Florist Shop Near Me in Kensal Rise: Scarlet & Violet's Jam-Jar Bunches

Scarlet & Violet sells its flowers in jam jars. The shop at 76 Chamberlayne Road, London NW10 3JJ, has been trading since 2006, opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and its best-known bunch, the Classic Jammy, costs £40 hand-tied in a jar with coloured string. Kensal Rise Overground station is about 280 metres away. Anyone typing florist shop near me in Kensal Rise, Queen's Park or Kensal Green will find it on the main road through the neighbourhood.

The shop's story page credits its founder, Vic, with basing the whole look on what she calls the quintessential country garden: wild, natural and imperfect. Bunches are deliberately loose, mixing stems of different heights the way they would grow in a border. The page also says the business has become more shop-centric in recent times, meaning the walk-in counter on Chamberlayne Road is now the heart of it rather than an afterthought to events work.

Each season has a flower the shop is known for. The story page lists peonies in summer, dahlias in autumn, hellebores in winter and tulips in spring. In October that means dahlias in deep reds, apricots and dusky pinks crowding the buckets, which is exactly when the shop looks most like the garden it is imitating. By December the dahlias are gone and the softer, nodding hellebores take over the front of the counter.

The Classic Jammy is the reason to come. It is sold in three sizes: the Jammy at £40, the Fat Jammy at £55 and the Tall Jammy at £75, each tied and dropped into a jar so it can go straight onto a table. Because the jar is part of the gift, a Jammy is the easiest thing to carry onto the Overground without water leaking down your sleeve, and the most popular choice for dinner-party hosts in the area.

For something larger, Pick of the Day leaves the selection to the florist: the Pleasing size is £60, or £70 with a vase, and the top Glorious size is £175, or £210 with a vase. Queenie, a bigger signature design, starts at £75. Rosie is a set of bud vases with single stems, sold as three for £60 or twelve for £240, which works well for a long table at a party. Gift cards run from £10 to £100.

A quick budget guide for this shop: £40 gets you a finished gift in a jar, which is cheaper than most London florists' smallest bouquet. At £55 the Fat Jammy is the size to take to a dinner for six, because it fills a table without blocking anyone's view across it. Going above £100 only makes sense for a Pick of the Day or a Queenie sent as a big occasion piece, and at that point having it delivered is easier than carrying it.

The sustainability page is unusually frank. It says about 20% of the shop's flowers were British-grown between September 2023 and August 2024, peaking at 38% in the best month. The rest come mainly from farms certified by Rainforest Alliance, MPS or Flor Verde. There is no floral foam, no dyed flowers and no ribbon, and the containers are recyclable tins and jam jars. The shop is Living Wage accredited and runs on a 100% renewable Octopus Energy tariff.

It also admits it still uses single-use cellophane for some deliveries, which is a more honest line than most florists print. If you want to avoid plastic entirely, buy a Jammy over the counter, since the jar does the job the cellophane would. That small choice is one place where shopping in person is better than ordering online.

The shop is not chasing a wholly British-grown label, and it says so. In practice the autumn dahlias and summer peonies are where the home-grown share climbs, and winter is when imported certified stems fill the gaps. If buying local matters to you, autumn and summer are the seasons to shop here.

Scarlet & Violet does next-day London delivery rather than same-day. Order before midday Monday to Friday and the flowers arrive the following day, up to 6pm. There are no Sunday deliveries, and delivery charges depend on your postcode. You can also order online and collect from the shop during opening hours.

Walk-in visits are simplest in the morning. The shop opens at 9am, and the buckets are fullest then. On Saturday, Chamberlayne Road is busy with brunch traffic and the shop gets steady trade from locals shopping for the weekend. One honest suggestion: skip Pick of the Day if you want a particular colour, because the point of it is that the florist chooses. Ask for a Jammy in the colours you want instead.

Two good walks start within ten minutes of the shop. Kensal Green Cemetery, one of London's large Victorian cemeteries, is about 500 metres south, a quiet place with tree-lined avenues and grand tombs. Queen's Park, run by the City of London on Kingswood Avenue, NW6 6SG, is about 730 metres east and has a children's farm and a bandstand, which makes it a better choice if you have children with you.

Kensal Rise station on the Overground is the closest at around 280 metres, and Kensal Green on the Bakerloo line is about 490 metres away. Chamberlayne Road itself is lined with cafes, restaurants and independent shops, so the florist fits easily into a Saturday walk. A sensible loop is shop first, then the cemetery, then back up the road for lunch, collecting a Jammy on the way home so it is fresh.

Address: 76 Chamberlayne Road, London NW10 3JJ. Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm; closed Sunday. Nearest stations: Kensal Rise Overground and Kensal Green. Prices: Jammy £40, Fat Jammy £55, Tall Jammy £75, Pick of the Day Pleasing £60, Queenie from £75, three Rosie bud vases £60. Next-day London delivery for orders placed by midday Monday to Friday; collection from the shop available.