Florists get creative with bouquets this Mother's Day as costs climb

Buckets of flowers stay chilled in a cooler flowers at Acanthus Floral & Botanical in Almonte, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

This year’s Mother’s Day floral orders don’t appear so different at first, but look closely and you might see a few tweaks.

Customers are looking for beautiful, vibrant bouquets that speak to the love they have for their mothers — but within a tight budget, said Lisa Bugden, owner of Halifax-based Flower Trends Florists.

“We’re seeing a bit of a ceiling emerge with many of our customers that has been consistent over the last two to three years,” Bugden said of how much people are willing to spend this year.

Delivering on tighter consumer budgets is still doable. But as fuel prices climb, many florists are facing higher purchasing costs and fuel surcharges for floral shipments travelling across provinces, and in some cases, across borders.

Adjusting to a lower consumer budget and higher costs is “perhaps more acute this year,” Bugden said.

Global oil prices have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East in late February, which led to a blockade of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — choking a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Getting flowers shipped to the Hamilton, Ont.-based Blossom Lane Flowers is more expensive now.

Angela Daoulas, owner of Blossom Lane Flowers, said her shipment costs have gone up five to 10 per cent after oil prices climbed to near record highs over the last few weeks. That, in turn, has pushed prices for some flowers higher.

The cost of peonies, most of which make their way from Italy around this time of year, has gone up significantly, she said.

Meanwhile, a carnation stem, which tends to be more budget-friendly, now costs two to five per cent more — even when sourced locally, she added.

Daoulas is keeping her prices unchanged, but her bouquets will look slightly different this year.

“Where we see a difference is the stem count,” Daoulas said. That means a bouquet, which may have had 10 stems originally, might get nine stems this year. Or get different, less expensive flowers instead, such as daisies.

“That’s kind of where our growers are adjusting,” she said. “They’ll add less expensive flowers … but they’ll still give you the value.”

The trend is also reverberating through Winnipeg’s Valley Flowers.

Store owner Sheila Tschetter said she noticed average consumer spending has declined by 10 to 15 per cent in recent months.

That comes as the cost of shipping from faraway destinations, such as Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Holland has gone up 20 to 30 per cent year-over-over, she said.

Meanwhile, a colder spring has left some florists with fewer and more expensive options.

“We would have hoped to have had more locally grown products this year,” said Ashley MacNeill, owner of Halifax-based Props Floral Design Inc.

“But due to our cold spring, a lot of our flower farmers don’t have as (many) flowers as they anticipated.”

That has added to the cost of sourcing flowers, getting them shipped to the Atlantic, all the way from Ontario and Quebec.

MacNeill said the cost increase has been anywhere between 10 and 50 cents per flower stem — some of which the store has had to pass on to its customers.

“We do have a large overhead and we have employees to pay and we have delivery services to pay as well,” she said. “It’s hard for us to cut into our overall markup.”

Halifax’s Bugden said florists also face competition from big box stores, such as grocers and wholesalers, who may not carry high-quality bouquets with a longer shelf life but offer lower prices.

“That’s where customers are migrating,” Bugden said.

But she also said she’s taking the economic challenges as an opportunity to be more creative.

If someone’s budget is $45, their bouquet might not include a lily or a hydrangea, which tend to be more expensive, she said.

“We can still include a rose; we can also add daisies or carnations, flowers that are long-lasting and equally lovely,” she said.

“We can still create a vibrant bouquet for our customers.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Daoulas said she has worked to add more affordable arrangements to her offerings because people often buy multiple bouquets to celebrate all the mothers in their lives.

“You’re not only acknowledging mom, you’re acknowledging your mom, your wife, your grandmother,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2026.

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press