How Much Does a Flower Arrangement Cost on the Gold Coast?

If you’re not a big flower person, buying an arrangement can be intimidating. It’s hard to know what sort of flowers are appropriate – and how much they should cost. $30? $50? $100? Are you being overcharged, or are a fistful of plant cuttings actually worth that much?

We wrote this guide to give you an idea of how much a flower arrangement should cost, and the sort of factors that go into a flower shop putting a three-figure price tag on a bouquet. To do that, we aggregated the price of 19 arrangements from 10 different florists across the Gold Coast and calculated both the average and median cost.

Even if you’re from somewhere else – like Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne – these prices should give you a rough idea of what’s reasonable and what’s not.        

What Goes Into Pricing a Flower Arrangement?

Flowers might seem expensive, but those prices don’t come out of the blue. They’re a combination of the cost of goods sold (how much the florist buys the flowers for), production costs (how much time the florist spends composing the arrangement), and packaging costs. Shipping-related costs are generally calculated separately to the cost of the arrangement itself.

Of course, even similar flower arrangements can vary hugely in price. Why? Thanks to four factors:

• the type of flowers used
• the quality of those flowers
• the arrangement’s packaging
• the purpose of the arrangement.

Let’s explore what each of those different aspects actually means.

Flower Types

The base determinant of arrangement pricing is the type of flowers that are included. A standard flower bouquet, for example, is made up of a few popular varieties – such as roses, peonies, and hydrangeas – mixed with less expensive greens like ferns and silver-leaved mountain gum stalks.

Because these ‘standard bouquets’ can be adjusted seasonally and don’t require any specific grower yields (if a florist’s supplier runs out of a specific flower, they can just use a different flower source), they’re relatively inexpensive to produce.

When arrangements are segregated by flower type or colour – for example, lily-only or all-pink bouquets – prices start to increase, especially if the flowers in question are harder to grow. These types of arrangements are often undiluted by greens, so you may actually get more flowers overall than in a standard arrangement.

Native Australian flowers (also known as ‘wildflowers’) tend to be on the pricier side as well. Certain varieties, like banksias, are harvested from trees, which take longer to flower and require a lot more space and water per unit. Those varieties often don’t bloom continuously, either, which can substantially reduce yield volume.

So, in sum: flower arrangements are most affordable when they include common flower varieties and greens, go up in price when segregated by colour or type, and are most expensive when they include native flowers or other more unusual varieties.

Flower Quality

Another determinant of price is flower quality. Fresher flowers that are stored in climate-controlled conditions last longer, giving them more time to brighten up your home. If an arrangement uses older flowers or is stored in inappropriate conditions (0.5–1.5°C is generally ideal, but there are exceptions), it will age faster.

The use of harsh fertilisers and chemicals can also factor into price. Because organic certification is expensive (really expensive), those costs are generally passed onto the consumer – you. There’s a debate to be had over whether organic flowers are actually necessary (after all, you’re not eating them), but we believe that sustainable growing practices are essential. Chemical-heavy farming impacts our world in many different ways, so, when possible, aim to choose flowers that are organic, chemical-free, or grown using integrated pest management (IPM).

Packaging

If you Google ‘flower arrangement gold coast’, most of the top sites don’t just sell flowers. Their arrangements are constructs of plastic, paper and glass – expensive packaging encasing a few valuable flowers. Many also come with elaborate protective boxes, cards, small gifts, and even alcohol.

While there’s nothing wrong with nice packaging, it increases the price and has environmental implications. Our preference: let the flowers stand on their own. A few protective layers of recyclable paper wrapping are just as effective and cost a lot less.

Purpose

It might seem strange, but the cost of a flower arrangement can vary based purely on its purpose. If you’re buying flowers for conferences or business purposes, expect to pay slightly more. Buying ‘wedding flowers’ or anything in hues of pastel pink and white? They’ll easily cost you double a standard arrangement of the same size.    

Average Cost of Flower Arrangements on the Gold Coast

Now you know exactly how an arrangement’s price is calculated, let’s look at exactly how much one costs on the Gold Coast.

To get a number, we surveyed the websites of 10 florists and analysed 19 different flower arrangements. We tried to keep our survey as balanced as possible by only including bouquets or bouquet-like arrangements, selecting arrangements with standard or ‘general’ flowers where possible, selecting each arrangement’s middle size, and skipping optional extras like vases and chocolate.

So now you know: a general floral bouquet on the Gold Coast (based on the florists we surveyed) costs, on average, $76.07. Of course, keep in mind that flowers don’t have inherent value – how much they’re ‘worth’ depends on the joy they bring to you and the recipient, so don’t be afraid to spend a little more if you see something you like.