Meet the FLORIST: Beth Parry

August 2024

While it’s been rather cold of late, there have also been some gloriously sunny winter days to relish – and this August we talk with a talented florist who will bring an additional ray of sunshine to your day! Let me introduce you to Sydney-based Beth Parry, owner of Dandy Flora. Beth creates wonderfully sculptural floral designs, often using unexpected colour combinations inspired by vintage design and cultures of the world. Her glorious, happy creations never fail to surprise and delight me!

Beth originally studied PR and advertising which let her to a career in the media industry. But it wasn’t long before she became drawn to a more creative path and in 2012 she enrolled in a floristry course in Sydney. Beth went on to work in both floristry and the media for some years before opening her own floral studio in 2020: Dandy Flora. Since then, she has catered for events large and small (including weddings, celebrations and corporate events); has worked with brands on photoshoots (Inside Out magazine, Bed Threads); and styled interiors for various companies.

I adore Beth’s use of abundant vibrant colours and the way she imbues a sense of wonder and whimsy into her sculptural floral creations. While her bouquets are often made up of many varieties of blooms (including flowers not usually used by other florists), the unique way she combines hues, textures and shapes always results in visually harmonious designs that go beyond expectations.

Beth also combines her passion for colour and creativity with a strong commitment to the environment. She only uses Australian-grown blooms, preferably locally grown, and, when catering to large events, she offers a wrapping service so that guests can take flowers home. Any green waste left over is donated to a regional vegetable farm to be made into compost.

While Beth is usually busy working on a number of design projects, she is currently busy in a completely different way: with a new baby! Congratulations, Beth! This means that she and Dandy Flora will be on maternity leave for a while. Until their return, you can see Beth’s beautiful work on her Instagram page.

Our flower for August is Beth’s favourite: the poppy. Here’s what Beth had to say when I interviewed her for our 2024 Planner.

Your work is epic! I love how you create beautiful sculptural installations yet with an unexpected touch to surprise the audience!

Thank you so much! That’s often the goal when I’m creating an arrangement. As I’m finishing it off, I’ll ask myself if there is an ingredient I can add or a stem I should remove to make it more unique and interesting.

1/ What are some of your favourite flowers that inspire you? Why?

I’ve always adored poppies from my earliest days of floristry, they are one of very few flowers that I haven’t fallen out of love with or gone through a phase with. I’m an absolute sucker for their curly stems. Curly stems on a lot of flowers are traditionally viewed as a flaw by growers, but I just find them so much more interesting to look at and work with. The wonky, bendy ones can add so much movement and feeling to an arrangement. And, of course, it’s always lots of fun to watch the poppies open up – you never know what colour you’re going to get!

2/ Do you have any fun facts, growing tips or styling tips for poppies you’d like to share? 

If you find your poppies aren’t popping, you can actually gently remove their furry cases by hand and pop them in a bit of warm filtered sunlight to help them open. My favourite way to style them is using just a small handful of stems on their own in a low vessel. Using a Kenzan, I cut them all to different heights and leave plenty of space between them. That way you can really see and appreciate the beauty of each individual stem.

3/ Sustainability is a growing trend in the floristry industry. Flower growers and designers have become more mindful in lessening the impacts to our beautiful nature. What does sustainability mean to you and your garden? If you could give any advice to aspiring flower lovers, what would that be? 

Becoming a more sustainable florist was one of the main reasons I started Dandy Flora. I knew that I could practice floristry in a more environmentally friendly way and I wanted to have more control over that day to day. Floristry in itself is a huge celebration of nature and all its beauty, so to me it seemed counterintuitive to style flowers in a way that is harmful to nature. I try to give regard to the environment in my practice wherever I possibly can. At the start that meant using alternatives to floral foam, separating green waste and recycling soft plastics. Now that means sometimes steering clients in a different direction when they’re very keen on using imported flower varieties, and trying hard to use what’s abundant and in season at the time. To aspiring flower lovers looking to incorporate more sustainable practices, I would say educate yourself on foam-free alternatives, educate yourself on the most appropriate waste disposal for all the different elements that come with the job, try to use more Australian/locally grown and seasonal flowers where possible, but most importantly, be kind to yourself if you don’t always get it right! I’m definitely not perfect at it and wouldn’t expect everyone else should be.

You can find out more about Beth via her website and instagram page.

SHOP THE Poppies COLLECTION