West Country Lupins have been a popular plant at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, with New Covent Garden Flower Market seeing high demand over the past two weeks.
The lupins have a short availability window of just three weeks each year, which makes them a favourite with exhibitors at the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) flagship show in west London. Flower Market wholesaler Gardening 4u by Will exclusively stocks the West County Lupins. "We've got a great relationship with our grower who has given us exclusivity," explains business owner Will Hogger, pictured above with colleague Paul Cockerill. "The lupins flower throughout the summer months with a variety of vivid, bright colours available, which designers and florists love."
As you'd expect, the week preceding the Chelsea Flower Show saw trade rocket in the Flower Market, as Will explains. "We were rammed with customers and sold 24 trollies of stock in just four days – that's around 25 per cent more stock than a regular week in May."
Many florists were purchasing lupins to use as part of displays for the annual Chelsea in Bloom competition (run by the RHS to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show). The contest sees retailers across the Sloane Square/King's Road area compete to create the best floral displays both inside and outside their businesses. "We sold lupins to Lucy Vail Floristry, who used them in her Chelsea in Bloom displays," says Will. "We also sold foxgloves and marguerites to Ruth Davis, a London florist who runs All 4 Love London. We saw them in some stunning displays for Chelsea in Bloom."
If you're after lupins then you'd better hurry – once they've gone, they're gone although with some TLC they'll come back each year. "At the end of summer if you dead head them and feed them with a good diet - liquid seaweed is a good choice – then the lupins will continue to flower each summer, getting bigger every year," says Will.
Over the weeks ahead Will is ramping up his English offer, with home-grown roses, rhodanthemum, and outdoor-grown lavender. "We're bringing in exclusives to offer Flower Market customers options they can't find anywhere else," says Will. "That's what makes us different as a business."
Meanwhile, floristry students from Moreton Morrell College visited New Covent Garden Market during Chelsea Flower Show week as part of a trio of flower-based excursions. Based in Warwick in the West Midlands, Moreton Morrell College is a British Florist Association member college – a high proportion of students gain employment in the industry whilst studying with expert and award-winning tutors.
Many of the students are hoping to become professional florists and were highly impressed with the extensive offer at Nine Elms. "We were all in heaven, with everything under one roof," says student Stacey Guest. "It's my first visit to New Covent Garden Market and I thought it was brilliant, in fact I'd love to move to London so I could be close to the Market."
Living in the Midlands town of Rugby, Stacey has to drive to either Coventry or Birmingham to find her nearest flower and plant wholesalers. "The selection isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as New Covent Garden Market's offer," says Stacey, adding: "There's a big gap in the market for any wholesalers who would like to open up in the Midlands."
The Moreton Morrell College students had already visited Chelsea Flower Show earlier this week, and followed their tour of New Covent Garden Market with a visit to Kew Gardens.
New Covent Garden Market