British Flowers Week is back!

This campaign run by New Covent Garden Market in London, is returning for it ninth year between Monday 14th and Sunday 20th June 2021.

The week long festivities will celebrate the beauty and variety of British cut flowers, foliage and plants, as well as the florists, growers and wholesalers who make it all possible.

Would you like to get involved?

British Flowers Week Windows

To get involved this year The British Flowers Association encouraging businesses and the public to decorate their windows with British flowers in their home or places of work; preferably where passers-by can enjoy them from 14th to 20th June.

Whether it’s with a single stem, a bouquet made from garden flowers or a spectacular display, a decorated window with show support for the British flower industry this June.

To get involved create a British Flowers Week window with British flowers, foliage or plants, from the garden, a local grower, florist or wholesaler.

Once you’ve created your design take a picture of your British Flowers Week window, share it on social media using #BritishFlowersWeek and tag @MarketFlowers to show support for British businesses and go in the draw to win fantastic prizes.

The Hiden Collective and British Flowers

We love Ethical British Flowers!

Our supply chain is very simple, trackable and energy efficient.

We order flowers either directly from the grower or from a British flowers wholesaler and in that way the grower will only cut the flowers that are preordered.

We also buy only what we can sell and if we have any spare blooms, we donate and brighten the life of the residents of an elderly home close to our studio.

This process allows us to deliver the flowers to your doorstep in the minimum possible time and for you to enjoy the flowers at their freshest.

Our flowers never sit around in a  very high energy consuming warehouse fridge like in many cases when you purchase imported flowers.

The classic supply chain can keep flowers in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks with the relevant energy use.

Talking about waste… the classic supply chain will waste approximately  1 in 3 stems, and if you scale this up  on a yearly basis you are  talking  about millions of blooms, wasted land, labour, resources and fuel.

We only use seasonal flowers and so we can’t source hundreds of varieties of flowers.

Each season has its own bloom star and we can guarantee that they are looking stunning as ever, like the scented garden rose between early May and late autumn.

We are experiencing an Ethical British Flowers revolutions with lots of new flower growers  opening every month across England.

After many years of decline, the British Floral Industry is starting to truly starting to bloom again and we love being a part of it!

The more the independent flower growing movement thrives within the UK, the more accessible home-grown seasonal flowers will become and the less we rely so heavily on importing. 

Shifting to locally grown blooms to decorate our houses, work spaces and weddings has the potential to lower the carbon footprint of the industry and give us better control over the working conditions in the fields where our flowers are grown.

Peony is the flower queen on Instagram, the hashtag #peonies has been used 2.8 million times.

They're also a limited edition flower, growing and blooming in a very short space of time each year, which makes them all the more special.

We love how Peonies can go from tight, spherical shaped buds to lush, fluffy flowers that don't need support from any other blooms to look good in a bouquet.

They're the Cinderella of the flower world going from drab to fab but they don't lose their fanciness at midnight.

Want to know more about these stunning flowers?

We've rounded up few fact about peonies:

The name Peony

The word Peony is derived from the Greek word Paeon.

Paeon was the physician of the Greek gods, under the apprenticeship of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine.

During their lessons, Ascelpius became enraged and highly jealous of Paeon’s talents.

In order to save Paeon from his mentor’s envious wrath, Zeus transformed Paeon into a Peony flower.

Peonies in history

Peonies are native to Europe, Asia and Western North America.

Early in Chinese history, the peony was considered the national flower (it is now officially the plum blossom).

Members of the Tang Dynasty of China began breeding peonies in the imperial courts in the 7th century BCE.

Their popularity spread to Japan in the early 11th century and to France and England in the 18th century.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, peonies began taking off in popularity in the U.S. as well and became Indiana state flowers. 

Peonies Herbal Remedies

Peonies have been used for herbal remedies across Asia and Europe for thousands of years.

In fact, the roots and seeds of peonies have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat headaches, asthma, convulsions, liver disease, and several more ailments.

Peonies Flowers Meaning

Brides love Peony for their beauty and fragrances and also for their symbolism.

Peonies represent romance and love, and are considered a good omen for a happy marriage.

Peonies are also the traditional flower for 12th wedding anniversaries.

Interestingly, the flowers represented shame and shyness during in the Victorian Era.

In China and Japan, peonies stand for strong and positive virtues such as bravery, honor, respect, nobility, good fortune, and prosperity.

Peonies flowers are edible

In China, the petals are parboiled and sweetened for use as a tea-time delicacy, in summer salads, or as garnish for punches and lemonades.

Peonies Tattoo

The peony for many centuries has been one of the most popular floral symbols used in tattoos.

For instance, in Japanese and Chinese body art you’ll often find an interplay between powerful animals and mythical beasts (such as lions and dragons) with delicate floral components.

The peony is one of the most popular floral symbols representing the intersection between power and delicate beauty.

Peony flowers open up to three times their original size

Cut Peonies when arrive to a florist are tight, golf ball sized buds but these quickly unfurl to reveal the gorge puffy blooms you know and love.

Each petal loosens up so the flower can open up in all its glory.

There are many changes that we need to make right now if we want to ensure that the planet remains green and gorgeous for our children and grandchildren.

What does biodegradable mean?

When it comes to the meaning of biodegradable, we need to look at the wider picture of sustainability. Biodegradability refers to whether or not a product can be broken down, and reabsorbed, without causing any harm to the surrounding environment. Microbes, fungi and bacteria are responsible for naturally breaking down items.

However, this is rather simplistic. Different things take different lengths of time to break down. And some release harmful gases or chemicals in the process. It also needs clarification because most things will break down eventually, but it may take hundreds of years to do so.

Therefore, the term ‘biodegradable’ can be a little confusing and misleading when you’re trying to make sustainable choices. Especially when it comes to packaging and single-use items. This has been exacerbated because the term has been used widely from a marketing perspective. 

In order to stick to being truly biodegradable, you want to choose natural products and avoid plastic as much as possible. Having said that, if the only alternatives available are made with biodegradable plastic versus traditional plastic, then the greener choice is to go with the biodegradable version and dispose of it properly.

What does eco mean?

‘Eco’ is a very generic term. In its loosest sense, it’s a prefix, and simply means anything ‘connected with the environment.’ 

However, nowadays it is more weighted in common usage. If a term has eco as a prefix, then it is generally considered to be something that is good in environmental terms.

An excellent example of this is with the term ‘eco-friendly’.

What does eco-friendly mean?

Eco-friendly is an example of the prefix ‘eco’ in action. If something is eco-friendly then it is considered to be something that is good, or kind, to the environment. 

It’s seen to not be harmful. Therefore you can have eco-friendly products such as an eco-friendly shower puff, but you can also have eco-friendly processes, decisions or actions, such as how to make an eco-friendly home.

It’s possible to see that eco-friendly is also closely tied up with our understanding of sustainability. 

In many ways, the two go hand in hand.

What does zero waste mean?

Zero waste is a concept, or principle. 

It is the aim to change how we consume things so that waste is prevented and ultimately eliminated. 

This would mean that no waste ends up in landfills and incinerators, as well as in the natural environment, such as our oceans.

Going Zero Waste explains it as “We aim to send nothing to landfill. 

We reduce what we need, reuse as much as we can, send little to be recycled, and compost what we cannot.” 

They go on to explain that “the circular economy mimics nature in that there is no trash in nature.”

Zero waste as a concept has most significance for individuals when they consider the packaging that the items they consume come in. 

By choosing products such as the zero waste starter kit, consumers can actively choose to create less waste through their purchasing decisions.

Creating an eco-workspace: get the basics right

Natural light is really important to our wellbeing, particularly at work. So if possible, position your desk and chair in a spot flooded with natural light. You’ll feel more invigorated and energised for work.

Lastly, bring the outdoors in. 

Plants are proven to help reduce workplace stress, so why not surround your workspace with some greenery? 

If you’re tight for space, then make use of these beautiful crochet plant hangers. 

Made with 100% recycled cotton, and available in a range of colours, they definitely fit the green bill!

The days are starting to get longer in early Spring and this is an exciting period for the British cut flowers grower as they start to see some of the result of the previous months planting.

The weather is getting warmer and when you look at the countryside you are able to start to spot bouncing lambs and beautiful blooms like daffodils and bluebells.

Like most growing living things, British grown flowers are affected by the seasons, the weather, and other regional natural changes. 

As a result some of the flowers listed in this early Spring flowers seasonal guides may not be available at a certain time. 

Would you like to know more about  British flowers?

Are you curious to see the difference between emissions of CO2 between British flowers and Dutch flowers?

Have a look at our BEST BLOOMS - BRITISH BLOOMS  blog post and I can promise you that after that you realise how much more CO2 has been produced by the imported flowers you will always want to source British Flowers.