For the residents of West Cumbria who are in the know they are members of an exclusive club. Only those within a 20-mile mile radius of Low Clifton, between Cockermouth and Workington, can buy the exquisite bouquets grown and created at Cumberland Flower Farm - unless you’re getting married in the county or visiting the flower farm in person. Harriet Smithson, founder and owner of the business, is proud to be providing the service for locals.

Since the business was set up in February 2018 the ethos of Cumberland Flower Farm has always been to provide pleasure to Cumbrian residents. “Being able to provide our local area is very important; I love the sharing element and for people to give them and the joy people get when they receive them. I love colour and I love the joy that flowers bring,” she says. Starting on an allotment where growing flowers soon overtook the vegetables, Harriet realised the business had ‘legs’ when she started selling some of her blooms. A year later she and her husband Martyn bought six acres of pasture and woodland near their home. They are currently using one acre for flowers and half an acre for foliage so they can create bouquets using all their own greenery.

From March to the end of October the acreage is now filled with country garden favourites, from anemones and tulips to cosmos, ammi, cornflowers, roses and chrysanthemums. At the height of the season Harriet is picking one to two thousand stems a week for weddings and the 20 or so bunches she sells alongside a handful of gift bouquets. This year she is providing flowers for 45 weddings and also sometimes sells at Oakhurst Garden Centre in Cockermouth for special occasions like Mother’s Day. In the past has also sold her flowers through Tebay services and Rheged. “There’s more demand than I can manage really,” she says

During Covid the business expanded into the wedding market when Low Hall near Lorton asked them to supply flowers for the micro weddings they were hosting between the lockdowns. Harriet's practices are environmentally conscious, her packaging is plastic-free and compostable, her farm is off-grid and she employs slow, patient growing and production methods.

She recycles water on-site, uses ancient natural fertilisation techniques and prioritises reuse and recycling. Harriet's flowers are grown using regenerative agricultural techniques without chemical inputs, allowing people to choose flowers that do not contribute to the climate crisis.

RUNNERS UP

Shed One Distillery

Muncaster Castle