What Fresh Flowers Are in Season? A UK Month by Month Guide

Ask a florist the secret to a bouquet that looks twice its price and the answer is nearly always the same: buy what is in season. Seasonal flowers are fresher, last longer in the vase and cost less, because they have not been forced under glass or flown halfway around the world. Here is what the UK flower year looks like, month by month, from the team at The Petal Boutique.

Spring: March to May

Spring is the most generous season in British flowers. Tulips, daffodils and narcissi open the season, followed by ranunculus, anemones and hyacinths. By May the first peonies arrive, and they are worth the wait: their season is short, usually May to June, so if you want peonies for an occasion, plan around those weeks rather than hoping they stretch.

Spring stems tend to drink heavily, so change the water every couple of days and they will reward you.

Summer: June to August

Summer brings the widest choice of the year. Sweet peas, stocks, delphiniums, cornflowers, scabious and garden roses are all at their best, and British-grown stems are at their most plentiful, which shows in both quality and price. This is the easiest season to buy for: almost any palette you want can be built from what is genuinely in season.

The one summer caution is heat. Keep fresh flowers out of direct sun and away from radiators and fruit bowls, and they will last noticeably longer. Our sister journal has a full guide to making fresh flowers last longer.

Autumn: September to November

Autumn is dahlia season, and dahlias alone are a reason to order flowers in September and October. Chrysanthemums, hydrangeas and berried stems fill out the season, and the palette naturally deepens into rusts, plums and burnt oranges. Autumn flowers suit anniversaries and thank-yous especially well, warm without being loud.

Winter: December to February

Winter narrows the field but sharpens it. Amaryllis, hyacinths, paperwhites and hellebores carry the season, backed by rich foliage, eucalyptus and berries. December leans naturally festive; January and February are quieter months where a bouquet lands with more impact than at any other time of year, precisely because nobody expects one.

Winter is also when dried flowers earn their keep. A dried arrangement holds its colour through the months when fresh choice is thinnest, and the two sit happily side by side in the same home.

What this means when you order

You do not need to memorise any of this. When you order a florist's choice design like our Natural Beauty Bouquet of the Day, seasonality is built in: our florists work from that morning's delivery, so the bouquet is whatever is best right now. If you have something specific in mind, tell us the occasion and the colours you love, and we will steer you to the seasonal version of it.

Browse what is available today in our fresh flower range, made at our Weyhill shop near Andover and delivered across Winchester, Andover, Salisbury, Basingstoke and the surrounding villages.