The Columbia Road Flower Market is a fixture in the eastern reaches of London. Nuzzled in near Shoreditch, Whitechapel and Stratford, it’s a quiet commercial street for most of the week. But, Sundays transform Columbia into a meeting of music, art and thousands of fresh flowers.
While you stroll up and down the few short city blocks, it seems every possible consumer-centric plant, flower or produce is on display. There are young fruit trees available for replanting beside the fruit they produce. You can buy endless supplies of cut flowers or take home bulbs for your own garden. And, the vendors keep it affordable — especially late in the day when they would rather sell what’s left cheap rather than take it home. At that point, chants of “Everything a fiver!” fill the air. Just ask to see how much you can get away with for that £5,
Admittedly, the overall environment doesn’t settle on the masculine side of the spectrum — unless the guy in question pops into one of the pubs or wine bars dotting the scene. The truth is a joint like Columbia Road exists for men to take their girlfriends or wives to as a special treat on the weekend. When this coming particular weekend is on the docket, it becomes an ideal place to take Mom.
Obviously, you might think this Mother’s Day tip is all well and good except for the fact that you most likely live nowhere near London or Columbia Road. The point is cities across the U.S. have similar events and environs this time of year. Columbia Road isn’t the only Flower Market on the planet, and when you add Farmer’s Markets, Swap Meats, Flea Markets and other options, there has to be somewhere in your village where you can take Mom to shop and look at pretty stuff.
You can catch more of the Columbia Flower Market sites below. Once you’ve had a look, check out your local neighborhoods and see where there are similar possibilities for your Mom nearby.
