The cut flowers industry is a huge one - worth £2.2bn at retail level in the UK, which puts it ahead of the music industry. However, as the chilly season is coming to an end, the hottest time of the year is past for local flower sellers Darren Oretagu who has been running the Westgate Flowers stall opposite Oxford's Bonn Square for the past 18 months, and Paul Birtles, who owns The Garden shops in the city's Covered Market and at Headington.

Their biggest sales are at Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter. But now they are having to battle in an increasingly hostile trading environment, including supermarkets and increasing everyday costs.

So how do they compete?

"You only have to look at the quality of flowers in the supermarket and the quality of mine," Mr Oretagu said.

"It is sometimes two weeks before their flowers get into the shops. My wholesaler gets a delivery on a Wednesday morning and I can buy them that morning. They're so fresh."

As someone who relies heavily on passing trade, this is a major selling point, which is why he goes up to his supplier, BC Wholesalers in Birmingham, at least twice a week.

While he orders bouquets, which retail for between £10 and £15, and also makes bouquets on the spot, his main income comes from selling competitively-priced bunches of flowers, with some bedding and house plants in the summer.

He tends to buy foreign flowers, mainly Dutch, Colombian and Israeli.

He said: "Daffodils are the only English flowers I buy. English tulips are not very good quality, in my experience."

Mr Birtles' experience is completely the opposite - while 85 per cent of the flowers sold in the UK are imported, in The Garden, sometimes 85 per cent of stock is grown in the UK.

He explained: "We specialise in stocking good quality flowers at reasonable prices - with a strong emphasis on supplying English flowers in season. We believe this is when flowers are at their best.

"The fact I am able to source English flowers of good quality is partly the result of building a strong relationship with the wholesalers in Covent Garden, coupled with very early starts and 23 years of buying experience."

He would like to source more locally.

"One of my suppliers is Albert Gibbons, a vegetable farmer from Hinton Waldrist. He has supplied our wallflower plants since we opened in 1984. Many of my customers return year after year to buy them."

He is able to compete with supermarkets, again because of the freshness of his flowers, but he also has a team who can provide flowers and bouquets for all occasions.

"We deliver in and around Oxford ourselves and relay orders nationally and internationally via the Teleflorist network," he said.

Like Mr Oretagu, his customers range in age and both businesses get a lot of repeat business from regulars.

Where The Garden differs is by having a number of business, college and school accounts. Mr Birtles, 49, is also able to supply a larger number of seasonal garden products and Christmas trees.

Mr Oretagu, 40, does not have the space and also has the problem of having to remove his stall every night.

Both businesses are also facing a hefty increase in rents from their landlord, Oxford City Council.

Mr Birtles's business is currently in the middle of a rent review, as the council is seeking to increase the rent on his Covered Market shop by 100 per cent. Both men have said that it is not possible to pass the costs on to the customer.

"We operate in a highly competitive market, where there is significant pressure to keep prices low," Mr Birtles said.

"The challenge is to find ways of operating with these increased costs.

"There is no single solution. We have to find a combination of measures to be successful, such as adding value to our products, reducing waste and doing what we do now, but better."