Florists and Flower Shops Locations Locator Map and Directory

Background

Floristry or flower arranging is the art of creating flower arrangements in vases, bowls or making bouquets and compositions from cut flowers, foliages, herbs, ornamental grasses and other botanical materials into floral designs; often the terms "floral design" and "floristry" are considered synonymous. A person who designs flower arrangements is known as a florist in Europe, Australia, New Zealand but in the US they are knows as floral designers. The term is not to be confused with floristics.

Many nations have their own distinctive traditions of flower arrangement. A notable example is ikebana, an Oriental style of floral design, noted for its simplicity and purity of lines and colors.

Floristry is most often understood as referring to the cultivation of flowers as well as their arrangement, rather than to the business of selling them. However, the floral industry is the basic drive behind floristry. Florists are people who work with flowers, and on the Continent with plants, generally at the retail level. Florist shops, along with telephone sales and online stores, are the main flower-only outlets, but supermarkets, garden supply stores and many filling stations also sell flowers.