A Florist’s Guide to London: Interview with Janine Sultana of Studio Botanika

With Spring springing, and new flowers blooming, we talk to Janine Sultana of Studio Botanika (formerly of McQueens Flowers) about what to look out for and where to find it, and what it’s like to be a florist in London.

By James Stokes | Updated Mar 15 2024

Culture Calling: With Spring springing, what should Londoners be on the lookout for, and where can we find it?

Janine Sultana: Cherry blossom, magnolia, daffodils, muscari, lily of the valley, and tulips, obviously - tulips are my favourite! 

Spring means the introduction of pinks and whites, and I think spring is the only time that you really see blue flowers like muscari, iris or bluebells. It's a lot more bright colours, rather than the rich, earthy tones of Autumn, Christmas and Valentines Day.

I seem to remember all the English florists (and people who lived in London for a long time) would get so happy and go a bit crazy when they would start seeing daffodils at the market or out on the streets! 

CC: So where are your favourite places to see the flowers?

JS: Regent's Park, for sure - I especially love it In the summertime, when the roses are fully grown. I also love the fact that most houses in London have front gardens that are just overflowing with roses or hydrangeas or magnolia - I could wander the streets and often think ‘oh, this person's growing the most amazing hydrangea’. You know, it's really, really amazing to me. 

 I used to love walking around Canonbury, and Regent's Canal. There are parts around Haringey where people have amazing front yards - walk from Haringey towards Hornsey, and continue onwards towards Alexandra Palace - the roads seem wider over there, and you're going up a hill, and it just seems like everybody's a master gardener! 

Obviously there's the magnolia in the west; there are some spots around Chelsea, and Holland Park is just stunning. Victoria Park is really pretty. They just have a lot of pretty flower beds, though it's less manicured in a way, not like Regent's Park. I actually saw something earlier with all these Americans saying that they love Hyde Park and I thought “that's really not something a Londoner would say!”

There's a place I love in Angel called Noel Road, and Duncan Terrace, and even  De Beauvoir. Of course, The Barbican is special at any time of the year. I like those little gardens dotted around Soho, with prayer flags and such beautiful trees - The Phoenix Gardens is a cute spot…I think there's a really, really good vibe to Russell Square, with the Italian cafe. 

Oh, and there's a spot not many people know about called Camley Street Natural Park - it's off Regents Canal just past Coal Drops Yard, before you get to Camden.

CC: You were trained by, and worked with, McQueens Flowers; what does the coming of spring mean for a florist?

JS: To be honest, March and April aren't mad. You do start getting weddings, but it's not a crazy rush all of a sudden. Christmas-time is busy in November and the early days of December, and then it quiets down a bit. Valentine's Day is obviously crazy for a week! Then it's quite relaxed for a couple of weeks. There are weddings, but not as many as in Summer.

Obviously, the days are getting longer, which means it's nicer if you do wake up at the crack of dawn - which is what all florists do when they work in London - it's a bit nicer at four, five, six  in the morning. 

CC: What do you wish people knew about florists and floristry?

How early they wake up in the morning to make things pretty - especially those who do contract work, making the arrangements for hotels and restaurants. The conditions that florists work in, they're hardcore. Florists are punk rockers, honestly! They're really gritty people, because they work in all conditions; you might be setting up outside in the rain, in the snow, in the sun. It might be freezing outside, and you'll always have water all over you. When I used to tell people I'm a florist, they would say “oh, that's my dream job!”, and I'd say “well, that's your dream job until you start doing it.” 

It's a lovely job, but it's not us just playing with flowers all day long - there's so much cleaning! Endless cleaning…It's like 60% cleaning, and 40% actually doing stuff with flowers! And, because you're always working with something that's living, you have massive time constraints.

But you do meet really amazing people. It's not a BIG community, but it's probably a growing community - it's always nice because you become really familiar with people at the market, and on freelance jobs. And so, yeah, it's a nice community of really nice, interesting people. But they work hard. Florists work very, very hard to make things very, very beautiful. 

CC: We appreciate it! So where are the best high street shops for flowers?

Let me think…Wild at Heart in Notting Hill…Grandriosa in Marylebone. There's a gorgeous place called Jam Jar Flowers, near Kennington.

I still think the best florists are the ones that aren't on the high street, and are most likely just in a little studio somewhere in East London or South London. My favourite florist has a little studio called U.FL.O., which stands for Unidentified Floral Object - she does very cool, interesting things.

CC: Where are the best places to see big, grand arrangements?

If you want to see really amazing flowers, you should go to Claridges! McQueens always do a great job there…The Ritz. I mean, the Christmas tree in The Ritz is worth seeing every year.

CC: What else should we know about flowers and floristry?

Avoid environmentally unfriendly practices where people use things like floral foam and loads of dyes in their flowers. They're not doing any good to their own industry or to the planet.

Always buy seasonal and try your best to buy local. The British flower farming industry is enormous, and they're so dedicated. They grow so many different types of flowers. It makes me (living in Malta) extremely envious. In Britain you really don't have to shop from overseas. Just ask your florist to point you in the direction of what is local and what is seasonal, and you are in for a treat!

CC: Thanks very much! Where can people check out what you do?

JS: I’m on Instagram @studio.botanika; I now operate from Malta, but I do travel back to the UK occasionally for weddings and other events!