Welcome to the December edition of “In Bloom with Freeda”, our monthly series where we celebrate our florist partners. This month, we’re delighted to spotlight Rebecca, the talented owner of Cherrywood Florist in Tauranga. From taking over the shop at just 26 to building a close-knit team (and a shop dog named Jed!), Rebecca shares her journey in floristry, her favourite blooms, and the trends she’s loving right now. Let’s dive into her story!
What inspired you to become a florist?
I have always been quite creative; my grandma and I used to make little flower sand saucers when I was young and we would press flowers. Not really knowing what I wanted to do as a teenager, I went and volunteered at the local florist while I did my floristry certificate and I loved it. I can’t imagine doing anything else! I have been in the industry for 18 years now!
What year did you open your shop? How many people are in your team?
I took over Cherrywood Florist in 2016, 10 years ago when I was 26. It was just me to begin with and now we have a team of 5 plus our shop dog Jed! I am very lucky to have had the same staff for about 9 years now, we have lots of laughs in our shop!
What is the best part of being a florist?
I love the variety of the job, no two days are the same, working with different flowers, colours, wraps, plants etc there’s always something new to learn. Also getting lovely feedback about our work makes it very rewarding, being able to brighten peoples’ day is always nice!
What is your favourite Freeda flower to work with?
I love the new hot pink dyed chrissies, they have been really popular in the shop. We get a lot of people wanting to know what they are and how they get their colour
What is your favourite season for blooms and why?
Definitely summer, when all of the hydrangea is around, delphiniums, lizzies, dahlias all make for beautiful bouquets
What is your favourite flower to have at home?
I actually can’t remember the last time I had flowers at home, I have loads of pot plants instead!
What is one floral trend you’re loving right now?
All of the different wrapping styles, I love watching tutorials on how people wrap their bouquets
What do you love about partnering with Freeda?
We love that the flowers are always beautiful and fresh, they are lovely people to deal with and we love the little chocolates we get in the boxes!
