Written by Rona Wheeldon
July 29, 2016
This month, British flowers continue to be in wonderful abundance at New Covent Garden Flower Market. You'll find so many different varieties of homegrown blooms available, from dainty nigella, pictured below, to prickly echinops!
So take time out from your busy day, settle down and feast your eyes on just some of the glorious floral delights currently at Nine Elms...
British Flowers
If the 'just-picked from the garden' look is your signature floristry style, then one place to make a bee-line for is the British flowers area at Zest Flowers, where you'll find this very pretty verbena.
Here's the gentleman himself, Graeme. And he's turning into such an Instagram pro! Head over to his feed to take a look.
Moving on to a pink colour palette... how beautiful are these Japanese anemones at Zest Flowers?!
That’s where you’ll also find these ‘Cheerleader ‘spray roses. I love this stunning picture of them by Sarah at Hiding in the City!
Graeme mentioned that achillea is going down a real storm at the moment! Not surprising when you see the astonishing range of colours that it comes in...
And for some incredibly vibrantly coloured flowers, how about this lavatera?
These scabious?
These dahlias...?
Or perhaps these sunshine yellow sunflowers?
For an elegant touch however, there’s nothing quite like white hydrangeas. And white wild garden hydrangeas can be found outside at Porters Foliage. You’ll also find them in pink. Take a look at Porters' Instagram feed to see more photos of their vast display.
Ideal for adding an ethereal touch to a bridal bouquet, as illustrated beautifully by Scarlet & Violet, is ammi majus.
World Flowers
If your customers love all-white designs, how about including this variety of gentiana called ‘White Sky’, which you’ll find at Dennis Edwards Flowers? Check out Dennis’s Instagram account for photos of his extensive flower selection.
Astrantia is such a delicate bloom and how pretty is this variety, simply known as Light Pink, at S Robert Allen. I love how Zita Elze has combined astrantia with pastel roses in this exquisite bridal bouquet.
Have you seen this pink variety of sanguisorba before? It’s called ‘Pink Tanna’. Check out this captivating mini video from McQueens, where they show it being used in a simple vase display.
Looking for filler flowers in cool tones? Well, there’s Aster ‘Cassandra’, also known as September flower, at S Robert Allen...
...and Brodiaea ‘Babylon Pink’, also known as triteleia, at D G Wholesale Flowers. They’re on Instagram too! Click here to follow their account.
Head over to Dennis Edwards Flowers, if you’re in search of Rubus ‘Chester’. It’s definitely a popular choice for Market customers at the moment. Have a look at all these fabulous floral designs by Petalon, Paul Thomas Flowers, The Flower Bird and SuperNature Flowers.
And how about these Rudbeckia Nitida at Dennis Edwards Flowers for adding a pop of vibrant yellow to an arrangement?
British Plants
Over at L Mills, there are trays upon trays of homegrown plants, including these striking dahlias.
And yes, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes either! They already have cyclamen plants available...
World Plants
Easy to care for cacti are a big on-trend houseplant at the moment. And there are so many different varieties, in all sorts of shapes and sizes available from the plant wholesalers at the market. At one end of the spectrum are these huge specimens at Arnott & Mason. But they also have very cute mini ones too. Check out their Instagram account for lots more botanical inspiration.
For something very sculptural, how about these cynara, aka globe artichokes, at Quality Plants? Quality are also a whizz on Instagram! Have a look at their photos here.
Another great houseplant is Asplenium nidus ‘Crispy Wave’. It's available at Quality Plants and apparently, it’s an excellent air purifier.
The trend for hanging plants continues and this year, the award for efig’s Favourite Office Plant of the Year went to the Rhipsalis. You’ll find it at Arnott & Mason.
Have you come across these plants before? With flowers that dangle like bell-shaped green grapes, their name is Kalanchoe 'Magic Bells'.
Gardenias, with their exquisitely scented white blooms, can be found at Evergreen Exterior Services.
And that’s where there are aster plants aplenty too...
British Foliage
Outside on Foliage Row, Porters Foliage is the place to go for scented geranium leaves. Don’t they look lovely in this floral design by Rebel Rebel?
They also have containers brimming full of senecio, which has been used beautifully by Bloomsbury Flowers in these wedding flower arrangements.
What better way to add graceful movement to a design than with these jasmine trails?
Ideal for hand-tieds and vase designs is guelder berry.
And another terrific foliage at this time of year is euonymus at GB Foliage...
...where you’ll also find this prunus. Such an incredible colour?!
Sundries
If you’re on the hunt for chicken wire, pop into Whittingtons, where you’ll find it in different sizes.
They also have this lacy bridal ribbon in white and cream, in varying widths.
And for the natural, rustic look, ideal for wrapping bouquets is this hessian, available in different widths.
As with every Flower Market Report, this is just a small snapshot of what you can expect to find at New Covent Garden Flower Market. For example, on the British flowers front, there’s also poppy seed heads, crocosmia, oriental lilies, asiatic lilies, gladioli and calla lilies. Plus world flowers including roses, lisianthus, brunia, asclepias, physalis, hydrangeas, clematis... the list goes on.
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this month’s report and it’s given you lots of inspiration! Don't forget to follow the Market too on Instagram at @MarketFlowers. As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions. Simply fill in the boxes below.
P.S. Did you hear the news that the Flower Market will now open in its new location on Monday, 27th February 2017? Here’s a link for more information.
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