Romantic Tropical Florals from Fiji
This Valentine’s Day, ditch the roses in lieu of a tropical bouquet. Not sure where to start? You’re in luck. Our team at Castaway Island, Fiji Resort has offered some guidance. Check out our Q&A below with Castaway Island's Grounds Supervisor and flower arrangement extraordinaire, Eseroma:
Q. What type of local plants or flowers do you typically work? Do you import flowers or only use what’s available?
A. As much as possible, we try to work with the greenery available on island, such as frangipani and hibiscus.
Q. Are you noticing any new floral trends?
A. On Castaway Island, our most popular item are our frangipani leis. They embody tropical because of their look and beautiful smell. Our frangipani “tekiteki” are also very popular - it’s simply a single flower on the ear. We do a lot of floral arrangements for our restaurant from ixora flowers. They are a common plant in many household gardens in Fiji as they bloom all year round. On island, we grow them in red, yellow and pink. Feel free to choose a similar bloom that grows locally in your area.
Q. Do you have any helpful advice for someone buying (or making!) flowers on Valentine’s Day?
A. Yes in fact… two pieces of advice. The first is common-sense, but using flowers that are in season will help the bouquet last the longest. Second, the most common thing we see are beautiful arrangements that aren’t cared for appropriately. Remember that because floral arrangements don’t have roots, you’ll need to water the oasis every morning, as well as remove any dead flowers. A little TLC will help the arrangement last much longer.
Q. That’s good to know. Let’s chat about wedding florals, too. Castaway Island, Fiji is a wedding mecca and I know you and your team make lots of wedding decorations. Any advice you can share for our brides-to-be?
A. We’ve been getting lots of requests for eyedrop (or cascading) bouquets, as well as posy arrangements which are smaller and usually round in shape. The bride usually chooses based on the theme of the wedding, but both are equally stunning. We often match the bouquet to the base of the cake. It’s all in the details!
Vinaka, Eseroma!
For more information on Castway Island, Fiji, visit us here or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
