HORTICULTURE, KENT: Clare is the fourth generation to work on the family’s 390-acre (158-hectare) farm, just a stone’s throw from the Kent coast. But instead of following in her father’s footsteps in farming sheep and arable, she branched out into a quite different crop: flowers.

The family owns two farm properties, one where Clare lives, which is arable; and one where she grew up and where her parents still live, which is rented from the Ministry of Defence for raising sheep. Clare’s flower farm stands within the arable property, and includes a polytunnel.

Clare believes the seeds for her flower business were sown when, at the age of 13, she got a job at a local florist, where she learned about cut flowers and arranging. However, her degree, at Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett) was in event management, leading on to high-profile jobs in event management around the world (including locations such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia), and then back in the UK in school business management.

The latter job was highly challenging, and Clare’s escape was her garden where she grew flowers purely for cutting and enjoying inside the house. “I started following a few different growers online and getting their tips and help. It made me wonder if flowers was something I could do,” she says.

Soon Clare was so unhappy in her job that knew she needed to make a change, so she drew up a business plan to set up a flower farm.

But convincing her dad took time. “He couldn’t understand why I would quit a well paid structured job to grow flowers,” she says. “As our conversations developed and he saw the struggles within my job he became a little more flexible. I did my research, took a few online courses and seminars about flower farming and developed my ideas a little more. I took dad to a similar flower farm about an hour away so he could see what I was talking about. I showed him the potential financial gains from this diversification and he was able to appreciate how serious I was.”

Slowly Clare’s dad came round, and even bought her a plough and two cultivators. “It was an impressive 180 turnaround and very welcome too! We sat down and made a rough plan for when we were going to do what. I officially resigned from my job in September 2023 and became a full-time flower grower on the family farm in December 2023.”

Since then her business has blossomed and Clare now grows all kinds of seasonal flowers from March to October (sometimes beyond, if weather conditions permit) and sells both wholesale to studio florists and direct to customers. She opens the flower farm for Pick Your Own on Saturdays for the general public and on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for wedding customers. She also runs a Friday Flower Club, whereby she delivers a bouquet to members on a Friday, and runs workshops throughout the year.

Clare enjoys seeing the flower farm change over the seasons, and observing the wildlife. “I love the fact that the buzzards don’t care about me and just carry on as if I wasn’t there, and that the bumblebees will not get off a cut flower as I’m trying to take it into the studio for an arrangement because it’s just too tasty. Watching both the plants and the wildlife around me go through their cycles feels both fascinating and reassuring. It feels quite a humbling experience.”

Farming in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way is key to Clare’s business. She does not spray her flowers in the field, and on the floristry side of things, never uses floral foam or single use plastics. She only uses flowers and foliage from her farm. “Imported flowers carry huge airmiles, are drenched in chemicals and involve serious labour concerns around wages and health of those involved in the growing and harvesting in the countries of origin,” says Clare. “This is something I try to inform people about, whilst not ranting at them!