Say it with flowers – flower farming

In the current, challenging economic environment, many landowners are looking to diversify. One route to diversification is to turn to producing native flowers commercially.

In 2016 the National Farmers’ Union released an extensive report that showed that the value of British grown flowers had stayed the same since the 1980’s, while the value of imported flowers had risen almost six-fold over that same period. British-grown flowers have up until now been considered more expensive. However, since Brexit and the increase in shipping duties this is no longer necessarily the case.

We are a nation of consumers who, increasingly, like to know we have bought locally sourced meat and food but when it comes to flowers, generally speaking, we still don’t ask where they’ve come from. We all love to receive flowers, whether it be red roses for Valentine’s Day, a wedding bouquet or a bunch of summer blooms to brighten your home. Social media is blooming with the ‘garden-gathered’ look of hand-picked flowers rustically tied with a ribbon of hessian. Social media platforms bombard us with the importance of spending money more ethically and looking at what is best for the environment when it comes to our buying choices. So, a growing desire among consumers, especially millennials and Generation Z, to spend money more ethically and choose what is best for the environment too is a real opportunity to boost the market for British-grown flowers.

As well as developing another income stream, turning to farming flowers is an opportunity to develop further biodiversity-friendly practices. Flowers are a great way to attract pollinating bees and insects. So growing flowers on your land can help increase the number of pollinating insects, supporting food production too.

If you need support with finding sustainable routes to diversification, please contact us to discuss your requirements.