Community Supported Agriculture scheme

Well, here we are, almost at the end of our 2026 growing season and heading into our 4th year in business. This year has been a year full of extremes to say the least! 

Let’s start with the highlights…

Back in February, we got the keys to a (very unplanned) new plant nursery in Millthorpe. We couldn’t pass the opportunity by and it’s given us a huge amount of undercover growing space, for both propagating and for growing more delicate crops that couldn’t really cope with our windy Holmesfield farm conditions. It’s also allowed us to offer a point of retail - for both the flowers and now plants - in the local area.

We’ve been bowled over by the support from the local community, the existing customers of Millthorpe nursery and also Carl & Dierdre - the previous custodians - who kindly held our hand through the start of this new journey. 

As we entered spring, we worked tirelessly to stock the nursery, build a huge number of raised beds on site to grow more flowers and started turning the site over to make it our own. We’ve flowered our biggest ever number of weddings from the barn and we’ve run workshops with fabulous groups who have left us with new skills and armfuls of flowers. We’ve met lots of new people and have loved chatting with everyone who has walked through our gates this year. Thank you to those who have visited us, it means a huge amount.

Unfortunately, what we didn’t know back in February, was that we were in for the hardest season ever to be working in horticulture and agriculture. Relentless spring and summer heat and drought has hit us incredibly hard. The crops on the farm suffered the worst, with the wind, heat and unbearable UV levels decimating our stock. We ran out of saved rainwater at the end of spring and being off grid, all we could do was stand by and watch our plants suffer. It was devastating. 

To substitute our limited crops, we have had to buy in from other growers and with rising costs across all areas, growing, buying and selling cut flowers has become very expensive. Customers couldn’t garden in the heat, so come summer, our nursery plant sales also dried up and that, coupled with having to absorb some of the VAT we suddenly became registered for, has meant our margins have been incredibly tight this year. What little profit we had earned, has gone back into the business to prepare us for what is likely to be a rough winter, followed by another very hot year in 2027, due to El Niño. 

At the nursery, we’ve added a new polytunnel to be able to offer veg and more tender plants (earlier) to customers and we’ve been upgrading our staging tables to protect us from pests. At the farm, we’ve had a stand-pipe fitted to hopefully allow us to irrigate next year. We’ve been evaluating our crops and potted plants for sale, to decide how to best navigate the increasingly extreme seasons and the challenges that come with them. 

Not to harp on too much about the woes of being a small business in a challenging industry, but the reality is, we are really feeling it. As owners, we come last on the priority list and working 7 day weeks, often forgoing pay to pay other expenses, is not for the faint hearted and certainly not sustainable. We’re grateful to have each other, our incredible team and moral support from friends, family and customers. We wouldn’t still be here otherwise. As ever-positive optimists, we are still approaching the next season with the enthusiasm we’ve always had, although with slightly less rose-tinted glasses.

The support from our 2025/2026 cohort of CSA customers has been an absolute lifeline and we could not be more grateful. There are so many factors outside of our control that impact us and we are ineligible for any kind of grant or support scheme to bolster us when the climate - or economic factors - impact us directly. Our CSA funding has genuinely helped us expand, diversify and become more resilient to these challenges.

To help us stabilise after a year of intense growth, investment and difficulty, we once again look to our loyal customers and community to help us in 2027. By supporting our business, you’ll help us to offer more community-based wellbeing sessions, offer work experience, training and permanent employment opportunities, facilitate work with local charities, contribute to the local economy and improve bio-diversity in the local area - making it more resilient to climate change.

Farmers and growers really need more support at Government level, but until that day comes, we look to our wonderful community and hope that you’ll choose to spend your hard-earned money with us, rather than the big guys, so that we can all help make a difference.

In return for your support, we will offer you beautiful, seasonal cut flowers every month, for 6 months, 2 x pick and arrange sessions, a 10% discount at the nursery and an exclusive invitation to our ‘end of 2027 season’ celebration event - complete with goody bag.

The details:

Your investment: £375

What will you receive back? Rewards worth £500+

Including: 

6 x bouquets (or loose stems if preferred), delivered each month from April until end of October - worth £330+

2 x pick and arrange sessions - to take place at the farm or nursery during the season - worth £130+

10% loyalty discount at the nursery - valid on any items at the nursery from when you purchase your CSA to the end of 2027

An exclusive invitation to our end of season celebration event - complete with goody bag

If you are interested in signing up for our CSA scheme but have any questions,  please complete the contact form below and we will be in touch. Thank you so much for supporting us on our business journey and helping to increase the number of British grown cut flowers in the UK.