By Mikayla van Loon
The day of love got off to a tough start for florists in the Yarra Ranges, with power outages hampering the normally hectic rush to buy the perfect bunch of flowers.
But pushing through the chaos of generators, poor internet connectivity and phone lines being down, two florists in Mount Evelyn remained open and positive for the first busy day of the year.
Forget-Me-Not Floret owner Aimee, who only took over the business just weeks ago, made an early start on bouquets, gift boxes and arrangements to get pre-orders off to customers.
But being a “bit of a ghost town”, getting the message out there that they were open was quite the challenge.
“The problem is we have no reception as well. So I can’t even post online, on social media and be like ‘we’re open’ because there’s nothing, it’s just buffering and doesn’t post,” she said.
With fresh, bright bunches of flowers just waiting to go out to people wanting to shower someone with love on Valentine’s Day, it would typically be a high frequency day of sales from foot traffic and phone orders.
Sweet Caroline Floral Design owner Cazz said despite the challenges, it was all about staying positive and getting orders out.
“It’s just a little bit quieter than it would normally be,” she said.
With the shop stocked, “nicely prepared” for the big day ahead, Cazz was hopeful, and somewhat sure, regulars would stop by the shop to purchase their florals.
“We’re pretty organized. We were here nice and early and made some extras so people can just grab and go,” Cazz said.
Open for the rest of the afternoon, florists, even without power, are ready and waiting to help make the day of love special for someone in your life.
