So, wanna write an AU at a flower shop but don’t really know where to start? Or maybe you just want to write about a florist and make it a bit more true to life. Either way, here’s a lot of information about how to write florists more accurately from a florist herself.
!! disclaimer: You’re completely allowed to write florists however romanticized or realistic as you’d like! This is just a post for anyone curious about writing one and all the little ins and outs of what working in a flower shop entails (which is what most of my blog is about!) !!
If You've Never Been a Florist
Flower shops are a very aesthetic place and we try to make it very inviting for everyone. It smells sweet and natural, there's lots of colors from the flowers, plants, and just all over the shop. There's a ton of gift displays, garden decorations, seasonal items, etc. It'd be a challenge to find an eyesore anywhere.
There’s usually an open space in the front of the store displaying stems of flowers in either a large glass cooler or around it. So, that means anyone can look at them and choose individual blooms for an arrangement or if you just want to get the stems themselves.
Depending on the florist, you will actually see the floral designers making arrangements at their work stations pretty openly! I think some people assume they'd be in a seperate room, but no. At least where I've worked, they're usually a couple desks behind the register or somewhere else in the store that's not all that hidden.
While I usually make a couple bouquets a day for walk-in customers (one of my favorite parts btw), most of our daily orders are things people have called in over the phone or orders from the day before—we’re always working ahead!
The demographic for staff at flower shops are mostly women and honestly often ones over 50 years old. I don’t think it’s because this is anyone’s fun retirement job, more that it’s an older skill and they have a lot more time and experience. Not to mention that it's not exactly an economical job these days… but regardless, at my shop it’s me, two other girls around my age, and then an age gap that lets me have lots of work moms!
There should always be someone on the staff who’s ready to talk to you if you have questions about flowers or want to make a bouquet then and there! I love flowers no matter how long I’ve had the job so yes I’m excited to see what you want to put together.
Common Misconceptions
Floral work is a lot of labor. There are many days where I am just cleaning flowers and carrying buckets for 8 hours, or carrying 20lb vases up and down someone’s driveway, or precariously hoisting wedding aisle arrangements with your coworkers on a time limit. I realized VERY quickly how much water actually weighs and I no longer need a gym membership with how many steps I manage to get across such a small space. Anyway, it can be a very physically tiring job. I’ve known a lot of designers (florists) that have back issues from standing all day, developed carpal tunnel, and hell I’ve almost sliced my finger down to the bone while trying to cut some roses free. It can also be pretty dirty, and it gets to the point where I wear black on black on black for a week just to make it to my next laundry day.
Florists can be very busy! The industry is down right now, so the majority of flower shops are pretty quiet outside of holidays. However, the shop I work at now however seems to always have a phone call to answer and a customer to talk to, if not 7 at the same time. I’ve had many people come in and be surprised that the shop is so lively when we have floral designers working on a wedding and prom and delivery arrangements, other staff running to answer phones and the front counter, and someone cleaning up the flowers in the front. I’m usually stationed on customer service, so I always end up laughing a bit when I hear “Wow, you guys are busy!” Like they expected to be our only customer of the day. Which I get, not a lot of people are like us. That being said, there are definitely days and seasons where it lulls and quiets down, so if you’re writing a series, change up the shop environment every now and again!
The floral industry is stressful ߹𖥦߹ If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me “Your job is so relaxing”/“It must be so nice to play with flowers all day” I could afford to take more vacation time. Yes I have a very aesthetic job and I look at beautiful things and it smells like sweet nature instead of a dead fish market or something, but that being said, this job can be very stressful. You’re dealing with people trying to send emotions of joy, appreciation, condolences, or so much more, and they’re spending a fair amount of money to do so. If anything goes wrong, people have been… less than forgiving, which I get. Customer service is always stressful, but adding on the fact that it’s all live product that carries a lot of meaning and that it’s never a one and done thing and usually goes on for days… it gets to be a lot. My coworker and I have commiserated many times over our shared stress dreams.
Romance in the Flower Shop
The most important part
We (including me) all love the idea of a cute guy coming into the shop and seeing the pretty worker he just has to talk to and fall for. But realistically the only men coming into the shop are the taken ones buying flowers for a significant other. It’s definitely possible to come up with some scenarios of why a guy is in the shop other than a preexisting partner (which I’m making another inspo post about) but if they’re coming in often, make sure to write that they’ve got some cash in their pockets—they’ll need it.
Is the tattoo parlor guys coming into the flower shop trope realistic? Sure why not! We have a nail salon next to us that comes in to get a bud vase for their front desk every now and then, so why not a tattoo place? I expect some of those fics on my desk by morning, btw.
I will have more posts about this subject coming up, but this is more an introductory/informational post. For any stories about my own romantic fails at the flower shop, stay tuned.
How Flower Shops are Structured
Part time at a flower shop is different everywhere, just depends on the situation. Often (especially at busier shops) part time means working 3-4 full days a week and I think you’d be hard pressed to find any shop that offers after school/weekend hours since most places close 5-6pm and aren’t open Sundays. Writing tip: maybe your character can negate this by helping out their parent that owns the shop. Family business means putting all the family to work :)
Bigger flower shops are busy and while they still have the staff of a small business, it’s definitely enough to keep a handful of people full time employed. I would say there's usually 5 to 12 people staffed in the store per day depending on the weekday and season. For slower shops in more rural areas, I would guess 3-6 people in the store, maybe less? And for really large chain florists I have no idea. I don’t associate with them. (By the way, none of this is referring to florists who have a whole other section for weddings. At my shop, we’re mostly a part of the day of the shop (like peasants I suppose))
The busiesst seasons of the year are most assuredly Valentines Day and Mother’s Day, but Mother’s Day overlaps with prom and graduation. So as soon as we get that first prom order, our only job is to stay afloat until the middle of June. Those two holidays combined have felt like I was run over hot coals and given a cool down in acid baths. Summer is actually a pretty quiet season since everyone is usually spending their money on vacations instead and then I would says fall and spring are the most average seasons. Thanksgiving and Christmas can be busy but then January is DEAD dead. And then of course the cycle starts all over again.
‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.ending notes...
I am EXHAUSTED after Mother’s Day. Oh my gosh I feel like I just willingly stood on train tracks while holding the ticket for the train's arrival.
Anyway, hi I’m Fauna and I’m a writer and a florist! With the amount of questions and interest I get about this subject in my own life, I figured there might be a community here who would like to hear my stories, learn about the floral world, or even commiserate with me. If you liked this post, please interact to let me know! Or tell me if it was too long. I get that too.
A My Hero Academia AU for @monthlywritingchallenges event AUpril 2026 day 30 florist au.
At a flower shop on a humble town, young florist Ochaco Uraraka is finishing up work on some flowers for a customer that would be coming soon. After Ochaco finished, a green hair young man come to pick up the flowers and Ochaco find that he was cute.
A Legend of Zelda modern age au for @monthlywritingchallenges event AUpril 2026 day 30 florist au.
Blond hair 25 years old florist Zelda sit behind her desk in her flower shop as she wait for her next customer for Mother's Day while Zelda remember how her late mother got her interested in flowers, even the rare blue flowers.
i know people are always offering songs for ia or exes au but i want to send my contribution for florist au:
i’m yours - alessia cara
HEHEHEHE THANK YOU FOR THE CONTRIBUTION! god florist au was SUPPOSED to be out by this week but the universe has bestowed upon me many challenges (workplace and otherwise) so unfortunately i have to push back release abit further bcs it would kill me to give u guys something halfassed towards the end :( but thank u for the song i love recs for any au or otherwise!!!
A recent ask meme reminded me of Florist AUs as a concept and how the few I've actually seen in the wild just... didn't do a whole lot with the concept.
Now, I'm a gardener, not a florist, but I'm dealing with the same beasities, so I have a few thoughts about this premise...
First of, a florist is a specialised subspecies of a grocer. This means that if your character owns the shop and isn't just an employee, they will have to be up at the asscrack of dawn to restock at the wholesale market.
Flower arrangement, bouquets and wreath-making can be Serious Business. There are competitions.
Also the most I've seen done with this AU was the florist character getting a flower tattoo from the leather-clad badass from the tattoo shop across the street, but I think there could be much more to it, like...
Your character is helping a desperate bride make her champagne dreams come true on a sparkling water budget
Your character's client is a ghost, ordering her own wreath because her relatives have shit for taste
Your character owns both the shop and the greenhouse supplying it and is using said greenhouse for either narcotics-related or non-CITES-friendly purposes
