Visit New Covent Garden Flower Market

Realistically, if you're reading this at work, it's already too late to go shopping at New Covent Garden Flower Market in Nine Elms. Every Monday to Saturday, from 4am to 10am since November 1974 - when the Market moved from Covent Garden to its new location - traders have gathered together in a huge market a short walk from Vauxhall Station with a fascinating range of flowers and associated paraphernalia for wholesale florists, trade buyers and members of the public who descend on the market to access some of the freshest flowers in the business.


A few weeks ago, your author was lucky enough to be offered a tour of the Market by Helen Evans, the Director of Business Development and Support for Covent Garden Market Authority. Whilst her job title makes her sound a bit like a boring bureaucrat, in fact Helen is a passionate and interested member of the community at the Market, knowledgeable about the traders who sell from the market and their wares and her insight was excellent, and helped to understand the community at the Market and how the flowers arrive there each day, from Britain, Holland and around the world.

What at first might seem like a rather confusing atmosphere is actually easy to navigate with the help of the friendly traders, but a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich at the cafe beside the market's central clock, which still carries the bell from the old market, is recommended. Now is a particularly good time to visit as the Market is due to be redeveloped from 2015-2020, moving across the railway tracks to join the fruit and vegetable market.

For more, see http://www.newcoventgardenmarket.com/flower-guide