Where to Buy Flowers in Nairobi: Four Options, Honestly Compared
There are four ways to get flowers in Nairobi, and they are not interchangeable. One is cheap and inconvenient. One is convenient and dull. One is a gamble. Here is what each is actually like, so you can pick the right one for the situation you are in.
The flower stalls at City Market
Muindi Mbingu Street, in the middle of town. This is where most of the cut flowers in Nairobi pass through, and it is where we work from.
Buying here in person is the cheapest route and the most fun if you have the time. You see the stems before you buy them, you can ask what came in that morning, and you can build something odd that no website would offer you. What you do not get is delivery, a guarantee, or anyone to call if the roses drop in two days.
Go if you are close to town, you have half an hour, and you are carrying the flowers yourself.
Supermarkets
Every large supermarket in Nairobi keeps a small flower stand near the entrance. It is convenient and it is priced clearly.
The trade off is choice. You get whatever is in the bucket that day, usually wrapped in plastic, usually a single variety. Nobody arranges it. If the gift needs to look like you thought about it, this is not the route.
Go if you need flowers in the next ten minutes and you are already in the shop.
Roadside vendors
You know the spots. Along Ngong Road, near Yaya, on the way out to Karen.
Sometimes excellent, sometimes not. The stems have often been in the sun for a while, and there is nobody to go back to. It is a gamble, and the price reflects that.
Go if you are driving past, the bunch in front of you looks good, and it does not need to survive the week.
Ordering online, which is where to buy flowers in Nairobi for someone else
This is the only route where somebody is accountable for what arrives.
You see a photograph of the actual arrangement, you see the price before you commit, and it goes to the recipient rather than to you. For anything being sent to another person, another office or another part of town, this is the route that makes sense.
What to check before you order from anyone online. Are the prices published, or do you have to ask. Are the photographs of their own work or stock images. Is there a phone number that a person answers. Is there a delivery cutoff written down anywhere.
See our full range with prices, or read what flowers actually cost in Nairobi.
Which one for which situation
- Sending to someone else. Online. Nothing else delivers to a person you are not with.
- Buying for your own table. City Market, if you have the time. You will get more flowers for the money.
- You forgot, and it is now. Supermarket if you are in one. Otherwise order online before 2pm and it still lands today.
- A funeral, a hospital, an office. Online. These need to arrive at a specific place, at a specific time, looking correct.
Buying flowers in Nairobi today, not tomorrow
Order by 2pm, Monday to Saturday, and we deliver the same afternoon across Nairobi. Westlands, Kilimani, Karen, Lavington, Parklands, Runda, Kileleshwa, Upper Hill, Langata and the CBD. Pay with M-Pesa.
After 2pm it goes the next morning. If it is genuinely urgent, message us and we will tell you honestly whether we can still make it.
Questions people ask
Where is the best place to buy flowers in Nairobi?
It depends what you are doing. For flowers you carry home yourself, the stalls at City Market on Muindi Mbingu Street give you the most for your money. For flowers going to another person, order online so somebody is accountable for what arrives.
Can I buy flowers in Nairobi and have them delivered the same day?
Yes. Order by 2pm, Monday to Saturday, and it goes out the same afternoon across Nairobi. After 2pm it goes the next morning.
Are flowers cheaper at the market than online?
Usually, because you are doing the work of choosing, arranging and carrying them yourself. Online you are also paying for the build, the wrap and delivery to someone else’s door.
Where can I buy flowers in Nairobi late at night?
Almost nowhere reliably. Supermarket stands close with the shop. Plan for the morning and order early.
Do Nairobi flower shops take M-Pesa?
We do, on order or on delivery.
