Cultivating Nature’s Beauty
A Growing Passion: The Flower & Farmer Story
Established by aunt and niece, Jo and Milly, Flower & Farmer was an idea that flourished out of a shared love of the gaudiest Dahlias out there. We specialise in growing English cut flowers and foliage for weddings and events and to supply to florists. We have also developed a wide range of dried flowers for use in the leaner months. Over the past five years, our team has accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience and so we are presently expanding our range of courses in both floristry and growing practices – watch this space!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THOSE DAHLIAS?!
The inspiration for Flower & Farmer came one autumn day, on a visit to Jo’s beautiful garden. The borders were overflowing with big, blousy Dahlias and it was such a pleasure for me (Milly) to cut armfuls of these gorgeous specimens to spread around my London home. So seeded our dream to establish our own cut flower farm so that we could spread the joy of dressing one’s home, wedding or party with home-grown flowers, bursting with colour and scent. A few years on and it is still our view that locally grown flowers are unsurpassed for their beauty, fragrance and variety. Even on the bleakest of winter days, we marvel at the treasures Mother Nature bestows.
OUR VALUES & SUSTAINABILITY
Growing flowers requires an intimate understanding of the earth, the weather and the seasons. Every year, we are increasingly conscious of the impact of climate change on our plot and the alarming rate at which change is occurring. This serves as a constant and pressing reminder to develop and improve our sustainable practices to produce eco-friendly flowers.
From spring through to autumn, the fields are a-buzz with insects and we work hard to maintain a balanced ecosystem on the farm. We have adopted propagation systems using soil blocks and long-life trays to avoid single use plastics. We improve soil fertility and structure with animal and green manures (rather than artificial fertilisers) and we utilise the “no dig” method to minimise the release of carbon through unnecessary cultivation. We avoid fungicides and pesticides, opting for biological means of controlling pests, such as introducing lacewing larvae to eat aphids. We don’t use chemicals to preserve vase life and we never use plastic wrapping.
SHOP LOCAL
Whether it’s flowers for a wedding, party, gift, to grace your kitchen table or if you’re purchasing for your business, we know many of you wish to support the #shoplocal trend. Our farm is located in the heart of the Midlands. Collections from the farm can be made on arrangement. We can also deliver to neighboroughing villages and local towns in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Our flower van does regular runs to London. Some of our blooms, especially our dried flowers, can be sent in the post. Where this is possible, delivery is available nationwide.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
For delivery enquiries or questions about anything else, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
Photo credit, with thanks, to Clive Nichols
Rosa Joie de Vivre in the front
Photo credit, with thanks, to Clive Nichols
Established by aunt and niece, Jo and Milly, Flower & Farmer was an idea that flourished out of a shared love of the gaudiest Dahlias out there. We specialise in growing English cut flowers and foliage for weddings and events and to supply to florists. We have also developed a wide range of dried flowers for use in the leaner months. Over the past five years, our team has accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience and so we are presently expanding our range of courses in both floristry and growing practices – watch this space!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THOSE DAHLIAS?!
The inspiration for Flower & Farmer came one autumn day, on a visit to Jo’s beautiful garden. The borders were overflowing with big, blousy Dahlias and it was such a pleasure for me (Milly) to cut armfuls of these gorgeous specimens to spread around my London home. So seeded our dream to establish our own cut flower farm so that we could spread the joy of dressing one’s home, wedding or party with home-grown flowers, bursting with colour and scent. A few years on and it is still our view that locally grown flowers are unsurpassed for their beauty, fragrance and variety. Even on the bleakest of winter days, we marvel at the treasures Mother Nature bestows.
OUR VALUES & SUSTAINABILITY
Growing flowers requires an intimate understanding of the earth, the weather and the seasons. Every year, we are increasingly conscious of the impact of climate change on our plot and the alarming rate at which change is occurring. This serves as a constant and pressing reminder to develop and improve our sustainable practices to produce eco-friendly flowers.
From spring through to autumn, the fields are a-buzz with insects and we work hard to maintain a balanced ecosystem on the farm. We have adopted propagation systems using soil blocks and long-life trays to avoid single use plastics. We improve soil fertility and structure with animal and green manures (rather than artificial fertilisers) and we utilise the “no dig” method to minimise the release of carbon through unnecessary cultivation. We avoid fungicides and pesticides, opting for biological means of controlling pests, such as introducing lacewing larvae to eat aphids. We don’t use chemicals to preserve vase life and we never use plastic wrapping.
SHOP LOCAL
Whether it’s flowers for a wedding, party, gift, to grace your kitchen table or if you’re purchasing for your business, we know many of you wish to support the #shoplocal trend. Our farm is located in the heart of the Midlands. Collections from the farm can be made on arrangement. We can also deliver to neighboroughing villages and local towns in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Our flower van does regular runs to London. Some of our blooms, especially our dried flowers, can be sent in the post. Where this is possible, delivery is available nationwide.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
For delivery enquiries or queries about anything else, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you and will do our best to accommodate your flowery needs!.
Rosa Joie de Vivre