By Tanya Steele
Valentine’s Day is the calendar event for florists across the globe and for one small business in Tecoma, the recent storm caused havoc with the day.
Jo from Rhoda Floral Design in Tecoma was devastated when the storm hit Victoria on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think I haven’t processed this fully yet, I’m still trying to catch up and do damage control,” she said.
“I know for a fact that I’ve missed orders, I’m trying not to think about that.”
The onsite refrigeration for her stock failed on Tuesday afternoon as the power dropped and she was immediately thrown into a busy evening moving flowers into fresh water.
“I lost my fridges and the aircon in the shop, it got really hot and it did not cool down – I had to throw quite a lot out,” she said.
“Our roof leaked a little bit as well and we had roses that got wet – roses particularly if you get the heads wet, they will go mouldy.”
Leading up to Valentine’s Day is a huge undertaking for florists and Jo said the day before can have huge impacts on sales.
“The day before you usually have all the people on the way home picking up flowers for the next morning,” she said.
“A few days beforehand you prepare all the flowers and do a lot of social media to remind people it’s happening.”
Jo has been a florist for over 13 years and this Valentine’s Day is her first as a business owner – having taken over the location in late 2023.
“I’ve always had a dream to own a shop, my inheritance from my late grandmother helped to buy this business,” she said.
“The shop is named Rhoda Floral Design in her memory.”
The lack of internet and power meant some orders were lost and Jo worked late into the evening Tuesday and all day without power on Valentine’s Day, salvaging what she could.
Jo’s partner, her father visiting from the UK and close friends also pitched in to help clean up and help with floor sales and deliveries.
“We plugged the ring light in and candles and things, and we decided to go ahead with deliveries,” Jo said.
Jo said people who did come across Tuesday and Wednesday had been battling with traffic and storm damages and told her they were ‘so glad’ she stayed open.
The store operated as best it could without power and connection on Valentine’s Day, accepting cash and trust from the people who walked in late in Wednesday evening for flowers.
“Trust goes both ways – but I feel like Tecoma is such a good community,” she said.
