Classic flowers back with a modern twist this Mother's Day

Sharon Sihota from Birkdale Flower Farm said chrysanthemums were coming back into style with young people who enjoyed new variations on the classic flower.

"Chrysanthemums when you think of them traditionally seem boring, but now there's just so many different varieties," she said.

Shades of pastel and bronze were in-demand this year, with zinnias and gerberas also popular additions to arrangements and bouquets.

"Brightly coloured flowers are giving a real life to the arrangements and are very trendy at the moment," Birkdale Flower Farm florist Mary Kamols said.

"We're adding different things into what we know."

Other favourites were irises and tulips.

Ms Sihota said Mother's Day usually surpassed Valentine's Day to become the busiest day of the year for selling flowers, with the farm preparing as early as December.

"The biggest stress is making sure the chrysanthemums flower on time," she said.

"We've got to make sure we're turning the lights off at the right time. Too early or too late and you can change the whole game.

"We've had some very long nights getting everything ready."

Staff have been working hard in the week leading up to Mother's Day, with all hands on deck to deal with the weekend rush.

Birkdale Flower Farm owner Sam Sihota, who will turn 80 soon after Mother's Day, has been helping to pick the flowers by hand.

Ms Kamols said customers usually lined up for flowers from early in the morning on Mother's Day to make sure they got their pick of the bunch.

Others ordered arrangements to pick up on Saturday so their mothers could wake up to fresh flowers on Sunday morning.

For shoppers unsure of what to buy for their mothers, Ms Kamols said it was best to think of colour first.

"What I do is I ask them if they know what their mum's favourite colour is, then ask them how much they have to spend," she said.

"It's also good to know the colour of the house they're going to so we can pick something that complements that."