Our shop in Pimlico is on Churton Street and part of a brilliant community. We will be showcasing our favourite shops on this blog. Our first post is about Dovers Flower Shop, a couple of doors down from our shop.
John and his wife moved into the shop seven years ago, but the shop has been a florists for 50 years, the previous tenant having been there since 1943. After running the family business from Putney for several years, John and his wife decided that they wanted to be closer to central London. They bought the shop, which they also live above, and have become completely immersed in the area, using all the local shops and market.
John’s family has been florists since the 1920s. They had a stall at Clapham Station by the Ladies’ Hospital, selling bouquets and baskets to visitors.
Since moving to Churton Street they now cater for larger events and less for retail. Out of the weddings, funerals and christenings, it seems that funerals have bought out the weirdest requests. They have created everything from a football shirt to a hamburger, a brick wall and even a hash leaf. The strangest request though was for a Top Gun themed wedding (strange enough in itself). On the tables they made little aeroplanes for the place cards and aviators for the men. Sadly the girls simply had white flowers – or maybe fortunately for them!
Such is the nature of the florist that you end up getting more involved in people’s lives than maybe you would have anticipated. John referred to it as seeing ‘the full circle of life’, doing all three big events in the lives of one family, seeing the different emotions and generations.
At the end of our chat we talked about how florists are depicted in films and John pointed something out I’ve never noticed. There is always that scene when a rushing lover dashes to the florists on his way to save his relationship or get the girl and he quickly picks up a bouquet or a single rose, but never pays. Basically, they’re all shoplifting.
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