Send flowers to Geraldton, home of the Geraldton wax

Geraldton gave its name to one of the world's most widely grown cut flowers. Geraldton wax, Chamelaucium uncinatum, is native to this stretch of Western Australia, flowers from June to November and lasts so long in a vase that it is farmed for the cut-flower trade across the country. The city itself, 424 kilometres north of Perth with 38,595 residents (2021 census), is the port and hospital town for the Midwest, with a Mediterranean climate, a famous sea breeze and some of the best spring wildflower country in the state inland from it. Order with us and a florist in Geraldton makes up the bouquet and delivers it by hand.

Suburbs covered, from Drummond Cove to Wandina

Delivery covers the city centre and the suburbs around it: Rangeway, Wonthella, Utakarra, Woorree, Karloo and Strathalbyn inland, Mount Tarcoola, Tarcoola Beach and Wandina on the southern side, and Beresford, Bluff Point, Sunset Beach, Glenfield, Waggrakine and Drummond Cove strung north along the coast. Deepdale and Moonyoonooka on the rural edge are covered too, though a rural address may be delivered later in the run. Much of Geraldton is single-storey housing with a clear front door, which makes the driver's job easy; for a lifestyle block out towards Moonyoonooka, or a unit in one of the retirement villages, add a mobile number so the florist can ring ahead.

The two-hour gap: cut-off in Western Australian time

Same-day delivery runs Monday to Saturday for orders placed before 2pm on a weekday or 10am on a Saturday, Geraldton time. There is no Sunday delivery. Western Australia does not have daylight saving and sits two hours behind the east coast in winter and three in summer, which gives interstate senders a generous margin: the 2pm Geraldton cut-off is 4pm in Brisbane all year, 4pm in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart in winter and 5pm from October to April, 3.30pm in Darwin, and 3.30pm in Adelaide in winter or 4.30pm in summer. The Saturday 10am cut-off is noon in Brisbane and 1pm in Sydney in summer. Someone in Sydney can therefore order at the end of the working day and still have the flowers delivered in Geraldton that afternoon.

Geraldton Health Campus and St John of God Geraldton

The public hospital is the Geraldton Health Campus, the former Geraldton Regional Hospital, on Shenton Street in the city centre. St John of God Geraldton Hospital is at 12 Hermitage Street, a 60-bed private hospital with visiting hours from 8am to 7pm. Ring the ward before you order: intensive care and some wards take no fresh flowers, and a smaller arrangement in a container suits a bedside better than a tall bunch. Put the patient's full name and the ward on the order. Patients needing specialist care are often transferred to Perth, so check the person is still in Geraldton.

Sunshine Festival, cray season and the big flower dates

The Geraldton Sunshine Festival has been held every October since 1958, one of the longest-running festivals in the country, and it is a busy week for local florists. The recreational rock lobster season runs from December to April, and summer is when the town fills with visitors heading for the Abrolhos Islands, 60 kilometres offshore. Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May, is 9 May 2027; flowers are delivered on Saturday 8 May because there is no Sunday run, so the cut-off is 10am that Saturday. Father's Day is 5 September 2027. Valentine's Day, 14 February, is high summer here with days above 30 degrees, so roses should be delivered where they can go straight into water. On Anzac Day, 25 April, Geraldton gathers at the HMAS Sydney II Memorial and the dawn service with rosemary and wreaths rather than bouquets.

Wax, kangaroo paw and the wildflower months

Geraldton's Mediterranean climate (hot, dry summers around 32 degrees, mild wet winters, 416 millimetres of rain a year) gives a different season to the east coast. Winter and spring are the glory months: Geraldton wax flowers from June to November, the red-and-green kangaroo paw, Western Australia's floral emblem, from August to November, and the everlastings at Coalseam Conservation Park, 115 kilometres inland, carpet the ground in early spring. Local florists lean on these natives, plus banksia, leucadendron and proteas, through the cooler half of the year. Summer, with its sea breeze from September to April, is for roses, lilies, gerberas, chrysanthemums and orchids, most of them brought up from Perth. A seasonal bouquet lets the florist use what is best that week.

Geraldton Cemetery, the crematorium and sympathy flowers

Geraldton Cemetery is at 130 Eastward Road, Utakarra, with the Geraldton Crematorium on the same grounds and the small San Spirito Chapel, built in 1936 to a design by Monsignor John Hawes, among the graves. Funeral tributes (casket spray, wreath, sheaf) are ordered through the funeral director or a florist two to three days before the service; delivery to the service itself is never guaranteed, so give the family's home as a second address. Flowers to the house in the weeks after a funeral are often the most appreciated of all.

Prices for flowers to Geraldton

Hand-tied bouquets from a Geraldton florist start at AUD 75, the delivery fee for the suburb is added at checkout and a card with your message is included.

Did you know? Did you know? Geraldton wax, Chamelaucium uncinatum, is named after the city, flowers from June to November and is grown for the cut-flower trade around Australia.