We asked why so many of us
are concerned that our strawberries are flown in from the
other side of the world, but aren't bothered by the fact
that 90 percent of the flowers we buy are imported.
Britain has one of the best climates and some of the best
growers in the world. Why are we demanding not just strawberries
12 months of the year, but roses and peonies as well? And
why don't we celebrate the fabulous flowers that we grow
here so well - roses, sweet peas, peonies, dahlias, lilies,
narcissi, lily of the valley and tulips - when they're naturally
in season?
Last week, at the cut-flower, wholesale market at Nine Elms
in London, this campaign took another step. The New Covent
Garden Market Authority arranged an event that matched British
growers with London florists - Helen Newman of Moyses Stevens,
Kally Ellis of McQueens, Mark Welford and Steven Wicks of
Bloomsbury Flowers, Jamie Aston of Jamie Aston Flowers and
Alison Trickey of Pollen Nation.
The audience was florists from all over the country. All
these professionals face the same question: when a flying
Dutchman arrives outside your shop twice a week at a civilised
hour with a lorry full of refrigerated flowers, what's the
point of getting up early and going to the hassle of sourcing
British flowers from the market?
There are plenty of reasons. Apart from supporting your
own local growers, the lorry contains a narrow selection
of flowers that the trader knows are likely to sell. There
won't be unusual things, or delicate flowers with a limited
shelf life - often the loveliest - as these are high-risk.
If you want to be inventive in your flower arranging, you
have to dig deeper. Fantastic things are available from
specialist British growers.
We had sweet peas (Greenlines Nursery); scented stocks (J.
Pell and Sons); alstromerias in deep, rich colours (Geaters);
huge-headed roses (Country Roses); great bunches of lilac
(Porters Foliage); clove-scented English garden pinks (Whetman
Pinks); pink, fluffy peonies (Tregothnan Estates); exotic
and dignified calla lilies in crimson, deep orange and white
(Copseys); cymbidiums (Preseli Orchids) and vast, amazing
lilies (H.W. Hyde & Son) all under one roof. That's
just a few of the flowers available in May.
Through the year, different crops come and go but supplies
continue even through the winter. And there is another very
apparent advantage to this home-grown clutch - powerful,
good old-fashioned scent.
Even in the early-morning cold, the market smelt like a
Parisian perfumery. And many florists vouch for the fact
that British-grown flowers have a longer vase life. Many
growers deliver stems harvested the night before three times
a week, so these flowers are as fresh as you get.
There is one downside to British-grown flowers that I keep
hearing from florists: unreliable supply. It is true that
field-grown crops are vulnerable to the vagaries of our
weather. If you have designed a wedding around a sea of
sweet violets and they fail to come in, it is time to panic,
but that should not rule out greater flexibility on other
jobs and types of arrangements.
It may take extra effort to begin with, but as more of us
ask for British flowers, better systems of distribution
will evolve.
As with going to a farmers' market and deciding what meal
to make after your trip, rather than before, if you can
go with the flow a bit more you'll get the best flowers
available.
It is so much better and more creative to buy what looks
fantastic on the morning than to rely on a prescribed list.
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