Queen Elizabeth II: NI florists working hard to meet surge in demand for flowers to honour monarch

Flower producers in Turkey, who export to the UK, are trying to meet high demand for the monarch’s funeral in London on Monday. Turkish Cargo said more than 500,000 flower stems, weighing around 13 metric tons, are being sent for the funeral.

Emily Thompson of Twigs and Twine in Royal Hillsborough, Co Down, has seen a definite surge in demand every day this week. 

“Last Saturday in particular we were very, very busy, with big demand for bouquets and single roses,” she said.  “We have also been selling a lot of single roses and things like that.

“We actually have a photo of Camilla on our Instagram page receiving one of them and looking down at it, which was lovely. We have been selling quite a few of those. People are still coming in today and buying flowers to lay down.”

Stephen Watson of Watsons Flowers and Gifts in Ballynahinch recounted working through much of the night to complete a commission for a Union Flag wreath to honour the Queen. 

“There is probably five hours work in something like that and you can’t get at it during the day when you are answering the phone and so on,” he said.

“I worked on it until 12:30am and then fell asleep. Then I woke up at 4am and worked on it until I finished it. It is one of the tidiest and most intricate wreaths I have ever done.”

It was ordered by members of the Orange Order and was left at the gates of Hillsborough Castle.

Like other florists, he has noticed demand surging sharply since the passing of the monarch, having created quite a few wreaths for bands and lodges. “Business has really picked up, particularly at the beginning of this week,” he said.

Claire Crowther of Sage and Meadow florists in Dromore Co Down has also noticed a definite upturn in demand.

“Oh yeah definitely,” she said. “People are wanting to lay flowers in remembrance. Often it is a small token they want. Dromore has its own memorial and they have been holding events there and laying their own wreaths. There has been a lot of people coming in.” 

On Thursday she completed about ten wreaths in tribute to the Queen. Many of them were commissioned by local football, netball and rugby teams and the Girls Brigade. On this occasion the majority of them were laid in the town square, she added.

Meanwhile, over 50,000 flowers have been sold by a Windsor flower shop since the Queen’s death. Natalie Prince, 35, who works at family-run Darling Buds of Windsor, said she had tried distributors across the UK and Netherlands, but could not find any more purple hydrangeas because of the surge in demand. 

She added: “It’s been Christmas, Valentine’s and Mother’s Day all wrapped into one – I’ve never seen, in 13 years of being a florist, a demand this high.”

Also yesterday, a bride and groom laid their wedding bouquets outside Windsor Castle in a show of respect for the Queen. RAF veteran Michael Briggs-McGilly, 46, said it was “poignant” that his marriage to Nicola had coincided with the outpouring of tributes for the Queen who was “always so important in our lives.”