It all started around about 8 years ago. I had moved into a beautiful, teeny cottage with my now husband, and the wrap-around garden was a blank canvas of lawn.
I bought a handful of colourful plants and plonked them in a narrow border.
A moment which ignited a passion! I started adding more and more plants, looking things up, checking heights and colours. And then decided the border size was not appropriate to the garden proportion. So larger it got! And more plants got added.
The founding of the flower farm
And the border got larger on a further two occasions …
Another border got added at the rear of the cottage. A further planting patch added to where a leylandii tree had come down.
The veg patches grew and became raised beds. Lawn paths got upgraded to planting paths!
The front garden got an overhaul from mossy lawn to parterre.
The driveway has become a ‘gravel garden’ and a new border added, because who needs to open the car doors anyway?! And espaliered fruit trees planted against fencing.
You get the idea. Creativity ran wild and I immersed myself and newfound love of horticulture into every spare moment. Lapping up images and information online and visiting open gardens, RHS gardens, historical gardens etc.
During the first Covid lock-down, the gardens couldn’t have looked more curated and wonderful. But I was itching for more. Constantly growing flowers from seed and propagating everything I could, but not enough space for planting it all!
I knew I needed my career to move into horticulture, I just didn’t know what exactly.
And then, the epiphany…
In November 2020, I was browsing flower videos online, and happened upon some Flowers from the Farm videos, featuring British growers. And realisation hit – this is without a doubt my vocation – this is absolutely what I need to be doing.
A year later I’d agreed to rent some land in my village. And Norfolk Flower Farm happened!
In April 2021 my husband and I started working the ½ acre field. It hadn’t been touched in around 30 years and was (is!) laden with perennial dock, thistles and other nasties. But I’m sure we’ll get on top of that eventually…
And people got excited about the flower farm; they came, they enquired, they supported, and they bought!
The rest is history, and I’m a very happy lady!
Ellie
