia Havekes, owner of Sydney’s Grandiflora florist. Rising at 4am is something that Havekes has done three times a week since opening her business in 1995.

It’s also the one part of the job that she can’t imagine ever delegating. Even after 30 years of being in business, choosing the flowers from growers at the markets in Flemington, near Parramatta, remains her personal domain. “The flower markets are such a tonic,” she says. “I can feel like I’m on death’s door on a Sunday night, but I still get up to go to the market the next day. There’s something about it that I find really invigorating and uplifting.”