One month in
The main block of woodland on the north side of the flower field
So, here we are. One month in to 2026. So far it has been extremely busy on our North Devon flower farm. We have planted 700 trees in the woodland areas and 60 sub-shrubs. We still have 140 to go. These trees along with their stakes and guards were partially funded by The Woodland Trust, which has been amazing. It has allowed us to plant up huge swathes of the field with native, broadleaf trees. We hope that the species included will be resiliant in our ever changing climate. We have planted oak (English and Sessile), willow, alder, birch (downy and common) as well as hornbeam and wild cherry. We have dog rose, elder, hazel, blackthorn and hawthorn shrubs also planted. It feels so good to think about what it will be like in 100 years - hopefully full of wildlife.
We have also planted our orchard and crab apples along with quite a bit of native hedging.
For the orchard we tried to choose lesser known varieties but also trees which are more adaptable to our wet winters and exposed location. We sourced our fruit trees from Adam’s Apples who are an organic tree nursery based outside of Cullumpton, Devon. We have cooking, dessert, juicing apples as well as pears, plum, greengage, damson, cherries and mazzards. We also planted one quince tree and one medlar.
The plan will be to offer an “adopt a tree” programme in a few years, where customers can adopt a fruit tree for a year, attend a pruning workshop and then collect any fruit when they are ready to harvest. Keep your eyes peeled for more news on this.
Next week I am meeting a specicalist from Devon Wildlife Trust to discuss creating a meadow on the lower section of our farm. I am looking forward to seeing what this place will look like by the end of the summer.
We are busy sowing the beginnings of our seeds and ordering dahlia tubers as well as shrubs for cutting this summer. Make sure you’ve signed up for all the latest news and offers.
We are still able to produce bouquets using British grown flowers, even in the depths of winter. Just phone us to discuss your needs and we would be happy to help.
Double rainbow
