Recently the Columbia Road Flower Market has been featured a lot on the Internet, be it Instagram or blogs it felt like it was everywhere. So I decided that I need to find another flower market, which is less known to the general public.
New Covent Garden Flower Market looked like the right place to check it out. It is a place where real florists get their flowers as this market is tourist-free and offers flowers of all colours and shapes for a nice price. To be precise this market is simply the biggest and best wholesale flower market in the UK. It has everything that a florist might need under one roof.
And it is no wonder that 75 percent of London florists buy their flowers here.
I started planning my visit a week in advance as I noticed on their website that photography is allowed only with a permit. Can you imagine a blog post about a flower market without photographs? Neither can I. So I braced myself and went into battle with red tape. To my surprise the management team was friendly and efficient, and paperwork got sorted in almost no time. But I would never forget how serious the form looked. It covered every aspect of the visit and scared me a bit.
On the day of my visit had to get out of bed very early as the market operates at night and by 11 am their working day is over. It was strange to travel on the tube at such an early hour; a totally different public. I was near the market around 7am, with a bit of help from my iPhone I found the place. By this hour the market was getting less busy as most florists already got their flowers and were on the way back to their shops. The place itself was looking rather normal.
I took a few pictures of potted plants as they were the first pretty thing that I noticed. Moving further I noticed traders who were selling British made produce only and you would be surprised the extent of the selection. I was mesmerised and hopelessly tried to capture every single bloom just to realise that it was impossible.
To my surprise, I got a free photography lesson from Ronnie one of the sellers at Bloomfield of London. He is a passionate photographer himself and so he could not leave a damsel in distress. I am really grateful to him as I just got my camera and I was still growing accustomed to it.
Ok let’s check the photos
Those gorgeous blooms from the David Austin rose collection and lilac were a highlight of the day (got mine at Bloomfield of London). They are useful for a flower crown and corsage and many other small projects.
The other finding of the day was sundries wholesaler called Whittingtons. This place is a treasure trove of such things as floral foam (oasis), florists’ wire, ribbons, baskets and other useful things.
I was captivated by their ribbons, they literally have every single variety imaginable.
But that was before I found the Oasis section. Just look at the rows of floral foam.
I left near 10 o’clock full of emotions, and with lots of flowers. I would definitely come back soon for more.
