Shop owners Lauren Bieber and Tom Crowe find it easy to keep an eye on what’s happening at Fowlers Flowers in Melbourne, Australia, because they also own the coffee shop next door. In fact, it was Bieber’s desire for a steady supply of fresh flowers to adorn the café tables at Mixed Business that prompted her to become a florist. But not just any floral designer: Bieber’s work stands out both for its considered simplicity and its natural, direct-from-the-garden look.
Other industries’ fortunes may rise and fall, but we’ll always need fresh flowers, she says. “Newspapers and banks might go to the computer but this is something you can’t replicate–you can’t Twitter or Instagram the true feeling of flowers,” Bieber recently told Broadsheet.
Above: Opened four and a half years ago, Fowlers Flowers is located in the Clifton Hill neighborhood of Melbourne. Photograph via Jesame.
Above: Bouquets of succulents (left) and potted orchids (right). Photographs via Fowlers.
Above: Owner Lauren Bieber creates a bouquet. Her no-fuss approach: re-cut and clean stems; strip leaves, and use a clean vase filled with fresh water; keep out of direct sunlight. Photograph by Josie Withers via Broadsheet.
Above: Fowlers is a decidedly eco-conscious shop: organic waste is shredded and composted in bins filled with worms. Glass and plastic gets recycled. Photograph by Luisa Brimble.
Above: Bieber collects recycled glass bottles and tiny terra-cotta pots. Photograph via Fowlers.
Above: A single tulip (center) and graceful helleborus (right) in recycled glass bottles. Photograph via Fowlers.
Above: Something about this reminds me of Make Way for Ducklings. Photograph by Luisa Brimble.
Above: Notecards for sale. Photograph by Josie Withers via Broadsheet.
Above: An unexpectedly harmonious trio: wheat stems, rosemary, and sweet peas. Photograph via Fowlers.
Above: Fowlers Flowers is open from Tuesday through Sunday. For hours and more information, see Fowlers. Photograph byLuisa Brimble.
Above: Map via Google.
N.B.: This is an update of a post published July 23, 2013.
For more floral design with an Australian flair, see Joost Bakker: A Dutch Eco Garden Genius in Australia.
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