For florist Ken Chau, owner of Urban Jungle in O'Connor, plants are more than just a business. His connection with plants and living things has been strong his whole life.
But most of all, he enjoys forming a connection with his customers - one of the obvious but perhaps unappreciated upsides of his industry.
"We see a journey," Mr Chau said.
"They are just engaged or are proposing. Then the next day they'll come in and tell us about it, 'She said yes'! And then they come in for their wedding consultation and we do the wedding flowers.
"Later on they are [ordering] for their first-born baby."
When Mr Chau puts together an order it's personal and specific. His store was formerly located in the Fyshwick markets, but Mr Chau hated the transactional, detached feeling at the markets.
His O'Connor store is welcoming and homely. There are hanging plants all over the ceiling and colourful floral arrangements lining the brick walls. There is a mist machine running in a backroom to nurture the plants growing beside it.
In his new store, he can easily have a short conversation with customers. He can find out who the flowers are for, what they are for and what message they are trying to send. Mr Chau loves discovering aspects of the recipient's personality he can inject into the flowers.
Earlier this year, one of Urban Jungle's regular customers died close to Mother's Day. Mr Chau wells up as he remembers packing an order for the woman's daughter.
"I didn't know what to say when I saw her, I just gave her a hug and some extras of her mum's favourite flowers," he said.
Same-day flower delivery is the norm for florists and, in a way, it is a more personal job. Even though Hannah Carbone, owner of Floral Society in Fyshwick outsources delivery to a separate company, she is envious of the driver's role.
"They get the best part. When you deliver flowers they are usually unexpected. The drivers get to see that, 'Oh my god, are these for me' reaction."
Flower delivery driver Eliza Niven gets to witness these reactions every day in her job. "You're there for them even if it's only for 30 seconds while you drop something off. It's a very wholesome job," she said.
Pierce Jackson works in the shop and delivers flowers for his family's business Janine's Florists. He sees value in the ability to read a room and recognise when you are wanted, especially when he's on a tight schedule.
"I find it's best to leave a disconnect [when delivering flowers]. My father gets too invested in every delivery and his runs take a lot longer. He would sit down and have tea and coffee if he could," Mr Jackson said.
Mr Jackson grew up in a floristry household. His grandmother opened Janine's Florist in Bailey's corner in 1960 and it has been a family-owned business since then.
When Mr Jackson was growing up, his mum worked in the shop and dad ran the deliveries. Mr Jackson entered into the family business eight years ago, both working in the shop and on the road.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues, Mr Chau believed plants were a better way to spend your money.
"People can hardly afford pets, let alone children. People should use plants to keep them company," he said.
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