Chrysanthemums
Donaldsons, West Sussex
Colin and Alan Frampton are fourth generation growers. Their family have been at the forefront of quality flower production for over fifty years. Today they have invested in the most modern growing facilities to ensure they produce high quality flowers throughout the year.
Green fingers are still very important and the nursery which is in Chichester,West Sussex is a combination of old fashioned horticultural growing experience and modern environmental awareness. The nursery is totally self sustaining on water usage and uses biological control to combat pest and disease.
Southern Glasshouse Produce Ltd
SGP have been growing cut flower crops since 1967 and are one of the leading specialists in Chrysanthemum production in the UK. The farm spans 5.5 acres and produces 6 million stems a year.
The site in Barnham, West Sussex grows a range of the novelty type cut flowers all year round in a modern automated glasshouse combining a highly skilled workforce and computerised environmental control and irrigation. In order to achieve constant quality throughout the year SGP invested in a £400,000 gas generator to power 4,000 lux lighting with the by-product of heat stored in two hot water storage tanks giving 300 m³ capacity which is then used to heat the crops at night. Biological control is used to control pest and disease. The site is currently undergoing LEAF Accreditation.
Sweet Peas
Greenlines Nursery, West Sussex
David Guscott has been growing Sweet Peas on the South Coast near Chichester for 25 years. His small nursery initially grew a range of different cut flower and foliage crops, but now just concentrates on this specialist crop.
David says "Sweet Peas are a very unusual and exacting crop to grow. The crop needs a lengthy growing season to ensure top quality flowers, and is very weather dependent; a period of warm sunny weather can result in a large flush of flowers but cold dull weather can cause the crop to almost stop flowering".
David also wants to correct one major misunderstanding about Sweet Pea flowers. He says "Customers sometimes ask if we can 'leave the tendrils on'. But the tendrils grow at the ends of the leaves on the plant, not actually on the flower stems".
Agapanthus, Daffodils, Dahlias
Winchester Growers, Varfell, Cornwall
The Winchester Growers team have grown daffodils near Penzance in Cornwall for over 20 years, and in the last 10 years have added Brodiaea, Agapanthus and Dahlia to the crops grown.
There are more daffodils grown in Cornwall than in any other county in the UK and Winchester Growers are the biggest growers in Cornwall with well over 1000 acres in production.
Daffodils bulbs are planted in August to October to flower from January to April. They suit a well drained soil and benefit from sun or light shade. They are usually grown in a three year cycle, with flowers being harvested each spring and the "bonus" bulb crop, they double in number each year, in the third summer.
The full time team at Varfell is quite a small one, but in the height of the flower season over 400 people are employed picking and packing the crop.
Even in the cool of the Cornish spring, temperature control is a vital part of the
management of the daffodil flowers. Once picked they need to be cooled to about 2 degrees within 12 hours and then the cool chain continues all the way to the branch, where the flowers arrive on display within 36 hours of being picked.
Varfell farm was the first nursery and field crop flower operation to gain LEAF Marque accreditation in the UK and has acted as a demonstration farm for the Farm Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) for many years.
Delphiniums
Naylor Flowers
Mathew Naylor specialises in growing Delphiniums for Waitrose and is now the largest producer of this crop in the UK, at his LEAF Marque Accredited farm. The Naylor family have been growing flowers near Spalding, Lincolnshire since 1948 when they started producing daffodils. Mathew was awarded the Young Farmer of the Year award in 2000 and the Young Grower of the Year in 2003 as well as becoming a Nuffield Scholar in 2006. Mathew strives for continuous improvement on his Delphinium crop which means that a continuous search for new varieties and this process took
Mathew to New Zealand where he identified a collection of Delphinium varieties that will be seen in Waitrose in the late summer of 2008.
Larkspur, Sweet Williams, Sunflowers
Chattertons
Ian Chatterton started growing flowers in 1999 and after trialing a number of different crops he now concentrates on Sweet Williams, Larkspur and Sunflowers. The biggest challenge that Ian faces is the British summer weather as 100% of his crops are grown outdoors near Spalding in Lincolnshire, especially the summer of 2007 where as much as 25% of Ian's crop was ruined due to the exceptional rains. Ian has been supplying Waitrose since 2005 and Waitrose will be his largest customer in 2008.
Asters, Campanula, Pinks, Stocks, Tulips
Lambs Flowers
Roger Lamb has been growing quality British flowers at the LEAF Marque accredited Lambs Flowers Pinchbeck site for over 20 years.
The main winter crop is Tulips, which have been developed over the years and have been grown hydroponically for the last 4 years using harvested rainwater from one of their 6 glasshouses. On their 17-acre site in Pinchbeck Roger works alongside his wife Sue and son Gareth to produce Stocks, Campanulas and Asters. New product development was responsible for the addition of the Campanula and further new product development has led to Pinks being reintroduced along with German Asters and Japanese Stocks. Roger is a keen conservationist and is currently setting up a wildlife area on the nursery to encourage wildlife and birds.
Gareth Lamb headed up the Campanula project and is a vital part of the team at Lambs taking on not only the growing aspects but also packing aspects of the business. Gareth has been a part of the company since attending Canterbury University and has helped to bring the company forward embracing new ideas and actively seeking new projects.
Zantedeschia
Copsey's (Denville) Ltd
Robert Copsey, the grandfather of Tim, the current owner, started growing flowers in the Portsmouth area in 1905, when he purchased 17 acres of land in Farlington. Deliveries were made to local florists and market stalls by horse-drawn cart. David Copsey joined his father Robert in the business and in 1952 purchased 35 acres of land in Denvilles, the present location of the Nursery.
Copseys are now the largest growers of Arum Lilies in the UK harvesting approximately 140000 stems per annum from 35000 plants. They also keep approximately ½ acre of glass aside as a trial area.
English Rose
The Real Flower Company
Their English farm is dedicated to the small scale production of scented roses, flowers and herbs. Each day Rob, who manages the rose and herb paddocks, and his team walk the miles of rose and herb beds painstakingly removing dead heads from each bush and plant.
All roses and herbs are hand harvested daily. The teams start early to ensure that flowers are as fresh as they can be when they are sent over to our workshop for making up into our distinctive bunches.
The farm has an excellent wildlife habitat over a large area with miles and miles of hedgerow, extensive woodland and ponds providing a rich and diverse range of wildlife. The farm is part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and a member of the Farm Wildlife Advisory Group.
Within the rose paddocks there are several types of beehives and crops are never sprayed when they are in flower in order to protect the bees and any other insects who may be feeding on the flowers. In fact, the Real Flower Company constantly and carefully monitor the use of chemicals and fertilizers to enhance their benefits and minimize waste. Plants and rose bushes are planted into Mypex matting which suppresses weeds and means they do not need to use weed killers.
Freesia
Unicum, Holland
Unicum Freesia is a 'growers association' consisting of twenty-one growers all specialised in cultivating the flower, producing 160 million stems per year. Unicum Freesia has 60 hectares of growing space, which is approximately a third of the entire Dutch freesia market.
Unicum growers work according to a set of fixed guidelines, using their own quality control system. This results in a consistently high-quality product.
Scented Roses, Lilies
Tambuzi Ltd Kenya
Tambuzi Ltd. is a medium-scale horticultural produce grower and exporter, and is situated about 200km from Nairobi, West of Mount Kenya. It was founded in 1997 with 47 seasonal employees. It started serious horticultural farming in 1999 with French beans, herbs and scented roses. In 2002 Tambuzi further expanded with trials of oriental Lilies. In 2003 the company diversified to production of commercial Oriental Lily plants.
The Burguret farm covers a total area of 66 hectares of which
22 hectares is dedicated to growing roses and lilies. Vegetable and herbs are also grown mainly as rotational crops with the remainder of the land left pristine with a strong Environmental Policy.
Tambuzi's social impact extends to a wide area surrounding the farm including a medical clinic, recreational facilities, staff shop and canteen, afforestation and supporting schools. It is one of the largest employers around Burguret and contributes significantly to the economic activities of the area, as well as to the national economy as a source of revenue in the form of foreign exchange, taxes and duties.
Due to the environmental conservation interests of the company, Tambuzi has embarked on an ambitious forestry programme where a variety of indigenous and exotic tree species are being grown in over 6 hectares of land. It supplies tree seedlings to support afforestation in the neighborhood, has a 10 hectare reservoir stocked with tilapia that support predatory animals like fish eagles, pelicans and snakes.
Lisianthus, Roses and Spray Carnations
Oserian, Kenya
Oserian officially known as Oserian Development Company Ltd was established 33 years ago. It was created in 1969 primarily as a Vegetable Growing Farm, however Oserian began cut flower production in 1982, and began exporting roses in 1984. The main crops grown today are Roses, Carnations and Lisianthus and are one of the Waitrose rose growers. There are about 240ha under production in total, and the site exports on average 400 million cut flowers per annum.
Oserian is a large employer in Kenya - close to 6000 personnel and the farm provides full ethical and social welfare including medical health, housing, education, entertainment and full training as well as support to a further 7000 plus family members. The company values its labour force, supports it and creates a working environment which is safe for them.
Oserian actively works on care for the environment including land management, WHO (World Health Organisation) only approved chemical use, water management and a wetlands project. This also includes conservation of the lake, forestry, tree nursery and wildlife. There is continuous development in new technology such as geothermal heating, carbon dioxide recovery, hydroponic farming methods and improved water management.
Lisianthus, Roses and Spray Carnations
Karen Roses Limited (Ravine Roses)
The Company started its operations in 1989 at Karen Farm which is situated in the outskirts of Nairobi City in Karen Ngong view estate, with 5 hectares under crop.
In 1997, the Company expanded its operations to Eldama Ravine with currently 44 hectares under crop. Ravine Roses currently employs approximately 900 employees in its four units/farms. The company is currently producing an average of 70 million stems of roses per year. They have planted selected intermediary and T-hybrid varieties, with a full colour range in the assortment.
The growing and processing of Ravine Roses is done in accordance with international standards in particular Fairtrade and LEAF Marque environmental criteria with emphasis on reduction in the use of agrochemicals, social/environmental accountability and general responsible production.
The company has been at the forefront in promoting good agricultural practices including integrated farm management principles in the LEAF Marque standard as the basis of its growing operations.
One of the Community Development projects - bicycles for the workers