Lily West Florist

A counter shop on the western edge of the Old Town, trading since 2003 and known for hand-tied bouquets put together while you describe the occasion. Lily West covers the whole ordinary range — a birthday this afternoon, an office contract, a wedding next summer — and it will talk the order through with you for nothing before you commit to anything.

What people come here for

Most visits are simple and same-day: something for a birthday, a thank-you, a new baby, a hospital visit, a bouquet on the way to dinner. The free consultation is the shop’s own selling point, and it is aimed as much at the person who does not know what to ask for as at the one who does.

From there the work widens out: weddings, flowers for homes and offices, corporate events, and funeral tributes, which the shop lists as ordinary work rather than a special case. Over twenty years in one spot means the wedding and office side comes largely from people who first came in for a single bouquet.

Delivery and urgency

Delivery runs across Edinburgh, with both same-day and next-day options offered, and orders for the rest of mainland Britain arranged as well. The honest gap is the exact cut-off: the shop does not publish a time by which an order must be in for today, so the phone is the reliable route when the deadline is this afternoon.

One thing to plan around: the shop does not trade on Sundays. A Saturday afternoon problem is a Monday solution unless you get there before closing.

Highlights

• More than twenty years in the same shop. Trading since 2003, which in this business is a long time.
• Free consultation. Offered for anything from a single bouquet to an office contract or a wedding.
• Flower-arranging classes. Regular Tuesday sessions in the shop, in modern rather than formal style.
• Wreath-making in December. The seasonal class that fills first.
• Hand-tied bouquets as the house standard. Made at the counter rather than pulled from a fridge.
• Central without being in the crush. Close to the Grassmarket, but on the quieter side of it.

Where the flowers come from

The shop publishes nothing about its suppliers — no market, no growers, no countries — so the only reliable way to know what is fresh is to look at the buckets and ask what came in that morning.

The shop, the service and what else they sell

A working counter shop where the arranging happens in front of you: you say what the occasion is and roughly what you want it to feel like, and the bouquet is built to that. The classes are the second life of the place — an evening at the bench learning to tie a bouquet in a loose modern shape, and a wreath session when December comes round. It is a small shop rather than a lifestyle store, so the range beyond flowers is limited.

When to come and how to find it

The western end of the Old Town, a couple of minutes from the Grassmarket and within walking distance of the art college, the university quarter and Lothian Road — convenient if you are heading for a show or a restaurant in the centre.

Valentine’s Day, Mothering Sunday and the weeks before Christmas are the crowded ones; graduation weeks in summer bring a second, gentler wave in a university city. In August the Fringe puts the whole quarter under pressure — thank-you bouquets for performers, flowers for venues and traffic that makes any crossing of the Old Town slow.

Questions and answers

Can I get flowers delivered today?

Same-day delivery is offered, but no cut-off time is published. Ring the shop and ask — it is the only way to be sure.

Can I just walk in and buy something?

Yes. It is a counter shop, and the bouquet is tied while you wait.

Do they deliver outside Edinburgh?

Deliveries to the rest of mainland Britain are arranged, with next-day the normal option.

Do they do wedding flowers?

Yes, and the consultation for one costs nothing — start with a conversation about date, venue and palette.

Can they supply an office or a corporate event?

Yes, flowers for homes, offices and corporate events are part of what they list.

Can I learn to arrange flowers here?

Yes — regular Tuesday classes in the shop, plus wreath-making in the run-up to Christmas.

What if I need flowers on a Sunday?

You will need another shop: Sunday is the day they are closed.

How do I judge freshness at the counter?

Buds that are firm rather than soft, leaves without dried edges, stems that feel hard near the cut — and ask what arrived that morning.

Opening hours