Business is blooming! Life is sweet for this flower farmer
When Rosie Insley, 53, moved from the city to the countryside, her life changed in more ways than she could ever have expected…
I’ve always loved gardening. I grew up on a farm and my mum and I spent many happy hours together in the garden and greenhouse. had my first flower and vegetable patch at just five years old. But while this passion has stayed with me all this time, it’s only recently that I’ve made a living from it.
After studying business at university, I spent years working my way up the corporate ladder in events management in London. I loved it, but the fast-paced and high-pressure lifestyle came at a cost: my life revolved around work, so I never had chance to meet and settle down with anyone. By my mid-40s, I was also craving being in the countryside, so
I decided to go freelance and move to a picture-perfect cottage in Buckinghamshire.
LABOUR OF LOVE
When I met Steve, a farmer, it turned out that not only had I found the person I wanted to share my life with, but our new romance also led me to starting a business. When I moved in with Steve in 2017 at his family farm nearby in Hoggeston, Winslow, he mentioned he wanted to do something to diversify the farm. Straight away, I spotted the unused fertile soil of the walled garden and thought: ‘Why not use the garden to grow flowers to sell?’ Steve thought it was a great plan and I joined a flower-farming workshop at Common Farm Flowers in Somerset. It was really informative and I started by planting tulip bulbs in their thousands. My parents helped, too; my dad did all the irrigation work while my mum was on-hand with her gardening knowledge.
I called my new business Wild Rose Flower Company, and I began taking on less events work. My email inbox gradually
‘Our new romance also led me to starting a business’
became more about gardening, until one day, I stopped working in events all together – and I haven’t looked back.
In April 2017, when my tulips started to bloom, I was blown away by just how much they were bursting with colour and fragrance. After cutting and wrapping them in brown paper, I pitched up in local farmers’ markets where they were an instant hit. Because they’re grown locally rather than flown in from abroad like many supermarket flowers, customers were surprised at how fresh they were and how they could last up to two weeks in a vase. I also began to supply The Farm Deli in Winslow with hand-tied bunches.
FRESH FROM THE FARM
Spurred on by the positive reaction, I harvested more flowers that summer, including sweet peas and cornflowers.
I converted the old granary into a shop, where I sold local arts and crafts as well as my blooms for around £25 to £50. I made up bunches, but customers also liked arranging their own.
While I had to close to visitors during the lockdowns, I carried on selling succulents I propagated online, as well as delivering my flowers locally. Many loyal customers have signed up to my subscription service, and I deliver flowers for £30 weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Now we grow a wide range of blooms along the theme of wild, country flowers which give a naturalistic look. We don’t use any chemicals, so the flowers give off their natural scent, as they should.
I’m kept busy in the garden, especially at this time of year. I keep bees to help pollinate the flowers and have learned so much in the last few years. The main trick is to always cut the flowers before the sunlight goes on them in the morning and put them straight into a sterilised bucket of water somewhere cool and dark for 24 hours, if you want to get the best, most fresh, longest-lasting flowers.
There have been bumps in the road, and I’ve had to overcome my inner critic saying: ‘You’re an imposter; you can’t do that!’ I still pinch myself that I get to call this business my own. Locally grown cut flowers have a tiny carbon footprint compared with imported flowers and my mother – who passed on her love for gardening – is so supportive. She still sends me clippings of the gardening sections from the paper every weekend!
• wildroseflowercompany.co.uk