Columbia Road Flower Market – The place for potty deals!

Looking for a lazy Sunday stroll in the sunshine and some spectacular floral bargains to boot, then Columbia Road Market is for you.

This week I managed to drag Tom out from his usual Sunday hibernation and we went off in pursuit of some credit-crunchy deals.

Just a short meander from the city, Columbia Road Flower Market is one of the prettiest street markets in London, and one of the busiest. Every Sunday from 8am till 2 in the afternoon the narrow cobbled Victorian street is transformed into a bright sea of colour and lined with people from all over London.

I will confess at the outset, I am not particularly green-fingered, I can tell a dandelion from a daffodil but that’s about as far as it goes. If you are like me don’t let this worry you, the traders are very helpful and will explain exactly how to look after any purchases. Some even label plants specially for the horticulturally-disabled, such as myself, with signs reading “hard 2 kill.” Perfect.

You really will find yourself completely spoilt for choice. There are not only potted plants, but also herbs, shrubs, trees, hanging baskets, all sorts of bulbs and hundreds of bouquets of cut flowers.

The shops around the market are all small and quirky. As well as ones focused on beautiful, and often bizarre, things for your garden, there are quite a few selling home décor pieces, there is a fabulous little second hand book shop, and there are also a number of really cute owner-run cafes. There are rumours that one of these cafes, Café Columbia, is a haunt of trendy London band the Libertines.

Alas, not a Libertine in sight. Still, I did spot some rather ruggedly handsome street players outside, one on the accordion and the other strumming away coolly on his acoustic guitar. They were just one element of the jovial atmosphere that characterises the market.

Its cockney traders add another chunk of personality. Be prepared to have them shouting and often using rhyming slang. “Two for a fiver, two for a lady Godiva” was a classic. Also, be prepared to shop around. Lots of things will be on more than one stall and you can use that to your advantage to negotiate a cheaper price. This is a traditional market so haggle a bit, the later in the day, the more successful you are likely to be.

In fact, if, like me, you’re not particularly keen on rising before midday on a Sunday, this will work to your advantage. It is from 1pm onwards that the best deals are to be had. Just as I stood by one stall at around 1.30pm, waiting for Tom to finish taking some pics, the price of their strawberry plants went from the original two for a fiver, to three for a fiver and then four. By closing time, beautiful Orchids were selling for £5 each and almost all the cut flowers were massively reduced. At one point I saw a bunch of 30, yes 30, roses go for £3. In the words of the Orchid-sellers “you don’t get that down Marks & Spencer now, do ya?” Too true – their cheapest Orchid is £25 and to get the same quality roses you pay £35 for just 12.

So, what did Tom and I buy? I took advantage of the cut flower deals towards the end of the market and got two bouquets of stunning pink lilies for £5 – perfect for making the house look nice in spring. I also got a mint plant for the kitchen for £1.50. Tom bought a traditional wooden-handled, metal bucket to house big plants in his trendy apartment. Nice idea, but it set him back ten pounds. Disappointing crunchy bargain-hunting skills if you ask me. Still, he’s taking the lead next week, so we’re off on a manly trip to Smithfield Meat Market, when steak is involved perhaps he’ll do better…

GETTING THERE: The nearest tube is Old Street – Come out of the tube and walk left down Old Street, then bear left onto Hackney Road and walk down until you see Columbia Road on your right.

Great link for extra info: http://columbiaroad.info/

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