SNAKE PASS FLOWERS
ABOUT US
SNAKE PASS FLOWERS
Our story began in 2022 when my daughter in-law Lucy decided she wanted to grow her own wedding flowers and I (Jill) was only too happy to take up the challenge. The veg plot was soon converted from potatoes and peas into a patchwork of flowery colour. Of course, once the wedding was over, those flowers kept on blooming and it was soon clear that there was a market out there for British grown seasonal flowers.
Snake Pass Flowers was established in 2023 at our farm on the Snake Pass in the wilds of north Derbyshire. We soon outgrew this space and set up a second growing area in one or our fields at nearby Calver. Each year we dig out more beds as the business expands and anyway there is never enough space for all the beautiful ‘must have’ flowers and foliage that we want to grow.
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The Flowers
Around 85% of cut flowers sold in the UK are imported, flown in from South America, Africa and the Netherlands. They’re often grown with artificial fertilisers and pesticides, then treated and chilled so they can survive the journey to the UK by air, sea and road.
We do things differently. Everything we grow is chemical and herbicide free and mostly outdoors, with the seasons very much in charge. Our flowers, foliage, herbs, grasses and wildflowers, are all chosen for their beautiful natural colours and shades, character and movement. Nothing too stiff or overdone, we much prefer that slightly unruly, romantic look. The kind of flowers that look like you’ve just wandered through a garden or meadow and gathered an armful.
Soil is everything, the be-all and end-all of life on land. And we would have been wise to have taken this to heart from the very beginning! Farmer Husband did murmur something about our chosen area at Calver having once been used for quarry waste, which we ignored and set about digging our growing beds since it was the only suitable flat area on the farm. He wasn’t wrong -the soil turned out to be lifeless and grey, plus full of stones with not a worm in sight.
Since that first season, we have covered the soil in our own well rotted manure and waste wool, our homemade compost, municipal compost and tree mulch from a local tree surgeon. All of these added annually give bulk to the soil, open up the structure and incorporate well needed nutrients. We also feed our plants and flowers with organic natural nutrients during the growing season. The soil is now a far cry from that first season and is becoming a dark crumbly joy, full of life.
The Soil
The Nature
The more life there is in the soil, the more there is above ground. Where once there were very few worms (most alarming at the time) these along with insects are becoming much more plentiful, which in turn are attracting more birds. To help nature along a bit more, we have been planting home grown trees around the fields, and the hay meadows have been reseeded. The more diverse the habitat, the more nature we can support. By buying our flowers, you’re part of supporting sustainable nature as well. A very pretty win win.