Journal · Seasonal · 5 min
What is in season in autumn, and why it costs less
Dahlias, chrysanthemums, rosehips and the last garden roses. What we buy from September to November, and why British stems are better value this time of year.
From September the studio smells different. The imported spring stock thins out and the British growers have their best weeks of the year.
Dahlias
Our favourite flower of the year, from August to the first frost. Café au Lait, Cornel Brons and anything deep burgundy. They do not travel well, which is why local ones are so much better than imported.
Chrysanthemums
Not the ones from the garage forecourt. Spider mums, pompoms and the big bronze disbuds are some of the longest-lasting cut flowers there are, three weeks with care.
Hips, berries and seed heads
Rosehips, hypericum, crab apples and old man’s beard give autumn bouquets their texture. They also last well past the flowers around them.
The last garden roses
Outdoor roses keep flowering into October in a mild year. They are more open and more scented than glasshouse roses, and they do not last as long. We think the trade is worth it.
Why it costs less
A stem grown twenty miles away has no air freight and no heating bill behind it. From September to November our Market Bunch buys around a third more stems for the same price as in February.
