About

Flowers, the love of my life!

Hello there, I’m Leonie Orton, founder and creative force behind Flowervore. Here’s a little bit about me.

Let’s start at the beginning: I’m four, my mum is in hospital with my new baby sister. I make her a beautiful (so I think) perfume out of mashed dahlia petals and water. I’m so proud of myself, thinking it’s the most wonderful present ever. Mum says the nurses love it. I pester her so much about it that she eventually has to admit that, actually, it smells terrible.

Something all florists know - there are few things in the world that smell as bad as rotten flower water.

But I’ll take the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to flowers. They’re my true love, and always have been.

So many of my happy memories revolve around flowers: picking bunches of violets for my grandma, the delicious scent of ginger flowers and orange blossom in her garden, pink oleander glowing in the eventing light after a hot day on the farm where I grew up, hunting for wild orchids in the bush, new flowers discovered during world travels, and admiring clouds of purple jacarandas drop blankets of snow petals, giving way to the festive flame of poinciana trees - Queensland’s Christmas trees.

I love how flowers weave their way through our lives. They celebrate marriages, births and all sorts of happy occasions, but they also give solace when loved ones depart this mortal coil.

They hold memories, mark moments and make ordinary days feel more special.

So, why Flowervore?

Flowers have always been in the background of my life, alongside a career in marketing and a long-held ambition to one day make a living doing something I truly love.

One day (as they say in the best stories) I finally took the leap, leaving my marketing career to focus on Flowervore. And honestly, I still pinch myself sometimes. There's something pretty wonderful about spending your days doing something that makes you happy.

I love creating wedding flowers. I can happily spend 12 hours immersed in a wedding, moving flowers around, playing with colour and texture, and getting lost in the details. I love creating arrangements that feel personal, a little unexpected and full of life.

And then there's the workshops. I love bringing people together around flowers, creating a relaxed and enjoyable space where everyone can have a go. Especially those who arrive convinced they're not creative, only to leave delighted with something they've made themselves. That's a pretty lovely thing to be part of.

Of course, running a small business isn't all flowers and sunshine. Bookkeeping, for one, is a fairly uninspiring part of the deal. But I'll take it. Because getting to build a business around something I love, and share that love with other people, feels like a pretty good way to spend my days.

I'm so glad you're here.

Whether you’re dreaming up wedding flowers, looking for a creative workshop or simply want to say hello, I’d love to hear from you.