Florists gear up for mums

Erin Dridan, Alard Pett and Leanna Palosi at Mr Collins. (Louisa Jones) 236315_10

By Luke Voogt

Geelong florists are gearing up for Mother’s Day after Victoria’s snap-lockdown put a dampener on their other big calendar date – Valentine’s Day.

“It’s definitely gearing up to be a busy one,” said Alard Pett, co-owner of Geelong West florist Mr Collins.

While the temporary lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions last year impacted some Geelong florists, Mr Collins still did quite well with online orders, according to Mr Pett.

“If anything, it was an increase on previous years,” he said.

“Last year really brought out a lot of gift-giving and wanting to do something special for mum, because people couldn’t see each other in-person.

“It was good that we could do that for people that wanted to celebrate.

“That’s where we saw a major boom, which is carrying on this year.”

But unlike last Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day 2020, more people were purchasing chrysanthemums – the traditional flower for the occasion – and other bouquets in person this week, Mr Pett said.

“It’s been fantastic to welcome people back into the store.

“People are doing pre-orders to grab themselves, rather than to deliver, which is nice to see.

“Although we’re still fairly mental on the deliveries – we’ve had a real rush on potted plants.”