“There have been a lot of people involved this year, with a lot of social media engagement and media coverage.” According to Rebecca Barrett, Head of Strategy Partnerships and Communications for Convent Garden Market Authority, last week’s British Flowers Week (June 14-20) has been a great success. The goal of the week-long event is to promote local, British floriculture. “We want to have a nationwide celebration for everyone in floriculture, from growers to wholesalers and florists. And of course we are celebrating the beautiful flowers and plants themselves.”
Eddie Martin of Dennis Edwards Flowers showing some British flowers
The beauty of British flowers
The British flower industry is still relatively small, as most flowers in the UK are imported. The week-long celebration aims to promote the beauty that British flowers have to offer. “While British flowers may not always be as perfect and uniform as imported flowers, we want to promote the beauty and scent of them. For example, British flowers are in high demand for weddings and parties, as they give a more freshly picked look. In addition, we are noticing that consumers are demanding to know more about where the flowers are coming from, how sustainable they are, and how growers are treating their workforce. Local flowers can provide that extra transparency that customers want. But most of all, we just want to organize an annual week where the industry comes together and celebrates British flowers.”
The Duchess of Cornwall with Neil Burke of NB Flowers
Attention and support
According to Barrett, this year’s attention and support for the British Flowers Week has gone especially well. “We had the support of the Royal Duchess of Cornwall, who launched the week the Thursday before it started and visited our exhibition at the Garden Museum.” They also hosted a social media window campaign, where everyone was invited to post photos of their windows decorated with flowers, as a means to support.
Window decorated with flowers to support the event (Photo by Solen Photography)
“This is our second year asking the public to decorate their windows with flowers and we cannot keep up with the social media engagement that we are receiving. The event was also covered on national TV by the BBC and throughout all the main newspapers. We are very excited about all of this support as it is so beneficial for the industry to be promoted.” They are also taking flowers and foliage to local schools, as they want to inspire children and young people to get excited about the industry as well.
For more information:
New Covent Garden Market
Rebecca Barrett
rebecca.barrett@cgma.co.uk
www.newcoventgardenmarket.com