Roses are Red – Mountain Love Flowers

By far one of Tamborine Mountain’s most popular features is its beautiful flora. Flowers just make people happy, and nobody knows that better than Stephanie Hill of Mountain Love Flowers. Whether it’s a proposal, a birthday or an apology, a romantic weekend away or a full-blown wedding, Stephanie is an expert in bringing a little floral happiness to mountain locals, and she’s just as happy to give us some insight today.

by Kyle Hitchmough

How did Mountain Love Flowers get started?

We began in 2016, when we first moved to the mountain. I always wanted to be a florist. I’m English and obviously there’s loads of beautiful flowers in England, like the foxgloves that grow really tall. I did a little bit of floristry in Perth for the Boatshed, and once we moved over here and had kids then I just wanted to be my own boss.

What kinds of floristry products and services do you offer?

We do everyday bunches and we also do weddings and special events, funerals, all kinds of flowers, depending on what people want. Otherwise, your friend down the road might need a bunch! We can do flower crowns, I’ve done flower crown workshops. We do lots of weddings at Cedar Creek Estate, Pethers, Hampton Wines, all those venues.  I work mainly on the mountain.

Do you specialise in any particular flowers?

We try to accommodate to everyone’s tastes, but we do love roses and we love natives… We try to source a lot of our flowers on the mountain. Obviously, we need some imported flowers as well but we do all types. We even have dried flowers that we can put in as they’re quite popular at the moment. Roses for proposals and petal aisles are also popular.

Do you use mainly seasonal flowers or do you have a more consistent range?

It depends on people’s budget. If we do in-season flowers then obviously you can get a lot more for your budget, whereas imported roses or orchids are a lot more expensive. We can do whichever people like! We’re always happy to accommodate everyone. But we do love local flowers! Orchids are in season right now.

What are the most popular flowers you use?

Probably Playa Blanca roses! They’re really beautiful, and in photos they look pure white. They’re really popular, since a lot of people this year for weddings have wanted all white. Some people also like burgundy with the white. Eucalyptus for greenery on tables is always in, or people go native with king proteas, I love them. Lots of proteas actually grow on Tamborine Mountain. We also hire out arches and stands to put the flowers on. Freestanding arrangements have been been popular.

Where do you source your flowers from?

Some from the mountain, from various properties, and mainly Brisbane for the imported flowers. Baby’s breath comes from Ecuador, Playa Blanca roses from either Colombia or Ecuador. There’s a local flower farm at Ipswich which does a small range of roses but mostly the roses are from overseas.

Are weddings your main source of business?

Yes! I enjoy doing those. Otherwise, general romance upgrades for Airbnbs and cottages. A lot of people come here to get engaged, to go for a romantic weekend away on the mountain. So I’ll go in and set it up with the heart on the bed, the petals and the roses and when they walk in, they can pop the question!

Have you noticed any particular trends in your clientele?

Lots of couples. Husbands that are away and can’t be there for a birthday or something like that, will order flowers to be sent to their wives. This year there’s been a few people who have turned 100 on the mountain! So lots of birthday parties, too. They really like the sweet, fragrant roses, a more traditional style of floristry. A lot of younger brides prefer the boho style with pampas grass and dried flowers with the roses.

As a local, what’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?

We love it here, there’s loads of great cafés which is great. Everyone’s quite creative, I find, very talented. It’s a great vibe! Everyone’s very friendly.  It’s very green, very peaceful. Obviously it gets a bit more busy on the weekends, but that helps you not feel excluded from the world. Some people think when you move to the mountain that you’re a million miles away from everything, but it’s not actually too far. A short drive and you’re back to where all the big shops are, but otherwise you’re in your own quiet, peaceful little nook.

What’s your favourite thing to do on the mountain?

The Coffee Plantation is one of our favorites. It’s got a nice area for the kids to run around. We also like Mountain Brew and the bakery on Main Street. Main Street is a great little area! We like the national park walks, the Knoll Road little walk track is great. We go to Lions Park a lot and the St. Bernards pub is great.

What do you think Mountain Love Flowers really provides to the area?

Being able to get affordable flowers that are beautifully arranged. We do free delivery on the mountain as well! We try to do more deliveries than have people come to us, so that they feel special.

What do you enjoy most about doing this?

I love being creative, and the joy that you get to bring to people! People often send flowers when someone isn’t feeling very well, or they might be lonely. I’ve got a lot of great customers, some of whom are a little bit older and might not be able to see their families so much. I get to go over and put the flowers in a vase for them, and it just brightens their whole day. Flowers are all about cheering people up.

What’s been your most memorable moment in your time here?

One of my biggest weddings was when I first started, at Aquis in Canungra. The bride was South African and had the most beautiful wedding, with such vibrant colours, so many roses and gerberas. I sourced everything locally, and it was really stunning and beautiful. She was so appreciative! That was amazing. It’s really rewarding to see people happy, we get a lot of reviews from customers who have really enjoyed their flowers. We’ve been nominated for several awards, and I’ve won one before!

Mountain Love Flowers
6 TETON CT, TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN, QLD 4270

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