Wandering around the new cut flower field, its hard to believe that less than a year ago it was an overgrown, weedy pasture once used for pigs.
The plot is managed to full organic standards. Tanya has gone down a mostly #no-dig route, covering the plots with mypex, black plastic, carpets, cardboard and anything else she could find to block out light to kill the vegetation before adding a layer of compost. The beds are now full of annuals and new perennials, shrubs for foliage, willow for shelter and wreaths. And not surprisingly, the abundance of flowers is pulling in wildlife, from bees and hoverflies to butterflies and dragonflies. Plus the odd mole that’s not quite so welcome!
Tanya moved on to a one-acre plot last autumn with the plan to establish an organic cut flower farm from scratch. And after many hours of hard work, Meadow and Hedgerow Organics is now in production. As well as the flowers beds, there’s a ‘reclaimed’ greenhouse and small polytunnel for raising seedlings and cuttings, plus pallets put to all sorts of uses – tables, shelter belts, bug hotels and more. And of course lots of compost heaps generating organic matter to pop on the beds.
A huge amount of work has gone into the plot and it’s a great example to show people how a piece of land can be transformed in such a short time.