It will be possible this year to sell the little bit of lily of the valley from May 1st at the corner of your street under almost usual conditions. Restrictions on movement and gathering on public roads will nevertheless remain in force for customers and vendors. We take stock.
In May 2021, do (almost) what you please! Despite the presence of a confinement still in progress, it will be possible this year to sell its sprigs of lily of the valley in the street. Florists, now considered essential businesses, will also be open.
Last year, confinement drastically restricted the sale of these little white bells and left a bitter taste for professionals in the sector. The florists had only been authorized to sell lily of the valley in delivery or withdrawal of order on their doorstep.
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Six people maximum around the stands
On his websitethe Ministry of Agriculture and Food, indicates that “the points of sale held on the public highway by associations and by private individuals [devront l’être] respecting the limit of gatherings to 6 people.
For individuals, the collection of lily of the valley must be done between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. and within the limit of a perimeter of ten kilometers around their place of residence.
Contacted, the prefectures of Var and Alpes-Maritimes will therefore not prohibit this tradition. After this green light, it will be up to the town halls to regulate by municipal decree the sale in the street of these flowers.
In Draguignan in the Var, we are told that there will be “no worries. If the prefecture authorizes it, we also authorize it”. Ditto in Menton in the Alpes-Maritimes.
The only obligation: “the lily of the valley must be sold as it is, without basketry or pottery, cellophane or crystal paper, without being embellished with any other foliage or flower”.
Rush among lily of the valley growers
In the Valbray nursery, in Ollioules (Var), one of the main suppliers of potted lily of the valley in France, things are moving. 120 people are busy picking and shipping the precious flower to the four corners of France.
We deliver all the plants at the moment. 90% of the goods leave between this Monday morning and Wednesday.
In total, the Var professional will ship 750,000 pots of lily of the valley, slightly less than two years ago. Blame it on years of successive droughts. “A lily of the valley takes three years to come into bloom. There, we are undergoing the last year of drought.”
May 1 is the fourth most important day of the year in terms of sales for florists, behind Mother’s Day, Christmas and Valentine’s Day, according to the Federation of Artisan Florists.
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