feature | flower café
The Secret Language
of Flowers
L
A welcomed sanctuary on Sir Lowry Road
ast year, while many businesses closed their doors, others scrambled to adjust their offerings in order to survive. A company that turned itself around was Petals Group in Woodstock, Cape Town. Events and weddings—highly intense social activities—were at the core of the company’s activities and so Petals Group found itself in a desperate situation when the pandemic hit. “Closing our doors and saying goodbye to our staff members was never an option,” says Veronica (Vee) Yankelowitz, one of Petals Group’s events coordinators. “Not being able to run corporate events and bespoke weddings we had to reinvent the way we use our resources.” And so, sticking to their forte, the team created Flower Café. Not a coffee shop that sells flowers, but rather a place for flower lovers to get creative. “While Covid may have locked us out of hosting large events, it couldn’t lock us out of helping people unleash their inner 8
s O U T H A F R I C A N C O N N O I SS E U R
flower arranging natures in our oneof-a-kind space,” says Petals Group founder, Flower Walker. (Yes, her name is Flower.) Located along Woodstock’s busy Sir Lowry Road, the founders of Flower Café have created “a large, whimsical workshop space and a team of talented floral artists who know how to host a great party. It was an easy transition to make,” says Vee. While you set about arranging a bunch of flowers in the workshop area, Flower shares interesting facts about a few of her favourite blooms and talks about the ‘The Secret Language of Flowers’. It was a Victorian tradition to use flowers to convey secret messages to loved ones in a society where feelings often had to be suppressed. In between arranging flowers, you can enjoy barista-made coffees and help yourself to a delicious spread of cakes, muffins, quiches, and homemade
biscuits. Flower Café even has a dedicated crêpe maker where a crêpe (or three) can be made to suit your taste. So, if you’re looking for a fun, relaxing way to spend time with your family or friends, schedule a visit to Flower Café. A morning spent in this space is also a great way to enjoy a special occasion such as a birthday or baby shower, or even a fun and different team-building experience with colleagues.
