Coronavirus: flowers a bright spot in these dark times

Saskia Havekes has been a florist for 25 years, but only twice has she experienced the demand she’s experiencing now.

Grandiflora founder Saskia Havekes at her floral shop in Potts Point in Sydney: ‘There’s an avalanche of flowers going out everywhere.’ Picture: Nikki Short

Saskia Havekes has been in the floristry industry for 25 years, but only twice has she experienced what she’s experiencing now. The founding owner of much-loved florist Grandiflora, in Sydney’s Potts Point, recalls the reaction to the death of Princess Diana and, closer to home, the Lindt cafe siege as times when the public turned to flowers for tributes and a means of expressing themselves.

“There’s an avalanche of ­flowers going out everywhere, for every reason. People are sending more flowers for birthdays, for births, to say ‘I’m thinking of you’ and ‘get well soon’, whereas before they may have just sent flowers to those closest to them,” says Havekes­. “We can hardly keep up with the demand.”

Havekes is acutely aware what a fortunate position she is in. What began as a very anxious time for florists nationwide when the corona­virus pandemic hit — there was doubt as to whether the flower markets could remain open, resultin­g in a brief dip in trading and some closures — has resulted in near-unprecedented demand.

“Normally after Mother’s Day florists have a couple of days off, but they were all out at the market­s scrummaging around finding anything they could possibly lay their hands on this week,” she says. “Growers are trying to get things happening as quickly as possible. I haven’t seen that for 20 years.”

Prior to coronavirus, 60-70 per cent of Grandiflora’s business came from providing floral arrangem­ents for luxury events for clients including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

Havekes ­collaborated with high-profile international design­er and florist Jeff Leatham on American actress Eva Longoria’s wedding, while closer to home ­regular customers have included Nicole Kidman, Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann and artist Ben Quilty.

All that has dried up, for now at least. “I’ve lost all my event work; we’d normally do 10 events in a busy week,” Havekes says. “I thought we’d be standing around with nothing to do, but having this shop is such a blessing. We have been so lucky.”

Havekes believes sending flowers is akin to a special personal message that lifts people’s spirits and is always appreciated.

“I’ve been in flowers such a long time, but I think of the Lindt cafe or Lady Diana, where you saw oceans of flowers as tributes, and it feels like that at the moment. They’re such a tonic, and this period­ has really proved that.”

With restrictions on imported flowers, local growers and native flowers are in high demand.

The majority of Grandiflora’s orders have been for bright colour­s, while there’s also been an unusual rush on sunflowers, “becaus­e they portray a gentle happiness”.

Havekes says her colleagues in Europe and America haven’t fared so well, with florists shut down aside for one-off trading for Mother’s Day.

“My good friend Jeff (Leatham) is a really well-known florist who operates out of LA and Paris and he’s been completely shut down. He does all the Kardashian flowers but has been closed for two months. He’s devastated.”

Some event companies have pivoted to organising corporate Zoom flower-arranging classes inste­ad. Kits containing flowers, secateurs, a vase and instructions are sent in advance, after which Havekes live-streams the class.