Creative Bouquets for Mother’s Day Amid Rising Costs

This year’s Mother’s Day floral orders might look similar at first glance, but a closer look reveals some changes.

This year’s Mother’s Day floral orders might look similar at first glance, but a closer look reveals some changes.

Customers want beautiful, bright bouquets that show their love for their mothers – but they’re keeping an eye on the budget, said Lisa Bugden, owner of Halifax-based Flower Trends Florists.

“We’re seeing a bit of a ceiling emerge with many of our customers that has been consistent over the last two to three years,” Bugden said about how much people are willing to spend this year.

Meeting tighter consumer budgets is still possible. However, as fuel prices rise, many florists are facing increased purchasing costs and fuel surcharges for floral shipments traveling across provinces and sometimes even across borders.

Adjusting to lower consumer budgets along with rising costs is “perhaps more acute this year,” Bugden mentioned.

Global oil prices have surged since the war in the Middle East began in late February, which caused tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to be blocked – affecting a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Shipping flowers to Hamilton’s Blossom Lane Flowers is now more expensive.

Angela Daoulas, owner of Blossom Lane Flowers, noted her shipping costs have risen by five to ten percent after oil prices hit near-record highs recently. This increase has also driven up prices for certain flowers.

The price of peonies, which mainly come from Italy around this time each year, has gone up significantly, she shared.

On the other hand, a carnation stem-usually more budget-friendly-now costs two to five percent more even when sourced locally, she added.

Daoulas is keeping her prices steady but her bouquets will feature slight variations this year.

“Where we see a difference is the stem count,” Daoulas explained. That means a bouquet that may have had ten stems before might now include nine stems or different flowers that are less expensive like daisies instead.

“That’s kind of where our growers are adjusting,” she continued. “They’ll add less expensive flowers … but they’ll still give you value.”

This trend can also be seen at Winnipeg’s Valley Flowers.

Store owner Sheila Tschetter said she’s noticed average customer spending has dropped by ten to fifteen percent in recent months.

This comes as shipping costs from distant places like Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Holland have increased by twenty to thirty percent year-over-year, she stated.

Additionally, this colder spring has left some florists with fewer and pricier options available.

“We would have hoped to have had more locally grown products this year,” Ashley Mac Neill remarked as owner of Halifax-based Props Floral Design Inc.

“But due to our cold spring weather, many flower farmers don’t have as (many) flowers as they expected.”

This situation has raised sourcing costs and made shipping them all the way from Ontario and Quebec more complicated.









Mac Neill noted: The cost increase ranges between 10 and 50 cents per flower stem – some of which her shop had no choice but to pass on to customers.

“We dohave high overheads including employee wages and delivery services,” she said.“It’s tough for usto cut into our overall markup.”.

b<ugden shared that Halifax florists are also competing against big box stores like grocery chains and wholesalers who may not offer high-quality bouquets with longer shelf lives yet present lower price points.

b<ugden observed: "That’s where customers seem" migrating."

a<ngela daulas mentioned she's worked on providing affordable arrangements due since people often buy multiple bouquets for various mothers in their lives.

“You’re acknowledging your mom , your wife , your grandmother,”she pointed out.

This report was first May 8 , 2026 by The Canadian Press.

Ritika Dubey , The Canadian Press.

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