The best flowers are gone by nine. The regulars know it and arrive at seven, coffee in one hand, a list in the other. The stallholders know them by name and by what they always buy.
Thirty years at the same stall
Madeleine took over the stall from her mother. She buys from growers she has known for decades and refuses to sell anything flown in from far away. "If it is not in season here, it is not on my table."
How to buy flowers
Ask what came in that morning. Buy one kind in quantity rather than a mixed bunch. And always ask for the stems to be cut again before you leave.
After the market
By noon the buckets are empty, the pavement is swept and the square is a car park again until next Saturday.
