Benefits of buying UK-grown flowers?

I would always choose UK flowers over imported if available.

I would love to buy British grown cut flowers rather than the mass produced, imported and heavily chilled blooms that are in every supermarket. I've long since given up buying daffodils because they never open properly and wither and shrivel whilst still in bud. Total waste of money. I'd prefer to pay more for better quality.

Cherrytree
Most top end florist use British grown ?? flowers because of the perfume.
Don't forget the bulbs

But I fear weather and cost would be a large hurdle for the British flower industry.

Not at all, Cherrytree. A lot of growers have been coping very well with British weather for many years.

Successful flower farms are on the up and are full of encouragement for gardeners who want to create cutting patches of their own.

More power to their elbow. It's an industry I follow with interest.

I agree about shop bought daffodils, I can't be with out them at this time of year, but after 2 or 3 days they are as you say Chewbacca shriveled.

GrannyGravy Yes I would also prefer to pay extra for UK grown flowers.

Petra and Merlot
That is encouraging.
It would be nice to put a dent in the 90% imported ?

I think it’s just the right climate to ‘Buy British’. I’m sure that was a slogan in the 70’s.
Good luck all those in the British flower business ??

I’m Backing Britain

I haven't found that problem with British daffodils. I've a beautiful vase of them sitting on my kitchen table right now.

Some of the farms in my area have been growing daffodils for about ten years now and the fields look wonderful in the springtime, with colours ranging from almost white to deep yellow.

My cats eat plants and flowers so I have to be careful with what I buy, no lilies, for example.

I hope that everyone does start buying British products, it's just what this great country of ours needs.
We can grow and produce a lot of what we currently import.

I agree with you, my husband bought me a bunch of daffs on Thursday. The buds did not look very promising. But what do I know? They have opened gradually and are looking good. I put the tiniest squirt of bleach in the water, as advised by Sarah Raven on doing cut flowers, and enjoying the beautiful blooms for 95p

Agree. I can remember the horror I felt at the acres and acres of polytunnels in Ecuador.

But when we want to make all these wonderful trade deals post Brexit these countries are going to want us to buy their flowers. We're hardly going to get them to trade with us if we're determindly not buying their produce.

The bunches of daffodils in tight bud that I bought from the local market a week ago have opened up beautifully. Not a shrivelled bud in sight.

I do think British Companies need our support at the moment. I so admire the French (and contradictorily it is what I find most annoying) is their total belief that nothing is better than made in France, be it goods, healthcare, holidays etc. Of course, they are right, and so would we be if we believed the same about British. We have got used to everything in this Country being sold off or made to other Countries, and why would these Countries have bought our infrastructure, companies etc, because they were the best!
Off my soap box and back to soops kitchen for cake!

Bought 4 bunches of daffs ( buds ) @£1 a bunch from Asda on Tuesday-------all opened beautifully some with orange centres but starting to wither now. I've been quite pleased with Asda's flowers in the past because I can guarantee a good two weeks from a lot of them. I still had their roses blooming over Christmas when the ones from M&S had well finished !

I wonder whether all the employees of these British Flower farms are British ???

Never miss an opportunity do you MaizieD

I bought 2 x bunches of daffs from our local green grocer at the beginning of the week and they have opened beautifully I expect them to stay nice for a good few days yet.
I do like to buy flowers from Aldi they always stay fresh for a good 2 weeks at least sometimes longer,I only ever buy white blooms they have always been my favourite.

But when we want to make all these wonderful trade deals post Brexit these countries are going to want us to buy their flowers.
Exactly! MaizieD, so if they want us to buy their produce they can give us a good deal or we may not bother.
We buy more from the EU than they do from us, so they obviously want our trade to continue.

It's called facing reality, Urmstongran. It will affect all areas of our lives and it's ridiculous to pretend that it won't.

There are shades of grey in most areas and trade has more than most. If you want countries to trade with us they have to be confident that they can sell their goods into our market. We no longer have an empire where we have a captive source of raw materials and a captive market for our finished goods.

I remember the 'Buy British' campaign; who, of our age, is likely to have forgotten it? But it really did nothing for our economy and we were begging to join the Evil Empire for quite a while before they would let us in.

Ask them, crystaltipps. They're putting a lot of info on their websites, YouTube etc.

I doubt we'd ever be totally self-sufficient where 'big occasion' floristry is concerned. I wouldn't like to see huge areas of our beautiful countryside covered in poly tunnels but the ever growing demand for British flowers that are farmed outdoors is exciting.

Another development is that some flower farmers started off as florists so their workshops are situated away from town centres therefore reducing traffic pollution.

There's an independent florist in a small town near to us and the high street is completely gridlocked when a large, controlled environment artic makes a delivery - often at school dropping off time.

so if they want us to buy their produce they can give us a good deal or we may not bother.

Has the penny not dropped yet, Buffybee ? It's not all about us buying their goods. Trade deals work two ways. We need other countries to buy our goods too. There'd be no point in them doing a trade deal with us if we're not going to buy their goods.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread ladies. Pop your heads back in the sand...

Well that didn't take long to become a
'Brexit Doom and Gloom'

Foxylove Perhaps the British should borrow some of our French neighbour's national pride.

Merlot Thank you I will check out the websites.

SueDomin I am going to check out some Uk daffodil growing areas I would nice visit with DH and his camera.
I would have expected them all to be 'harvested' whilst in tight bud.

I wish all Gransnetters a lovely spring filled with seasonal flowers.

My indoor hyacinths are lovely at moment and will be replanted in the garden later.

How can we tell where they come from? When I order flowers there is never a label to say where they were grown. Maybe the bunches in the supermarkets are labelled?

A couple of days ago there was a daffodil grower on the radio saying he was going to lose a large proportion (40%?) of his crop because he couldn't get pickers. Not a lot of incentive to grown here.