British Blooms and why we love them

If you’ve ever wandered through a wildflower meadow or stood still in a cottage garden humming with bees, you’ll know there’s something quietly magical about British flowers throughout the seasons. At Botanique, we’ve always used British Blooms, but this year we made it one of our goals to use even more British flowers than ever before. 

Why?

Well, firstly it’s about supporting local growers and working towards being a more sustainable florist, and secondly, there is just something untamed and wild about working with British seasonal flowers, and we love it.

And, just look at how beautiful a British Bunch of Flowers can be…

To honour our beloved British blooms, and in support of ‘British Flowers Week’ - a nationwide celebration of farmers and florists  - we launched our Best of British bouquet.

Each bouquet is packed with whatever’s blooming that week. From peonies and poppies in May, to cosmos and dahlias in late summer - it’s a true ‘pick of the patch’, arranged in our signature wild and whimsical style. Order our best of British bouquet online (UK Wide Delivery) or come and collect in-store, you can watch us make the bouquet on the day! 

Now you’ve seen how delightfully beautiful they can be, let’s take a look at what blooms you can expect as the seasons change.

The pick of the seasonal ‘British’ bunch

In spring, we’re smitten with paperwhites and Cornish narcissi, hellebores and buttery tulips. Then come the sweet peas — delicate, scented, and available in the most gorgeous array of colours. June and July bring peonies, cornflowers, garden roses, Queen Anne’s lace and airy grasses. In late summer, we’re swimming in cosmos, dahlias, strawflower, zinnias, and flowering herbs.

Here’s a few popular British flowers and what season they bloom:

• Spring: Hellebores, poppies, peonies, tulips, ranunculus, delicate anemones and scented narcissi from Cornwall.
• Early Summer: Cornflowers, garden roses, foxglove, wispy grasses, delphinium, Queen Anne’s lace and sweet peas in every shade imaginable.
• High Summer: Dahlias, phlox, cosmos, cornflowers, flowering mint and showstopper scabious heads.
• Autumn: Rudbeckia, rosehips, sedum, strawflowers, blousy dahlias, chocolate cosmos, jewel-toned zinnias and richly coloured foliage.
• Winter: Scented eucalyptus and pine foliage, rosehips, amaryllis, catkins, evergreens, and dried flowers from earlier in the year.

If you’re planning a wedding, event or special occasion, you can use this guide to help you pick the most sustainable flowers. You can also email Emily, our experienced events and wedding florist if you need some guidance.

Why buy British Flowers?

For us, using British-grown flowers allows us to reduce our carbon footprint and support smaller growers and family-run farms across the UK. Many of the people we buy from are growing on a relatively small scale, and their work is a labour of love — nurturing the land and harvesting with care.

This year, we’ve been steadily building up our supply of beautiful British blooms through our regular supplier Bloomfield who sources from UK farms, and then tulips and ranunculus from Smith and Munson, followed by their show-stopping peonies as the season shifted. Now that Britain is in full bloom, we’re thrilled to be getting weekly deliveries from Beth at Flos Flowers, which means buckets of freshly cut stems, picked that morning from her patch in Hertfordshire and brought straight to the shop the very same day. Here's some behind the scenes pics from the florist...

Imported flowers have their place, and we still use them when needed (especially in winter or for specific requests), but where we can, we are using and showcasing British. It’s a way of aligning our floral style with our values – support local, community, sustainability and thoughtful craftsmanship. It’s about making conscious choices that reflect the kind of business we want to be. Flowers grown locally, picked the same morning they’re arranged - it just makes sense.

How can you support British Blooms?

There are lots of easy, lovely ways to choose more British blooms, whether you’re buying a bouquet for a friend, planning your wedding flowers, or just picking up something for your kitchen table.

• Ask – Simply ask your florist what’s British and in season!
• Embrace the unexpected - Let the season shape your choices, even if it means something you hadn’t planned.
• Go seasonal on your Event & Wedding flowers – request flowers that will be in season for when your event is happening. You can either go full local and British or partial if you have a certain overseas out of season flower that’s a must-have.
• Pop into our London Florist! We’re always happy to show you what’s come in fresh from our UK growers that week.

One Stem at a Time

We’re not perfect. Floristry is complex, and there are all sorts of factors — weather, availability, client needs — that shape what we can do. But we’re moving in the right direction, one stem at a time.

British flowers remind us to slow down. To pay attention to the seasons. To work with what’s in front of us - To support growers who care deeply about the land.

So next time you’re in Exmouth Market, pop in the shop and say hello. We’d love to show you what’s blooming.