For so long the Cinderella of the country’s floral industry, British flowers are finally taking centre stage as the flower buying public start to appreciate the economic and environmental value, and indeed the beauty of seasonal, UK-grown flowers.
With this increased demand there has never been a better time to stock and celebrate British grown. Don’t be shy about highlighting your UK-grown stock. Wherever you display them, inside or out, big them up by using signage telling your customers where these amazing flowers are from.
This article will guide you through the best options available for each season, listed by month.
Jump to a specific month with the links below
UK-Grown Spring Flowers
As the days start to lengthen, there come a steady supply of UK-grown spring flowers available. After all, what better way to lighten dark and cold days than with cheerful bunches of scented narcissi from Cornwall or colourful tulips from Lincolnshire? Papery petalled anemones and even delicate nodding snowdrops are all available from UK growers.
Why not add hyacinths, muscari and hellebores into the mix? There is no shortage of flowers at this time of year!
I love it when spring flowers start to arrive, I never tire of the season. My personal favourites are anemones for their vibrant colours and hyacinths and paperwhite narcissi for their scent. Often UK flower availability will overlap into the different seasons and so I've broken it down into the months below.
Looking for Wedding Inspiration? We've got articles covering different vibes, whatever your couple are asking for, from bright and bold and sunshine yellow themes, through to a more vintage look.
Spring Flowers
Spring Flowers From The Growers | Spring Flowers From The Garden |
Anemone | |
Antirrhinum | Cherry Blossom |
Hellebore | |
Chrysanthemum | Hyacinth |
Heather | Leucojum |
Muscari | |
Narcissi | |
Snowdrops | |
Tulips | |
Viburnum | |
March Flowers
On commercial nurseries and in our gardens spring flowers are in bloom. We can now enjoy miniature Tete a tete narcissi, hyacinth, fritillaria and muscari. And there will be more to come!
One of the most beautiful and delicate of spring flowers, the poppy anemone is easy to identify with its black velvet centre and papery single petals. The anemone is now one of our most-loved seasonal flowers and The March Flower of the Month.
From your UK grower in March, you can source the following seasonal flowers: anemones, daffodils (narcissus) Forget-me-not (myosotis) Snake’s Head lilies (Fritillaria) hyacinth, iris, Lily of the Valley, muscari, tulips.
April Flowers
Clocks have sprung forward, the days are getting longer and growers, from the professional to the artisan are starting to produce more late spring, early summer UK-grown flowers and foliage. Weather at this time of year can be unpredictable, a warm spring will bring flowering forward, a sudden cold snap can easily set everything back.
One of the joys of spring flowers, Ranunculus are an absolute delight. Growing in a tight, cup-shaped, ruffled rosette, they gradually open out to reveal a black centre fringed by richly coloured, tissue thin petals. It’s very easy to see why they are such a favourite with florists, brides and gardeners making it the April Flower of the Month.
From your UK grower in April there will still be the spring flowers, although they are coming to an end, but they will be replaced by early summer flowers, Aster, Bluebells, Ornithogalum, Ranunculus, Asiatic lilies and the reliable Antirrhinum and Alstroemeria.
May Flowers
Flowers are now appearing in abundance, and although Narcissi have finished there is the welcome arrival of scented Sweet Williams. UK-grown foliage, including Eucalyptus, however, is still in short supply as young leaves are unsuitable for picking. At any time of year seasonal storms can affect supply, quantity and quality, so always check with the grower first.
Bold, bright and beautiful, and with what could be described as a ‘distinctive’ scent, Alliums are a popular cut flower and a great favourite with gardeners. As May Flower of the Month they are not just a standout fresh flower, if alliums are left to go to seed, they produce sculptural dried heads which can be cut and used in everlasting designs.
UK-Grown Summer Flowers
Summer is generally the warmest season of the year in the UK and for this reason, we have summer flowers and plants thriving, blooming, blossoming and giving us joy from May through to August. We are so lucky in our part of the world; we have so much choice of Summer flower types, varieties and colours.
Bright or pastel, there is a colour palette to suit any wedding or event, plus a selection of grasses and mature foliage. Heatwaves can do some damage to summer flower and foliage crops however, so there could be a few gaps in the market, check with the grower if in any doubt.
Summer Flowers are important for our pollinators. Many different wild bees are in decline; bumblebees and solitary bees (those that don’t live in colonies) in particular could do with our assistance. Bee-Friendly Flowers and plants help increase and maintain our precious Bees.
The tall and magnificent Delphinium (commonly called Larkspur) are stately flowers that are a favourite of the King, no less. Such a versatile flower, not only are they perfect for large designs and installations, but individual heads can also be glued for more intricate wedding work, and on the subject of weddings, dried larkspur makes colourful, eco-friendly wedding confetti.
We are simply spoilt for choice in the summer flowers range, no sooner does one seasonal flower finish, it’s replaced by another. Image a flower border filled with all your favourites, tall, stately Delphiniums and Lupins forming a sea of blue and pink at the back, in front of them nodding heads of Cosmos and Echinacea edged with soft clouds of Alchemilla mollis dotted with sky blue Cornflowers.
Summer Flowers
Summer Flowers From The Growers | Summer Flowers From The Garden |
Agastache | |
Campanula | |
Cornflower | |
Daucus | |
Delphinium | |
Digitalis | |
Brodiaea | Feverfew |