With the annual Chelsea Flower Show again welcoming horticulture fans to the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, step back in time to witness the floral scents and bustle of London in an earlier era. For the duration of the festivities, you can enjoy the delightful archive film Flowers of London (1924) for free on our video-on-demand service, the BFI Player.
Made as part of the film series Wonderful London, capturing the life of the capital in the 1920s, this 10-minute gem looks at the Londoner’s love of flowers, from domestic gardens to florists’ shops to the great market at Covent Garden and the Piccadilly Circus flower girls. The film includes close-ups of a great variety of favourite blooms, finishing with a shot of the Cenotaph surrounded with floral tributes.
The Wonderful London series has been restored by the BFI National Archive, reintroducing the films’ original tinted colours. Once again, the “bloomin’ carnashuns and loverley vi’lets” filmed 90 years ago on the streets of the capital can be seen in all their glory.
The BFI Player is available on desktop, android devices, iPads and now iPhones.
