Claire Smith with dahlias. Photo: Rosewood Flowers.
Mawson’s newest florist says there’s been a “really big shift” in the way modern couples are approaching weddings – and it’s a boon for local growers.
Rosewood Flowers opened for the first time on 20 June, the culmination of six years’ worth of work for owner Claire Smith.
It all started when she found herself “bored” while on maternity leave with her first son six years ago.
“My husband and I moved into a home which had a desolate backyard,” she says.
“So I did it up and I started putting dahlias in the ground, and then it just sort of really exploded from there.”
She tries to grow as many flowers as she can herself on her “micro-farm” at Pialligo. Only when Canberra’s temperatures plunge over winter does she import them from warmer places – but still from within Australia.
“I’m really big about flower miles, so teaching that flowers come into Australia dipped in glyphosate twice before they even hit Customs, so there’s a big chemical component to them,” Ms Smith says.
“The east coast is really where I source from, and in a couple of weeks’ time, I’ll start bringing in flowers from other Canberra growers too, because there are actually quite a few here.
“It’s a beautiful industry, but we need to balance and bounce off each other.”
Rosewood Flowers opened in June 2025. Photo: Rosewood Flowers.
More than half of all cut flowers sold in Australia are imported, a figure that can rise as high as 90 per cent during the winter months.
In the 2022-23 financial year, Australia imported $103 million worth of cut flowers, primarily from countries like Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia, where temperatures are higher and labour is cheaper.
For a long time, it’s been a struggle for small businesses like Rosewood Flowers to compete – but change is in the air.
“It’s very hard to go to a florist and ask for 10 bunches of this, or two bunches of that, when you can go to a commercial grower and get 50 bunches of anything,” Ms Smith says.
“There’s also a high amount of burnout, because it’s a very hard, laborious industry, and most of the people who do it in Canberra are women, and have jobs and children.”
Ms Smith only wound up her part-time work with the Yarralumla Nursery in June this year, after six years juggling the flower business with other work.
“I was getting to the point, about two years ago, when I was waking up at 4 am, driving out to Pialligo, doing my cuts, dropping my flowers off, before starting work at 7:30 am, and then going back out at 4 pm for the evening cuts.”
During COVID, she noticed a change among customers.
“There are a lot of higher-end florists who have a high minimum spend of about $7000, but we’re seeing a really big shift from the traditional wedding to making it more of a party,” she says.
“So while the flowers are still important, because they’re in the pictures forever, they’re not the be-all and end-all – they’re just a side piece to the party. So the industry has to pivot because the brides are pivoting.”
The Bloom Bar offers customers of Rosewood Flowers the chance to create their own bouquets. Photo: Rosewood Flowers.
To keep costs down, Rosewood Flowers offers “DIY Buckets” where brides-to-be can pick flowers from the shelf and create their own arrangements – with Ms Smith’s help – and pay a per-stem price at the end of the day.
“It’s about understanding that not everyone wants a $120 bouquet – they can come in and get four roses,” she says.
“This happens a lot actually – younger girls come in and say they’ve got a 21st birthday tonight, and they spend $35 to create their own bunch and it’s just really nice.”
She also shares what she learns through regular Blooms and Bubbles workshops, which cover basic floristry techniques (over some drinks).
“I should be freaking out right now, because of the economy, and I’ve chosen bricks and mortar, and they always say, ‘never go bricks and mortar’.
“But it’s just the connection I’m having with the people who come in, and the stories of why they’re buying the flowers.”
Rosewood Flowers is open from 9 am to 4 pm, Wednesday to Friday, 8 am to 2 pm, Saturday, and 8 am to 1 pm, Sunday.
