Written by Rona Wheeldon
June 05, 2018
British blooms are blossoming in abundance at New Covent Garden Market this month!
And with British Flowers Week set to take place from June 18th-24th, there's no better a time to champion homegrown flowers.
Just how stunning are these scented sweet peas above? Not only available in purple, but pale pink, white, cream, cerise pink and apricot too.
British Flowers
The 'British Flowers Area' at Zest Flowers is growing by the week, with roses, lupins and nigella, plus many more including 'fluffy' Phacelia tanacetifolia below.
And staying with the cool colour palette, you'll also find large-headed alliums.
Meanwhile, over at Pratley, they are boxes aplenty of drumstick alliums...
...plus dainty blue cornflowers, with such wonderful movement to their stems. I can't wait for the black variety to come in too!
You'll also find homegrown peonies in different shades of pink, plus smile-inducing sunflowers.
Basically, if you're looking for British flowers this month, you'll be completely spoilt for choice at Nine Elms!
World Flowers
Many of the wholesalers have an incredible selection of peonies on their stands including Bloomfield, where you'll find this pretty variety called Bartzella with its fragrant double lemon-yellow petals.
By the way, if you missed it last month, do have a read of our 'Florist's Guide to Peonies'.
Several different varieties of achillea are also available at the Flower Market this month. So, if you're after a pale yellow filler flower, how about Achillea millefolium Yuna?
For something completely different, have you seen this bloom before? It's called Gillenia trifoliata and you can find it at Dennis Edwards Flowers. With its masses of white star-shaped petals, its common name is bowman's root.
Grouping flowers by colour is how Dennis continues to create the displays on his stand. And here's the ever-helpful Sonny with peonies in the red/pink zone.
Many congratulations to Sonny's wife, Kitten, owner of Kitten Grayson Flowers, for the stunning 'Trees of Life' installation which she created at last month's RHS Chelsea Flower Show! And congratulations too to one of her supporters, the wonderful Porters Foliage.
Talking of Chelsea, many congratulations to all the florists who took part in this year's Chelsea in Bloom competition, including Rebel Rebel who won the Innovation Award and Wild About for being runners-up in the People's Champion Award.
Soon to appear in our gardens, but already available as cut flowers are agapanthus and this vibrant blue variety called Atlantic Ocean can be found at DG Wholesale Flowers.
For a soft pink colour palette, they also have Hydrangea macrophylla Mariama, perfect for summer wedding flower designs.
You're no doubt very familiar with the classic Cafe au Lait dahlia with its blush or peachy-cream petals. But have you see this one before? You'll find it at New Covent Garden Market, marked Cafe au Lait Rose. Keep a look-out for it the next time you visit. It's a real head-turner!
The scented white flowers of Philadelphus are also making a welcome reappearance. And they're ideal for adding movement to bouquets and pedestal arrangements.
British Foliage
Walk into the GB Foliage unit and you'll be bowled over by the intoxicating scent of containers brimming full of fresh mint.
And how gorgeous is this copper beech foliage? Just the ticket for adding texture to a dark, moody floral design...
Now there's birch and then there's weeping birch! And Porters Foliage have it by the container load.
And whilst you're there, check out this lofty forsythia.
British Plants
Over at L Mills and perfect for containers are blue Heliotrope plants, with their lovely scent.
World Plants
Lupins were very popular at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, especially in the Great Pavilion. And you'll find the 'Camelot White' variety at Evergreen.
Whilst 'Peony Heaven' is taking place on the cut flower scene, don't forget that you can also buy the plants at Nine Elms including this variety called Annemieke at Quality Plants.
And inside, the 'Green Revolution' shows no sign of abating. So, if you're on the look-out for tall houseplants, you'll find Ficus there too.
String of nickels and necklace plant are the common names of this adorable hanging plant, which has the Latin name of Dischidia nummularia. With its round fleshy leaves, it's available at Arnott & Mason. By the way, do check out their amazing bird of paradise (Strelitzia) plants too!
Sundries
The Flower Store at Bloomfield have come up trumps again with their new arrivals on the sundries front, including the delivery of these textured green ceramic pots.
Also proving to be very popular and at some great price points are these light and dark grey plant pots and containers, in lots of different sizes.
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this month’s In Season blog and it’s given you lots of inspiration! This is just a small peek at flower availability! You'll also find Aquilegia, Astilbe and Amaranthus, to name a few.
We're so looking forward to British Flowers Week later this month. And if you've not already had a chance to read it, here are details about the six florists who'll be creating installations for the event in the Garden Museum. Good luck to everyone involved!
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