Same day delivery in London: bouquets made today, free in Westminster
An order for same day delivery in London travels free to Westminster, the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea or south Camden, the four districts that make up the shop's central zone. Outside the centre, a flat fee applies for the chosen zone, and the bouquet itself, roses, a basket or a box, only goes to the workbench once the order is paid. So the choice starts with what to send and where it is going.
Roses, a basket or a cylinder: what is made for today in London
Flowers ready for same day delivery are mostly roses in several shapes: white French roses, Dutch white roses, spray roses and peony-shaped roses. Alongside them sit mixed bouquets, a basket, a designer cylinder and a box, each suited to a different address.
A French rose isn't a variety but a technique. The florist turns the outer petals back by hand, which is how 11 White French Roses gets its open, blowsy head.
About nine in ten cut flowers sold in Britain are imported, mostly from the Netherlands, with roses also flown in from Kenya. That keeps roses on the list for a same day order whatever the month.
Flowers are bought in once the order is paid, not kept on a shelf in advance. If one bloom isn't to hand, the florist swaps in another close to it in colour and price.
A gift to go with the bouquet is worth considering too: a bento cake such as the "Happy Birthday" one travels alongside the flowers in the same delivery. Peony Roses in a Jute Pot is simply that shape, roses standing in a pot rather than tied in paper.
Free in Westminster, a flat fee in Hackney: same day flower delivery by district
The central zone is free and covers four districts:
- Central, free: Westminster, the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, south Camden.
- Nearby boroughs, one flat fee: Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Newham.
- Further out, a higher flat fee: Greenwich, Ealing, Richmond upon Thames, Barnet.
Outside those four central districts, same day delivery in London carries one flat fee per address, set by zone rather than measured out in miles. The zone is picked when the order is placed, the fee is already in the total before payment, and the courier is never handed anything extra at the door.
An address that isn't on the list, a suburb further out or a neighbouring town, is checked before payment, and the price is quoted then rather than guessed at. The fee is charged per address: two recipients in two different boroughs mean two separate deliveries, even from a single order. At night a delivery can still be arranged, by prior agreement and priced on its own.
Most orders are delivered on the day they are placed, and the exact timing for a given bouquet shows in its own listing rather than in a general promise. The delivery page sets out the zones and the terms in full.
An intercom, a concierge or a neighbour: when the door stays shut
With same day delivery in London, the recipient isn't called ahead of time unless the sender has asked for it. The one exception is a building that can't be entered without buzzing through: there the courier rings the intercom from outside, simply to get in.
At the door the courier waits up to fifteen minutes and tries the recipient's phone. If nobody answers, the manager gets in touch with the sender rather than leaving the bouquet on a step. With the sender's consent it can go to a concierge, a reception desk or a neighbour instead, and the courier reports back exactly who took it in. The handover can also move to a later slot the same day; a second visit on another day is charged at the zone's flat fee again.
A bouquet that might sit with a concierge for a while is safer in a basket or a box: both stand without a vase, stems already in soaked foam.
No address is required at all if the recipient's phone number is given; the courier can arrange the rest by calling.
Hotels, hospital wards, orders placed from abroad and the dates when slots fill fastest all have their own answers on the flowers in London page.
Seen before it leaves: the photo, a swap and a late change
Before the courier sets off, the florist photographs the finished bouquet and sends it on. Anything that needs changing gets changed at that point, and a swapped flower, used because the original wasn't to hand, is visible in the same photo rather than discovered at the door.
The date, the slot, the address, the recipient and the card's wording can all still be changed with a message to the manager, order number included. The only limits are before the bouquet leaves and no later than six hours before delivery. The earlier the order goes in, the more slots are still open to choose from.
Delivery to the exact minute can be arranged with the manager, for a small extra charge. The card itself costs nothing, whether it's signed or left anonymous, and payment by Visa or Mastercard settles the order; the figure in the cart at checkout is the one that's charged.
A first same day order in London is easiest to start from the flower or the format. Roses work well as a bouquet on their own, and mixed bouquets bring several kinds together in one hand-tied shape. Flower baskets are the safer pick whenever the bouquet might have to wait a little before the recipient answers the door.
