Written by Rona Wheeldon
February 04, 2019
Valentine's Day this year falls on a Thursday and just before the schools break up, which is great news all around!
Take a look at our favourite red rose picks in this month's report. And there's a round-up of other seasonal blooms available at Nine Elms, plus foliage, plants and sundries too.
British Flowers
Even though temperatures are plummeting, our wonderful British flower growers continue to provide an abundance of colourful tulips. You'll find this striking selection both available in wraps and boxes at Pratley.
They also have an extensive selection of homegrown Narcissus, including Ice Follies, Tamara, California, Golden Harvest, Mando and Dutch Master.
World Flowers
Without doubt, lightly scented Red Naomi roses below will be highly sought after again this year to celebrate February 14th. You'll find them at many of our wholesalers, including Zest Flowers. An alternative bright scarlet red rose is 80cm tall Explorer from Colombia, which heads up this report.
Add a touch of dark glamour to your designs with Black Baccara and its deep red velvet-like petals, which look almost black.
For a hot cerise pink rose, how about this big-headed beauty called Pink Floyd from Ecuador, which is named after the English rock band?
Or for a stunning softer pink rose, how about Magic Silver, which is available at Bloomfield?
To read about yet more red rose varieties available at the Flower Market including Hearts and Freedom, do take a look at our Red Roses Profile Report. You'll also find a wide range of roses in other colours too on the traders' stands. For example, Norma Jeane with its incredibly fragrant white petals.
Acting as a perfect filler for your Valentine's Day bouquets is Skimmia japonica Rubella, which you'll find at Dennis Edwards Flowers.
Or of course, there's Viburnum opulus Roseum also known as Snowball or Guelder Rose.
With ranunculus season in full swing, there's a plethora to be found, not only of standard varieties, but Cloni too. For example, this vibrant magenta Ranunculus Cloni Sherry.
At the complete other end of the pink colour spectrum are these gorgeous pale pink tulips called Algarve.
And as well as a wide selection of tulips in an assortment of varieties including parrot and fringed, you'll also find anemones galore at the market.
As we're in peak Hellebore season, there's Helleborus Queens White, plus lots of other colours available too. Check out this special Hellebores report, if you missed it first time around.
Last but not least in our look at just some of the many flower varieties available are these dainty Muscari armeniacum, which are commonly know as grape hyacinths.
British Foliage
One of the stars of our Behind Every Great Florist Video is the ever-helpful foliage wholesaler David at GB Foliage. If you've got any questions at all about English greenery, which GB specialise in, make a beeline for David's stand.
Homegrown Hornbeam's just coming into leaf....
...plus blossom in white and pink has begun to appear.
A brilliant filler for floral designs is Viburnum tinus.
And what better way to add a touch of movement and texture to a natural, informal design than with Alder replete with catkins, from the birch family? You'll find it at Porters Foliage.
British Plants
With daisy-like flower heads and rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves are British Bellis plants at L. Mills. They're perfect for ground cover in borders and are equally happy in containers.
World Plants
A riot of colourful Primula plants can be found by the trolley load at Evergreen Exterior Services. You may like to use them to brighten up window boxes and pots.
Indoors, how about adding a jungle vibe to a room with these architectural Alocasia plants, which are available at Quality Plants? They're sometimes also known as elephant's ears, due to the size and shape of their leaves!
With emerald green feathery foliage, Asparagus densiflorus Sprengeri, pictured left, and Asparagus plumosus, pictured right, are great as hanging houseplants.
And there are so many different ways that you can use these mixed mini succulents at Arnott & Mason. They're ideal as wedding favours, you can add them to bouquets and you can also use them in wreaths.
Just how lovely is it to see that Hydrangea macrophylla plants in pastel shades have started to appear at the market?
Sundries
Rustic ceramic pots in several different shapes and sizes are proving to be a real hit at Whittingtons.
And if you're looking for Valentine's Day sundries, speak to Ian there. He'll be able to help you out with ribbon, regency rose boxes and everything in between.
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of the In Season report and it’s given you lots of inspiration! Don't forget, it's just a small snapshot of availability this month. You'll also find lilac, genista, tuberose, mimosa, carnations, scabious, astilbe, tanacetum, magnolia, heucheras ... and much, much more!
As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions. Simply fill in the boxes below.
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