The Wonder That is Letterbox Flowers

A Surprise

I was so excited. I had been summoned to the loading bay at work to retrieve a mystery package. I love nothing more than to head downstairs to collect a parcel, especially when it is a surprise. Ordinarily my deliveries are some form of clothing but but on this occasion I was handed a long rectangle box. Within seconds I knew what I had been sent. It was a bunch of flowers from one of the biggest disruptors in the floristry industry, Bloom & Wild.

Everyone Needs Fresh Flowers

I had been meaning to order a bunch a flowers from Bloom & Wild since I attended their flower arranging workshop at Lombok; the home interior store on Tottenham Court Road (blog post coming soon). This was by far one of my favourite flower workshops. The Bloom & Wild team were super friendly and knowledgeable. Further, my hand tied bouquet lasted the best part of two weeks.

I religiously purchase fresh flowers and on lucky days I return home to a beautiful vase of flowers from my husband. They bring me so much joy from both a visual and scent perspective, they really do brighten up the dullest of rooms.

I frequently held internal debates on whether to order an arrangement from Bloom & Wild for myself. I always concluded that it would be too much of an indulgence. That such a purchase should be reserved for gifting to loved ones. I was wrong!

At present, I favour Waitrose’s lilies and/or roses, both of which last for weeks. I also visit Columbia Road Flower Market once a month to buy flowers in bulk and at bargain prices. When purchasing from Waitrose I usually opt for a single flower bouquet; the mixed bouquets are not always too my taste. Also, I find myself combining mixed and single flower bouquets, it can get very expensive. Columbia Road is a remedy to this problem. I can purchase multiple bunches at little expense and then spend time practising my flower arranging skills.

With most things in life, there is always a downside. Whilst Columbia Road is a cost effective solution the market gets incredibly busy. It is located on the other side of London and most annoyingly, I struggle to transport the flowers home. This is where Bloom & Wild steps in. Bloom & Wild has arrangements to suit every pocket, occasion and colour scheme.

Thoughtful Surprise

Back to my delivery, the only remaining question was who out of my friends and family knew to send me these flowers? Who understood exactly what would make me smile, the type of flowers that I prefer?

The flowers were from Bev. She is a close friend and housemate from my time in New York. It was such a sweet gesture, if you knew Bev you would know that this was 100% her style.

Packaging

On lifting the lid of the box and ripping through the tissue/plastic I revealed a number of individually wrapped flowers. I have since learnt that the official term is netted; the larger heads were covered in a white net for protection. This approach 100% works, each and every flower was intact, zero wastage.

Historically, bunches of flowers were delivered in boxes. They would be arranged and tied. All that the recipient needed do was to trim the stems and place them into a suitable vase.

Where flowers are delivered loose they are usually one type of flower; a bunch of roses, lilies, daisies etc. Bloom & Wild sort to overcome the cumbersome way mixed arrangements were delivered. They wanted to save packaging and space by sending loose flowers but they needed to ensure that recipients could recreate the arrangements as advertised. Clearly not all recipients of flowers are green fingered. The solution, they provide instructions on how to condition and arrange the flowers.

The Instructions

The first instructions are written on a card which feature a picture of each stem contained in the box along with its name. This was very useful as an education tool for future purchases and general flower shopping.

The second set of instructions are on the lid of the box, they explain how to condition the flowers. Conditioning is where you remove excess leaves and petals before trimming a stem to size. Top tip, you should always condition flowers with the vase in mind. Remember, you can always trim more off a stem but you can never add back length.

 

Something else to keep in mind, when florists arrange flowers they often remove the outer petals, those that have been damaged. Bloom & Wild do not remove the outer petals from flowers like roses etc as it is an extra layer to f protection but you should remove them when you condition stems.

The last note enclosed in the delivery was ‘A Note For You’, a step-by-step guide explaining how to arrange the bouquet. This guide outlines how to build the bouquet stem by stem.

Unique Arrangements

Unique to Bloom & Wild is their range of bouquet styles. Many of the designs are reminiscent of the flower arrangements I use to purchase from a florist based where I grew up in Bedfordshire/ Northamptonshire. As you will see on the website, the bouquet styles vary from relaxed wild flower arrangements with interesting foliage to tighter bouquets dense with traditional flowers like roses, daisies and lilies. On this occasion I had received a beautiful summer bouquet featuring many flowers including roses and snapdragons.

Design Rotation

The bouquet designs are seasonal and are only featured for limited periods.

This is key as if you order from them regularly or join their subscription service, there is less chance of you receiving a bouquet twice, unless you want to.

In addition to the different designs there are also options to add gifts to your bouquet. There is a gift for pretty much any and every occasion, some are multifunctional like chocolates others range from different types of soft toys to champagne.

Delivery

Orders are sent through Royal Mail and can be placed as late as 5.30pm for guaranteed next day delivery. Orders placed before 10pm, whilst not being guaranteed, will more than likely be delivered the next day. There is also the option to use DPD delivery but this at a higher cost.

A Ray of Sunshine

My delivery became pride of place on my desk. Fortunately I am sat next to a large window so they received a lot of light. I also went to the added extreme of changing the water daily, anything to make them last longer. The bouquet lasted for over a week. I removed any wilted flowers and the remaining stems were colourful enough to hold their own.

Having had such a positive experience with this bouquet I have gone on to order a number of bouquets for friends and family. All have spoken highly of the flowers when compared to other mail delivered flowers.

Flower Power

Bloom & Wild is not just a flower delivery service. It is creating a flower movement. Their website has a Flower Journal section. Here you will find everything flower related: Flower Occasions, Flower Tips, Collaborations, Interiors, Blooms and Trends. I am addicted to this website, there are so many usually hints and tips.

Aron Gelbard

Aron founded the company in 2013. Influenced by companies like Graze, Aron sort to remedy the issue of being able to order and send flowers in a more efficient manner. I think we can all agree that he has successfully achieved this. The company is set to overtake Interflora and was named the second fastest growing business in the UK, behind Deliveroo.

The success of the company can be attributed to a number of factors but when compared to other flower delivery companies the ease of its app, postage through Royal Mail and variety of products are the clear unique selling points.

Subscriptions

In addition to purchasing single bouquets you can sign-up for a subscription. The subscriptions can be as frequent or infrequent as you require. I am yet to sign-up for this service as I am making an effort to try flowers from different florists for blogging purposes. That being said, I would definitely consider purchasing this as a gift for a loved one.

Bloom & Wild is now one of my go to gifting websites. I mean, why wouldn’t you a desk that looks like mine?

Please do share any flower delivery recommendations that you have. Especially those related to independent florist……let’s do our bit to help smaller businesses.