Columbia Road Flower Markets

Summer days and what better to spend a some time at a flower market. I have been longing to go to the Columbia Road Flower Market in East London for, oh about the whole time I have lived in London. Alas, my love of sleep; in particular the Sunday morning sleep in, puts that visit well into the deep recesses of the far too hard basket.

Flowers

Anyway, it turns out you don't have to set your alarm clock (an old fashioned one in a saucepan - thanks Megan) to drag yourself up and 6am. No it seems everything about Sundays in London also pertains to the Columbia Road Flower Markets. In that nothing starts till late....and by late its about 11am, and the peak or rather the most manic time to go the flower markets is about 2pm, which is when it is supposed to be finished.

Odd, but that is when the flower sellers, drawling in rich Cockney accents begin to go slightly psychotic and your ears begin bleeding from their never ending, albeit just slightly grating, overlapping echos of "Two for a fiver, three for a tenner...Two for a fiver, three for a tenner..." and on it goes...eeek. As if my ears don't already ring enough.

Me with Flowers

Matt and I arrived about 1.30pm with me stressing they would run out of flowers, clearly that was never going be the case, as despite the fact the street was teeming with people all the flower sellers were still very well stocked. I picked up a gorgeous bunch of pink peonies and two of lisianthus(which are still my favourites). The peonies were about the size of small cauliflowers, but looked a lot like super hemorrhaging exploded pink roses, and were, and still are, so gorgeous.

Matt looking not that impressed...with the flowers....

That afternoon we did a bit of extra exploring in the Spitalfields Markets, ohhh I can still taste the heavenly chocolate brownies mmmmmmmmm. Our wanderings involved a detour past the Petticoat Lane markets (a long detour to find a cash point....but hey its not like we had pressing engagements) before returning home so I could display the bunch for the rest of the house to enjoy in my lovely sunny living room.

Pretty flowers at home