The Knowledge

Butterfly Ranunculus and the First Peonies of the Season Butterfly ranunculus are landing this week, the first peonies are nearly here, and the rest of the field is filling out fast. Here's what's coming through from our British growers. Butterfly Ranunculus from Flourish Produce This week's crop report belongs to butterfly ranunculus. Every stem we have is coming in from Flourish Produce in Cambridgeshire, certified organic, grown along the River Granta between Hildersham and Linton. If you've been waiting for them, this is the moment to get an order in. Five varieties available right now, all in bunches of ten:...

Yes, we know. We only dropped our last report a few days ago, but... Spring is Fast and Furious — Here's What's on the Way The fields are doing something very exciting right now, and we can't keep it to ourselves. We've been watching, waiting, and trying not to get too ahead of ourselves. But we're there now, the spring crop is arriving. Here's a proper run-through of what's on its way, what's already making us unreasonably excited, ( and probably slightly panicked if truth be told! )  and a few things we don't want you to miss.   What's...

Spring is moving fast this year. Ranunculus are at their absolute peak, scented stocks have a crop gap coming, and tulips are on final call before the season ends. Here's everything flowering at the nursery right now — and what you need to order before it's gone.

The moment a flower is harvested, a race against time begins. For British growers, the goal is to harvest at the exact moment so that when it is delivered to your door, it’s at peak perfection. However, a flower is a living, breathing organism that is not interested in how it looks to you. Even after it is cut from its roots, it continues to transpire (losing water through its petals and leaves) and metabolise its stored sugars. The journey from grower to your door When you order British flowers, they often travel through a sophisticated "cold chain." This involves...

Spring Has Landed. Just About. Right then. Where do we even begin? It's been one of those weeks where everything seems to happen at once. The kind of week that makes you wonder whether the universe sat down, looked at the calendar, and decided to throw absolutely everything at us in one go. The clocks will change on Sunday, which means we'll all lose an hour of sleep and gain absolutely nothing except slightly brighter evenings and the annual tradition of being confused for approximately four days about what time it actually is. If you're reading this bleary-eyed, you're in...