The Glenayr Avenue floral boutique, owned by Jenni May, has delivered gorgeous blooms to the 2022 postcode and beyond since 2012. Serving some of Sydney’s favourite designer boutiques, including kaftan queen Camilla and hip hotels like QT Bondi, May has built a name for herself as one of the go-tos for all things flowers in the Eastern Suburbs.
“We’re about gardeny, wild and whimsical,” says May, which is evident from the cavalcade of succulents growing at the front of the store, and inside where you’ll find buckets of sweet peas (Jenni’s favourite), long-stemmed pastel poppies, balls of hydrangeas and fringed tulips.
“We love to source and support our local growers, who specialise in rare and seasonal flowers and botanical gold,” she says. One of those local growers is Eugalo, a flower grower based out in Camden, who also supplies flowers and succulents to the Boathouse Group; on our visit we spotted flowering black sedum and lupins from their farm.
While the shopfront gets plenty of walk-in business, Maggie May specialises in styling and installations for weddings and events. She gets inspiration for these from places like the Amalfi Coast, contrasting bright citrus with a mix of roses and bougainvilleas, through to keeping things more local with towering wattle-laced sculptural arcs.
When it comes to trends, Maggie May’s florists like to dip their toes into different looks, while also staying classic. “Right now everyone’s really liking painted and dyed flowers for bright pops of colour. It’s a bit ’80s, which is funny because everything is so cyclical,” explains senior stylist Tamara. Right now ‘flipping’ roses is also in – peeling the outer petals to create a bolder, fuller look. “It’s very labour intensive. Sometimes we’ll be flipping [roses] for six hours for one event… But it’s always so worth it.”
Flowers range in price, from a $35 bunch of simple tulips to $65 for sculptural phalaenopsis orchids. There are also hand-arranged Florist’s Choice bouquets for $50, and colourful stylised bunches for $65-$160, from petite to generous, abundant and extravagant. Like all good florists, Jenni May gets her kicks when she heads out to the markets three times a week to meet growers and source her flowers, “I love everything about it, [even the] early mornings.”