London's Flower Market

I suppose our family vacation turned into a work vacation. Oops! Our walking tours always turned into flower shop tours when the opportunity presented itself. Upon touring a lovely London boutique, we learned about London's flower market--the place where shops purchase their flowers for resale. So of course, a trip to the market was added to our busy schedule.

What an educational experience it was. Unlike our markets where we purchase from one wholesaler, London's market is made up of numerous wholesalers all under one roof. As a buyer, it makes it so much easier to shop around for the best product at the best possible price.


The flowers--let's talk about the flowers. A lot of what we saw in London is what we see here. Most of the flowers come from the Dutch auction and man oh man--what amazing products. For brides wanting phalaenopsis orchids, Dutch is the way to go--the quality is outstanding. Here in the U.S., you might pay more for Dutch products, but I do believe in this case, you get what you pay for. I would have taken photos, but all of the delicate beauties were wrapped in plastic, water tubed and boxed. Curious as I was, I had to open the boxes for inspection. The blossoms were voluminous and flawless and also important, the stems were sturdy.

Another product worth mentioning were the amaryllis. Oh my goodness, I've never seen such a glorious collection. This is a flower I enjoyed seeing in designs throughout London and Scotland. For whatever reason, it seems that in the U.S. it's only used around the holiday season.  What a shame!