At the Flower Market with Boo Shi

Do you love fresh flowers, but are never sure what’s in season or how to use them? Do you love adding colour, texture and freshness to your events, but not sure where to start? Then get excited as Event Birdie plans to catch up with Sydney’s best event florists on a regular basis “at the market” to see what’s in season and what’s popular in the world of events, so you can be inspired to create something amazing. Event Birdie recently met with florist Kristy Shay from Designs by Boo Shi at the Sydney Flower Market. With the temperature heating up fast and Christmas just around the corner, we were there to discover what Designs by Boo Shi has in store for this summer’s events and weddings.

Event Birdie: The ever-popular peony season is almost over (Oct – mid Dec), so what blooms can we expect over the hot summer months?

Kristy: Summer is the best time for roses, so we’ll see a great deal of them for weddings again this season. Hydrangeas are in full bloom and are great for adding colour too.

As we approach Christmas we’ll see a lot of Australian natives at the market – there is a natural abundance of gorgeous gold, red, and green in our natural flora so it’s easy to create interesting Christmas displays with them. Also great for Christmas is the abundance of green foliage, and to add texture, pine cones, pods and some great natural scrub branches for natural-looking wreaths.

Event Birdie: Christmas is fast approaching, what will your family and friends see on the dinner table this year?

Kristy: Like most people we’ll have a table full of delicious food!

Family-style service (aka sharing or table buffet menus), with lots of platters of food is becoming increasing popular at weddings and events, so I’ll be dressing our Christmas table in a similar way to how we dress our client’s events – with mixed jars and vases full of blooms, touches of herbs and fresh seasonal foliage meandering down the table. This creates a great visual effect and pleasent perfume, it is also something most people can achieve themselves at home.

Event Birdie: What are you producing for your event clients at the moment?

Kristy: Many of our event clients have been looking outside the box this year requesting floral designs that will surprise and add visual interest for their guests. There has been a big request for organic, natural, texture-filled designs for product launches too. Suspending florals and foliage from above has also been very popular and creates a feeling of a living green room. We’re getting very good at climbing ladders!

Event Birdie: What’s new for brides this season?

Kristy: We’ve found a lot of brides are having a flower crown as an optional extra to wear for all or just part of their day. We’ve produced some gorgeous ones recently and expect this to grow in popularity.

Event Birdie: What’s new in the Boo Shi showroom?

Kristy: My team and I are passionate about design and love creating new looks. This year we’ve sourced some fabulous new vessels such as glass light globe vases, coloured, wrapped and textured vases which often become a talking point or eagerly snapped by Instagrammers! *Check out Event Birdie’s Pinterest Board – Jars, Vases and Vessels for some further inspiration.