What is actually in season
in Adelaide, month by month

The honest calendar

Adelaide's season runs roughly like this. Late winter and spring are generous: ranunculus from August, sweet pea and anemones through September, peonies for a glorious six-week window from late October. Summer belongs to dahlias, cosmos and garden roses. Autumn brings smoke bush, amaranthus and the best foliage of the year. Winter is hellebores, paperwhites and branches with structure.

The mistakes happen at the edges. Peonies in November are possible but priced like jewellery. Hydrangea in June is technically available and spiritually disappointing.

Local beats imported more often than you think

Hills growers deliver ranunculus, delphiniums and garden roses that were in the ground two days ago. Imported stock has a flight, a cold room and a week of life already spent. For a working florist, fresher stock means longer vase life means fewer complaints and better word of mouth.

The exception: tropicals and anything out of our season entirely. That is when the Dutch and Ecuadorian brokers earn their margin.

The swap list we teach

• No peonies?double tulips or garden roses
• No ranunculus?anemones or small dahlias
• No sweet pea?jasmine vine for the same loose feel
• No delphinium?snapdragons, taller but honest

Clients never know the swap happened. They know the bouquet looked expensive, which is what they were actually buying.

What this means for your pricing

In-season stems cost 30–50% less and last twice as long. Building your menu around the calendar is the single biggest margin lever a small studio has. It is also why our market mornings matter: the calendar is theory, the crates are practice.

We cover costing in detail inside the business bootcamp, and the seasonal chart lives on the wall of the studio for anyone who visits on an open day.