Send flowers to Burnside Hospital in Toorak Gardens
An Adelaide florist makes up the bouquet and takes it to the ward at Burnside Hospital on Kensington Road. Ring the ward before you order; private rooms usually take flowers, but ask about scent and space.
Burnside Hospital, still listed in many directories as Burnside War Memorial Hospital, is the private community hospital of Adelaide's eastern suburbs. It stands on Kensington Road in Toorak Gardens, SA 5065, between Moore Street and the Burnside council gardens, five kilometres from the city. It began as a war memorial: Burnside Council proposed a community hospital in August 1943, a Toorak Gardens resident, Otto von Rieben, gave his mansion Attunga for the purpose in 1944, and by April 1949 the converted house was caring for 21 patients. It reopened as Burnside War Memorial Hospital in 1956 and is the only private community hospital in the City of Burnside. A florist in the eastern suburbs makes up your flowers and delivers them by hand; to a hospital we never promise a delivery time, but a weekday morning order usually arrives that afternoon.
Flowers in a small private hospital
Burnside Hospital does not publish a flower policy on a page we could read, so ring the ward when you order. Small private hospitals with single rooms are generally the easiest places in the system to receive flowers, and the exceptions follow the national pattern: no fresh flowers in intensive or high dependency care, none for patients on chemotherapy, and a question about pollen if the patient has asthma or allergies. Ask whether the room has space for anything larger than a posy. If the ward says no, the home in Toorak Gardens, Rose Park, Dulwich, Glenside or Burnside is a five-minute drive and the flowers will last longer there.
What to write on the order
Give the patient's full name as admitted, "Burnside Hospital, Kensington Road, Toorak Gardens", the ward and a room number if you have one, and a mobile number the florist can call. A private stay is often only a night or two, so if the operation was earlier in the week ask yourself whether the patient will still be there tomorrow; if not, we deliver to the home instead. A bouquet redirected after the florist has been to the hospital costs a second delivery fee.
Adelaide flowers for an Adelaide ward
South Australian florists work with excellent local roses and natives, and the Adelaide Hills supply tulips, ranunculus and poppies in spring and dahlias in late summer. For a hospital room choose a compact arrangement with its own water: gerberas, alstroemeria, roses, chrysanthemums or a native posy with banksia, waxflower and kangaroo paw. Lilies and hyacinths are too strong for a small warm room, and many wards refuse potted plants with soil.
South Australian time and the cut-off
Same-day delivery runs Monday to Saturday when the order is placed before 2pm on a weekday or 10am on a Saturday, Adelaide time, though to a hospital same day is never guaranteed. Adelaide is half an hour behind Sydney and Melbourne all year, so a 2pm Adelaide cut-off is 2.30pm in the eastern states and, in summer, 1.30pm in Brisbane. There is no Sunday delivery, so for a Sunday birthday order for Saturday.
Two lines on the card
Something plain and personal reads best from a hospital bed: "So glad it went well. Rest, and we will bring dinner on Sunday. Love, Kate and Tom." Bouquets start at AUD 75 and the delivery fee is shown at checkout before you confirm.
Did you know? Burnside Hospital grew out of the mansion Attunga, given by Otto von Rieben in 1944; the converted house was caring for 21 patients by April 1949 and reopened as Burnside War Memorial Hospital in 1956.
Frequently asked questions about flowers to Burnside War Memorial Hospital
Can I send flowers to Burnside Hospital in Toorak Gardens?
Usually yes; it is a small private hospital with single rooms. No flower policy is published, so ring the ward first and ask about intensive care, chemotherapy patients and allergies, where Australian hospitals generally say no. Give the patient's full name, the ward and a room number, and order in the morning.
Is it Burnside Hospital or Burnside War Memorial Hospital?
The same place. The hospital now calls itself Burnside Hospital, but it was formally named Burnside War Memorial Hospital in 1956 and many listings keep the old name. Either works on the order as long as you add Kensington Road, Toorak Gardens, the patient's full name and the ward.
What flowers suit a private room at Burnside Hospital?
A compact bouquet in its own water that fits a bedside locker: gerberas, roses, alstroemeria, chrysanthemums or Adelaide natives such as banksia and waxflower. Keep scent low, leave out lilies and hyacinths, and send potted plants to the home instead. Stays are short, so consider delivering to the house.