Meet the FLORIST: Lilee Gregory
November 2024
Hello flower lovers!
As Spring continues to throw colourful flourishes of blooms at us – especially the gorgeous purple splashes of jacaranda that decorate November – allow me to introduce you to an expert in colour, Lilee Gregory of Astro Daphne! Based in Melbourne, Lilee has become known for her creative use of vibrant, eye-popping hues that make her arrangements sing loudly of joy and wonder.
Lilee’s first career involved making delicious pastries and cakes, but soon she started looking for a different creative outlet. After experimenting in floral design with flowers collected from her neighbourhood, she went on to teach herself the art of floral arrangement. Since then, she has grown from strength to strength, founding Astro Daphne in 2020, and now specialises in weddings and events. Her use of fantastically bright colours has become her trademark – in her own words: ‘Our driving force and constant inspiration is colour!’
I love the way that Lilee reimagines floral design with vibrant, playful touches. Her ability to take traditional flowers, such as gerberas and orchids, and transform them into striking, artistic arrangements through clever and unexpected colour pairings makes her style stand out. The combinations she creates are super bold, often using clashing tones in ways that feel fresh and innovative.
Lilee always achieves a balance between quirkiness and luxury; her arrangements are not just beautiful but also surprising. Her unconventional approach is reflected in the way she skilfully incorporates unexpected elements into her designs, such as bananas, oranges and watermelons, adding whimsy without compromising on elegance. Lilee’s work is a feast for the senses, offering an exciting mix of magic and sophistication that I find very inspiring.
Our flowers for November are some of Lilee’s favourites: sweet pea, cosmos, orchids and gerberas. Here’s what Lilee had to say when I interviewed her for our 2024 Planner.
1/ What are some of your favourite flowers that inspire you? Why?
My favourite flowers change from season to season BUT I can never go past flowers that float, dance, hang or add movement to a design. Some of my fav floaty flowers include sweet pea, cosmos, orchids, delphinium, amaranth and gerberas.
2/ Do you have any fun facts, growing tips or styling tips about your favourite flowers you’d like to share?
I usually grow sweet pea and cosmos each year in my garden, I find both easy to grow with little maintenance. Sweet peas have the most amazing perfume and can last for weeks as cut flowers. The best time for planting them is around the start of winter, to have beautiful blooms by spring. Cosmos flower over late summer and autumn, they love lots of sun and come in a huge range of colours, my favourite being Chocolate cosmos. They have cute dark-brown mini blooms that actually smell like chocolate!
3/ If you could give any advice to other aspiring flower lovers, what would that be?
My best advice for aspiring florists is to start playing with whatever flowers you have around you. Nan’s garden? Flowers in the park? In-laws’ yard? Start putting together small designs to get a feel for the style and colours you like and practise, practise, practise! I believe finding your own unique style is so valuable, so taking the time to discover that will be a huge advantage in the long run. I'm also a massive advocate for teaching yourself, and the amazing thing about floristry is that there really aren’t any rules (other than keeping the flowers alive). You have the freedom to come up with new ways to create designs and push the boundaries of colour and texture. Freelancing for a florist you love is also an incredible way to learn and grow in the industry.
4/ 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?
I love that the floral industry is becoming more aware of its effect on the environment. One really important thing to me is understanding where our flowers are coming from. Flowers are one of the ONLY products that can be shipped and sold in Australia without a label of origin making it really hard for customers (and florists) to actually know where the flowers have come from. I would really like to see the industry move to label all imported flowers, but more so, to see our flower farming industry here in Australia have the support it needs to help lessen the need for imported flowers.
SHOP THE SWEET PEA COLLECTION
