Why seasonal flowers never look exactly the same

It is probably the question we get most often after a delivery: why does it not look exactly like the photo? It is a fair question, and the answer is worth knowing before you order.

Flowers are an agricultural product

They grow. They are shaped by weather, light and when they were cut. A dahlia in August and a dahlia in October are not the same flower – the colour is deeper late in the season, the head often smaller. Two deliveries of the same variety, two weeks apart, can look noticeably different.

We build from the day's best, not from a list

When a bouquet is ordered, we tie it from what came in that morning and is at its peak. If the ranunculus are stronger than the roses that day, we use ranunculus. The alternative would be to stick to the recipe and use a flower we know is second best – a worse bouquet that looked more like the picture.

What we do guarantee

• The colour palette. Order a bouquet in bordeaux and plum, and bordeaux and plum is what you get.

• The style. Wild stays wild. Compact stays compact.

• The size. The same scale and height as shown.

• The value. The same quantity and quality of flowers, whichever varieties go into it.

Why the variation is part of the value

A bouquet that looks identical all year is built from flowers that can be sourced all year. That usually means imported, standardised and harvested for shelf life rather than for how they look. We would rather have peonies for the few weeks they are here, and something else beautiful the rest of the time.

If you need something specific

Then say so. If the bouquet has to match a dress, a colour in a room or another arrangement, write it with your order. We can usually be very precise once we know what it needs to sit next to – we simply will not promise it without knowing.

Read next

• See the range: seasonal bouquets

• Behind the craft: how we build a bouquet

• And what it costs: what does a good bouquet cost?