CoirProducts.co.uk featured grower this week is Ben Cross (@Alstroemeriaben). Ben is a 4th generation flower grower at Crosslands Flower Nursery, which is an independent family business situated in West Sussex near Arundel. In this blog post, Ben shares with us how he became a full time grower, having done marine biology for a while. Ben also talks about what he loves to grow, and shares some of the most valuable lessons he has learnt.
Speaking about their flower nursery, Ben says, “it all started in 1936 when my great grandparents were part of the Land Settlement Association (LSA) which was a government scheme to get the country back up and running after the great depression of the 1930s. I actually did Marine Biology for over 10 years and wanted to then come back to the flower nursery in 2011.” As well as being a full time grower, Ben has also been running the British Flowers Rock campaign since 2014 spreading awareness that more needs to be done for UK flower growers.
On what he loves to grow, Ben says, “obviously it has to be our Alstroemeria! I have 2 favourite varieties. ‘Dana’ is my favourite variety to grow as it thrives all year round and is a good producer with low maintenance. ‘Odessa’ is my favourite variety to look at with its awesome colour combo of white and pink with green flecks on the petals”.
Ben goes on to add, “I love having a piece of this planet I can call home and grow sustainable flowers and do my bit to reduce the carbon footprint and minimise climate change. It’s a beautiful part of the world here between the South Downs national park and the Sussex coastline.” In fact, looking for ways to become more sustainable in what he does has been one of the most valuable lessons Ben has learnt. “Here at Crosslands we don’t use any pesticides or insecticides and have learnt how to use bio control to combat the pests we get here in our greenhouses. We have also become peat free and instead use organic compost. We have also installed solar panels, air source heat pumps and biomass boilers to become even more sustainable,” he explains.
Among his successes has been the British Flowers Rock campaign. He explains, “with over 90% of cut flowers in the UK now being imported I started the British Flowers Rock campaign to educate the public and make them aware of supporting local florists and urging florists to use British Flowers. I have now done over 500 talks since I started running the campaign in 2014 and love spreading the word that British Flowers Rock!”
On the other hand, speaking about challenges he has encountered, Ben says, “as a British grower it can be hard to survive when dealing with wholesalers and supermarkets, but we also now supply direct to the public, florists, farm shops and even restaurants. It’s great to supply people that care about planet earth as much as I do!”
A typical day for Ben begins quite early! “Well I sleep for only 4 hours a day! Growing flowers is a lifestyle just like any type of farming. Getting up at 5 am to harvest the flowers, then processing and packing them, and a lot of plant maintenance in the afternoons. And then off to give a British Flowers Rock talk in the evening. Then over to deliver flowers at Brighton Market overnight and maybe come back and have to fix the biomass boiler in the winter time! Always busy!” Yet, as he adds, the health benefits of this work, both physical and mental, are massive.
In sharing tips and suggestions, Ben reminds everyone to have fun and to enjoy those green spaces. “First things first, have fun! We take our growing seriously but always need time to enjoy your green spaces. We also host tours of the flower nursery and sharing the growing experience with others is an amazing feeling.”
If you would like to find out more about Crosslands Flower nursery and Ben’s British Flowers Rock campaign you can check us out on Facebook at Crosslands Flower nursery and follow @Alstroemeriaben on Instagram and Twitter.
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