HI, I’M ZOE.

Founder of Botanical Quarter. Designer, florist, and the person you’ll work with from first call to final bloom.

THE STORY.

I didn't grow up around flowers. I grew up around design.

Before Botanical Quarter, I spent ten years in retail design and visual merchandising — most of those running retail execution for Adidas across Australia and New Zealand. That's a job that sounds glamorous and is mostly spreadsheets, late nights, and very strong opinions about whether a mannequin should face left or right. But I loved it. I learned how to think about composition, scale, and how to make a space feel cohesive — skills I didn't realise at the time were quietly preparing me for what came next.

I came to flowers slowly. A weekend class. Then another. Then a moment, somewhere between building a bouquet and being told I had a good eye, where I thought oh — this is the thing I've been looking for. I qualified, started taking on small jobs, and four years later, Botanical Quarter is the studio I always wanted to build.

Weddings became the focus because they're the most personal version of this work. Every couple brings a different feeling they want their day to hold, and my job is to translate that feeling into flowers, into surfaces, into the small visual moments that make a wedding feel completely like them. I love that. I'd happily do it for the rest of my career.

HOW I WORK

Every wedding I take on starts from scratch. There's no template, no signature look I'm quietly trying to recreate on someone else's day, no five-tier package menu to choose from. The starting point is always the couple — who you are, how you found each other, what kind of day you actually want (not the one Pinterest is telling you to want), and what feeling you want your guests to walk into.

From there, I work the way a designer works. I build the vision around your venue and the season. I sketch out the visual language. I choose blooms with intent — every flower earns its place. Bouquets, ceremony, reception, stationery — all designed together, as one composition, not bolted on at the end.

I only take on a small number of weddings each year. And I want to be honest about that — it's not a sales thing. The work I'm proud of just needs time. Time to actually understand you. Time to design something considered. Time to be the person picking your flowers, building your bouquet, and standing at your venue on the morning of your wedding.

THE PHILOSOPHY.

Design discipline. Romantic intent. Seasonal honesty.

I have a few things I believe about wedding flowers, and they shape every job I take on.

The first is that florals should feel abundant but considered. I love a full, textured, slightly wild arrangement — but every element in it is a choice. Romantic doesn't have to mean messy. Lush doesn't have to mean random. If anything, the more abundant a design, the more careful the composition has to be.

The second is season. The best florals are the ones grown here, in this country, at this time of year — and they always will be. I work with Australian-grown wherever I can, foam-free always, and I'd much rather lean into what the season is offering than chase imported flowers that aren't in season.

The third is that your wedding should feel like you, not like a Pinterest board. Inspiration is a starting point. The job is to take the things that move you and turn them into something only you could have had.

A LITTLE MORE PERSONAL.

Here's something most florists won't tell you: I didn't want to do weddings. Too high-stakes, too emotional, too many other people's expectations to carry. Then a friend of a friend asked if I'd do hers as a favour, and somewhere between designing the bouquet and the ceremony setup, I was hooked. And I haven't looked back since.

When I'm not designing, I'm usually reading, walking my dog Hamish, or planning the flower patch I'm slowly carving out of our backyard — somewhere to grow specific blooms for my couples.

I’m a long black kind of girl, slightly coffee-obsessed, always music on in the studio. My favourite flower is the flannel flower. The only one I won't work with is wattle — my allergies won't survive it.

FEATURED IN.

Botanical Quarter has been featured in Hello May, Ivory Tribe, Theodore, and WedVibes. Couples I've designed for have been married at Quat Quatta, Polperro Winery, and Stones of the Yarra Valley.