Flowers For All Seasons For Millions Of Reasons. (bunches.co.uk)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	bunches.co.uk
Date:	23/06/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful flowers,packaged with care and last for weeks.

Disadvantages: None

Yesterday was a very sad day as I attended a funeral of a very special friend and neighbour, but it was a beautiful sunny day and the sense of peace and calm which was at the beautiful cemetery with the summer flowers in bloom, and the birds singing, made the day a tribute and a celebration as well as a time to grieve.

I had sent some flowers to the family the previous week, and I did so with complete confidence, because I recently discovered a brilliant online company who specialise in sending flowers for all occasions, not just sad ones but joyful ones too. For me they have turned this market upside down, providing affordable flowers of a very high standard, delivered on time, in beautiful packaging.

Some years ago when Interflora were the company of choice, it was a hit and miss affair, especially at busy times. You called the local florist, who then called the florist near to the recipient, who then sent or delivered the flowers. It was expensive, but hit and miss too, and you never really knew the quality.

Now there are many online retailers to choose from but Bunches.co.uk found me as a dear friend of mine sent some flowers as a thank you for letting her stay in my cottage in Scotland. The flowers were so beautiful; I really was delighted with them. They were carnations in vibrant colours which were accompanied by a lovely card and message, and a little box of chocolates came too. These were absolutely gorgeous, and so I decided to use this company myself and have been utterly delighted in every aspect.

So here is a guide to the site which I hope will be helpful. It is a shop for all budgets, and so if you have not previously considered sending flowers online it could be time to re-evaluate as these are affordable and of exceptional quality.

The website is at www.bunches.co.uk and the home page is more than a splash of colour, it almost paints the back of your eye with a pink glow as it radiates rouge from every corner!

The company is a family business and they have been in existence since 1989 when it was a market stall in Mansfield. From these early days they have expanded into the online world, but carrying with them all the same ethical and customer focused ideals.

My first piece of advice is to use a cash back site first, and to then click through to Bunches because there are very good savings to be made here you do. I use Topcashback (www.topcashback.co.uk) and here you will receive 13% back. At the moment there is also a further 10% off if you use the code they give you at Topcashback, making a total of 23% off your order in June.

The Home Page
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Clearly laid out at the top of the home page of Bunches are links to enable you to select the flowers you are interested in buying. The first section takes you to "Classic Flowers" and these are the ones which I received, and have sent because I think they are truly wonderful for the price. £9.99 will buy some lovely carnations (10 stems) and they pride themselves that they have held this price since 1990. A little more (13.99) will buy 15 carnations and you can also choose bunches including foliage too. My favourite is a yellow bouquet which Bunches describe as "A pretty bouquet reflecting the bright colours of summer with Carnations and sunny Solidago." This section covers flowers up to £19.99, but as I have explained the £9.99 bunch is absolutely gorgeous, this price includes delivery and chocolates, and with the discounts and cash back from Topcashback, you will have a very inexpensive, but truly gorgeous, gift to cheer someone or to thank them.

In addition to the discounts I have mentioned Bunches run their own loyalty scheme called Posy Points, and this allows you to collect points for future orders. It is generous too as a £10 order will give you 50p back as well.

For when you want to give something more generous and impressive the next link will take you to the "Luxury Bouquet" section and here prices range from £19.99 to £44.99 for 24 red roses, and at the end of this section there is an option to purchase flowers for each month for a year for £199. These bouquets in this section have wonderful names; there is one I love called Tuscan breeze which they explain is "Sunny Germini with orange roses, Anastasia and Chrysanthemums in an adorable gift bag.

This section also has beautiful bouquets wrapped and designed to welcome little babies into the world, be it boy or girl. The flowers are chosen to compliment the wrapping and they look divine.

The next section is a "Platinum Collection" of flowers which are hand delivered by courier and these are supplied with a matching vase.

There is a section devoted to "Just Roses" which are lovely and of course come into their own for Valentines Day.

Another section collates together all their summer flowers into one easy to select page which is a favourite section of mine being yellow and bright. A personal favourite of mine is one called "Fragrant Confetti" which is a mixture of carnations and fragrant gypsophila.

The final section of flowers is the "Carnations" and here grouped together are the carnation bunches available at very reasonable prices.

There are two further sections on the home page, one for house plants, and one for helium balloons, which are useful further categories to browse through.

At the very top of the page and clearly laid out are the vital sections including postage and delivery, frequently asked questions, and customer services.

The website is very well designed and the pages load quickly, which of course will vary depending on your connection, but it is one of the websites I value for being easy and quick to navigate, and to complete tasks and orders.

To give you an example, if you were planning to order a bunch of the carnations for £9.99 you would simply click on them, and on the right will automatically load a calendar with the available dates on there. This isn't far away as they despatch very quickly, normally 36 hours is all the notice you need. There is the option of an extra £4.95 to add special delivery if you have a special date in mind, just to ensure it arrives, but in my experience they have actually beaten their delivery quoted time on each occasion I have used them. The advantage is they use first class mail for most deliveries so normally they arrive the next day.

You can then add them to your basket and the next page will offer you the option of adding extras. Remember they come with a very pretty little card, but you can also add a birthday card or other occasion card, and I notice a little teddy and some other cute things can go along too, as well as extra chocolates or birthday cakes, but if you just want to send the standard bunch don't worry as it looks gorgeous, and it will not look sparse or like something is missing.

The next screen asks for the date you wish the flowers to be delivered, and then the next screen is where you fill in your message details. You then go the next screen where you input your recipient's details and yours are easily filled in if you have ordered before and have an account. Here is where you can also input any voucher codes you have or use some of your posy points off your order.

The final screen will present you will a summary of your order, which you can check thoroughly for errors, and then payment is easily made through a secure link.

You can call then too if you wish to place an order by telephone.


The company donate 10% of their profits to charity each year, and I have read through their list and it is a tribute to them. This year for example they are helping to create a health centre for children in Malawi; this will hopefully reduce the number of deaths from malaria which is endemic in the region.

At the bottom of the home page are links to sections including the most important one how to care for your flowers, which I have to say I found really helpful. This section is flower specific, so you can lavish love on your gift appropriate for the needs of the type you have been given. In general they suggest filling a vase with luke warm water, adding flower food if it has been supplied, and after cutting 2 or 3 cm from each stem placing them in this water for a well earned drink! Most flowers prefer to be out of direct sunlight, and not near to radiators or fruit. My carnations lasted a month with only two changes of water, and I believe this to be amazing as they were almost immortal.

As the flowers are delivered in a lovely box this is recyclable too!

The carnations they use are grown in Columbia and here they are grown sustainably and the workers are paid well and have excellent working conditions.

I actually adore this company. Receiving these is an absolute joy. The card which is supplied free with your message is so lovely, and is decorated with daisies, the flowers themselves are beautiful and long lasting, and the choice is extensive.

Giving these flowers is a great joy to me because I know they provide happiness every time I have sent them. The most important thing I feel about them is that sending flowers no longer needs a big bank balance, or a second mortgage, as these are just perfectly priced, and they have opened up so many possibilities for me to send flowers where I might otherwise have chosen an alternative gift due to cost and suitability for the recipient. They are perfect to send to someone just to let you know you are thinking about them.

This is a company I would vote as my number one for the year. Delighted to have found them and planning a lifelong friendship.

This review is also published on Ciao by myself under the user name Violet1278.

Summary: Every aspect of this company is first class.