Fancy picking your own bouquet or enjoying fresh flowers cut from a nearby field? Cutting gardens and flower farms are springing up across the county
Roam through rural Norfolk and occasionally bright flashes of pink, red and orange interrupt the more muted greens, golds and browns of grain, woodland and grazing meadow.
Flower farms and cutting gardens splash vivid colours across the landscape, supplying florists, pick-your-own passers-by and farm shop customers with seasonal, ultra-low-flower-miles bouquets.
Some are long-established, others just seedlings starting out, championing local and home-grown over exotic overseas imports, they blossom, picture perfect, across social media and bring a bright spring and summer vibrancy to villages across Norfolk.
FLOWERS FOR ALL SEASONS
“The thing about running a seasonal flower farm is that every season has its own moment to shine!” said Cel Robertson who grows around 200 varieties of flowers at Forever Green Flower Company in Aylmerton, between Sheringham and Cromer. “There's the romance of rows of blowsy ranunculus in the spring, clouds of ammi and the bees in the lavender in the summer, the rich colours of the dahlias in the golden light of autumn. Bleached grasses in the winter mist have their own beauty.”
Cel runs a monthly guided cutting session in the flower field. “We are not usually open to the public as we are a busy working farm, but this is an opportunity for customers to come and cut flowers from our field to arrange with,” she said. “It offers a chance to really connect with the seasons and to experience how and why we grow the way we do. It's a lovely, mindful way to spend a morning.”
Cel particularly loves scented flowers and often includes herbs in her arrangements. She sells mainly to florists and also offers a bouquets and buckets service for weddings, supplies nearby farm shops, and flowers can be ordered for collection or delivery.
Her cut flower season runs from April to October and she sells Christmas wreaths too.
“Customers love the quality and freshness of our blooms that are grown without chemicals for the benefit of the environment and our local biodiversity,” she said.
FLOWER FIELD WORKSHOPS
“I open my flower field for pick your own sessions in the summer, and I run flower arranging workshops in the middle of the flower field” said Louisa Butcher of Brunstead Blooms, in Brumstead, near Happisburgh, who explained the family farm uses the old name for the village.
She began with a flower patch to encourage more pollinating insects and now has a dedicated cutting field and polytunnel, growing a wide variety of seasonal flowers including daffodils and narcissi, hellebore, tulips, ranunculus and anemone in the spring, roses, dahlias and sunflowers in the summer, chrysanthemum in the autumn and evergreen foliage including holly and bay, plus dried flowers, in the winter.
“Customers love that they can see where and how flowers are grown and that the flower field is full of pollinating insects like bees and butterflies. They also really like that I grow and arrange flowers as sustainably as I can, without the use of chemicals, pesticides, floral foam and minimizing plastic wherever possible. I also collect thousands of litres of rainwater to water the flower field throughout the year,” said Louisa
And when is it at its most beautiful? “I think it always looks beautiful as the seasons change, particularly on sunny frosty mornings when it looks serene, but I can’t deny that it looks most spectacular between June and mid-September, when everything is blooming,” said Louisa who grows and arranges flowers for weddings and businesses, runs flower-arranging workshops at the farm and sells blooms in a local farm shop.
Fresh flowers are usually available from March to November, with foliage and dried flowers all year round. Louisa also runs Christmas wreath workshops.
Her own absolute favourite flower is the peony. “My mum has a fabulous patch of bright pink peonies in her beautiful garden, which always flower around my birthday, so peonies always make me think of her (and are just down right fluffy, showy and fabulous!)” said Louisa.
FAMILY FLOWERS
Florist and flower grower Sarah Hammond inherited her peony farm from her mother-in-law, who used to supply the old Covent Garden Flower Market with blooms grown on the family farm at Knapton, near Mundeslely.
Sarah now sells peonies to florists across the UK and supplies flowers for weddings, funerals and events, by post, from the farm and through local market stalls and shops.
“For funeral tributes I often have relatives both picking and arranging flowers with me.” said Sarah of English Peonies, who also teaches flower growing and arranging, and Christmas wreath making, at the farm and with the Norfolk School of Gardening, at Bixley Manor, near Norwich.
“Customers love the freshness and scent of our flowers, that they are grown locally and sustainably. They love visiting us, walking round the garden and working in our studio which was previously the old brew house and coal shed on the farm.”
She has a walled cutting garden and the peonies grow on the edges of an arable field.
“My speciality is peonies but I also grow a huge range of other flowers from narcissi through to dahlias,” said Sarah. “People love using our flowers, particularly brides who can come and pick their bouquets and choose their flowers.
“My favourite flower has to be our peonies which filled the church when we married at Knapton many years ago.”
ROYAL RECOGNITION
Florist and flower farmer Cindy Seeley only began selling her flowers a year ago but has already been commissioned to make a birthday bouquet for the late Queen last summer and met King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla (then Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall) as part of a team which won a gold medal at the 2022 Sandringham Flower Show.
Cindy runs Amber Cottage Flowers in Tilney St Lawrence, between Wisbech and King's Lynn, on land that had been part of her son’s organic vegetable farm.
“I grow the whole bouquet from the show stopping dahlias, to the supporting flowers such as zinnias and the fillers such as cornflowers, scabiosa and strawflower plus much more,” said Cindy.
“I grow using organic principles and do not use chemicals or any floral foam.”
She sells direct to the public and a local florist, and by subscription, delivering nearby for free.
She also dries her own flowers, enabling her to sell dried flower bouquets and wreaths through the autumn and winter.
“I offer flowers for all occasions including small intimate weddings and funerals and I also offer welcome flowers for guesthouses or a grave-tending service to my local church,” said Cindy.
“I am lucky that the soil had already been nurtured. We make our own compost to replenish the beds each year as soil health is paramount to producing quality blooms.
“I think my customers have the same principles as me. They love nature and do not want their flowers covered in harmful chemicals. They want to personally know where their flowers have come from and do not want flowers that have travelled the globe.”
FRAGRANT EVENING TOURS
First, farmer Buffy Wilcox added asparagus and Christmas trees to his traditional cattle farming, then he planted peonies – for his florist wife Kate Bagnall-Oakeley, as importing them was so expensive.
Now they sell their abundance of beautiful peonies, many of them scented, from the farm gate in Erpingham, near Aylsham.
“People love to come to the farm to buy fresh British grown flowers straight from the field. We also sell the plants, which our customers love just as much,” said Buffy of Erpingham House Farm.
“Our customers are predominantly passers-by. We have a pop up farm shop and also do pre-orders for brides, florists, shops, restaurants and a few wholesalers.”
Their season runs from mid May to early July.
“The peonies are at their best around the first of June when most of the varieties are out, pinks, whites, reds and corals - an amazing sight!” said Buffy.
They will be taking visitors on evening tours of the flower field on June 7, 8 and 9 in aid of the National Gardens Scheme (booking essential.)
ORGANIC
Florist and grower Francesca Goodman launched British Blooms in Dickleburgh, near Diss, last year.
“We choose our flowers for their scent, vase life and also their benefits to pollinators,” said Francesca, who uses no herbicides or pesticides and only organic fertilizers.
“Ranunculus, tulips and narcissus are firm favourites in the spring. Centaurea, larkspur, scabiosa and sunflowers are very popular in summertime and our wide range of stunning dahlias are a huge hit throughout the late summer autumn months.”
ZINGY
In Edgefield, near Holt, Ellie Frost opened Norfolk Flower Farm last year.
Her flowers bloom from April to November, moving from daffodils, tulips and ranunculus, to sunflowers, grasses, zinnia, snapdragon and dahlias.
Her own favourites are the late spring and early summer blooms. “They look so fresh and zingy and are a sweet shop of colours,” said Ellie.
She sells to local florists, direct from the field two mornings a week and offers bridal bouquets, buttonholes and DIY flower buckets for weddings.”
“Customers like coming to a muddy, rustic field because the provenance of the product couldn't be more real; and they're dealing with me, the grower, who looks after the flowers they are buying, from seed to bouquet, to sale.
“I try to be as eco-friendly as possible in all aspects. That means no single use plastic and no cellophane wrap. Bouquets and bunches are instead wrapped in brown paper.”
PICK-YOUR-OWN BOUQUET
Mother and daughter Claire Hornby and Jessica Ward launched their pick-your-own bouquet garden, The Gardening Retreat, at Old Buckenham Country Park last year.
Here they grow more than 25 types of flowers including dahlias, cornflowers, sunflowers and zinnias.
“Our main customers are visitors to the Country Park or families, however we are now inviting bridal parties to cut their wedding flowers,” said Jessica. “They enjoy wondering around the garden at their own pace, choosing their own flowers to create their own unique bouquet.”
ECO-FRIENDLY
“Customers love the unusual varieties, scented flowers and the eco-friendly approach,” said Philippa Patterson whose own favourite spring flowers are delicately ruffled ranunculus.
This is her third season running Honey Patch Flowers in Congham, near King’s Lynn, growing a wide selection of seasonal British flowers which she sells for weddings and bouquets from April until September.
ALLOTMENT FLOWERS
Rachel McShane launched Stone Cottage Plants in Wramplingham, near Wymondham, last spring and sells tulips, sunflowers and dahlias to local florists. She grows the flowers on a half-acre allotment with vegetable beds, chickens, a small pond and a wildflower meadow and hopes to offer DIY wedding flower buckets this year.
TULIP FIELDS
Every spring truly magnificent displays of tulips, being grown for bulbs by Belmont Nurseries of Terrington St Clements, raise money for charity. Last year their open-field days raised almost £100,000 for The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, Hillington. Booking essential for visits (usually late April and early May) with full info at norfolktulips.co.uk
