Pros and Cons of Working at a Flower Shop

Considering a career in a flower shop or joining the floral industry? Joining the floral industry can be both a challenging and rewarding endeavor. Having spent five years as a florist, I must say that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Keep reading to discover some of the pros and cons of working at a flower shop that have caught my attention the most.

Pros of Working at a Flower Shop

1. Being of Service to Others

One of the most rewarding aspects of the work is being able to assist others and play a crucial part during the most significant moments in their lives. During my career as a florist, I witnessed and played a role in various proposals, weddings, birthdays, and celebrations. I found pleasure in helping others find the perfect gift and have the perfect setting for their event. One of my favorite moments must be having the opportunity to help a client design a Halloween-themed proposal and waiting eagerly to find out if their partner said yes!

2. Delightful Aroma

Then there is the lovely smell of freesias, hyacinths, and garden roses. Being surrounded by these fragrances made the work much more enjoyable and joyful. 

3. Opportunity to be Creative

Having the opportunity to unleash my creativity was just as equally important. Due to the variety of flowers, colors, and vase textures, there were many opportunities to create new designs and experiment with different styles. This came in handy because each client had different interests and styles when it came to floral arrangements. Being flexible and creative helped to meet the needs of all our clients. The images on this post are some of my favorite designs. A beautiful mix of hydrangeas, roses, spray roses, proteas, wax, and ranunculus.

Cons of Working at a flower shop

1. Eternal Prickles

Although the work was very rewarding there were some things that I wish I could change. One of them being the lovely thorns found on many flowers and plants. In order to design the arrangements with minimal pain, the thorns on the flowers had to be removed. Unfortunately, that meant a few thorns were going to be embedded in my finger in the process. Working with flowers also means that your hands are going to be wet often. Consequently, this puts you at an increased risk of developing dry, chapped, roughened hands.

2. Cold Environment

Hot weather and flowers? No way! In order to maintain the flowers fresh that meant that the flowers must be kept in a cool fridge. Now I wasn’t working inside the freezer, however, that meant that the air conditioner in the store was on at all times. This also meant that central heating was not an option during the cold winter months. Instead, we had space heaters and various layers of clothes that stood no chance against the chilly winter season. 

3. Crazy Holidays

Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day became an all-hands-on-deck situation. The days leading up to these holidays were the busiest as we were nonstop cleaning flowers and preparing pending orders. Unfortunately, working long hours during these holidays often meant that you missed out on the celebrations yourself, and after those long shifts, all I wanted to celebrate was my bed. Another realization is that I no longer received flowers from friends and family who knew I was a florist. Thus, I rarely got to enjoy that special feeling of being gifted flowers. 

Big Picture

While these pros and cons are just a short glimpse of my experience as a florist, these are the top 6 things that made me both hate and love being a florist. I am curious to know more about your experiences as florists and how they are similar or different from mine. For potential florists, I’m curious to know what excites you the most about the floral industry…

I thought I’d leave you with the most beautiful carnation I’ve ever seen.