About me

I’m Debbie Richards and in March 2019 I took the plunge and quit my job with the aim of starting a flower farm. 

Why would you do that!?

I’ve always loved gardening and for some time had been thinking about whether I could turn my hobby into something more.  I was also finding myself worrying about the environment, climate change and the ever deteriorating state of people’s mental health.

Nature’s Posy came from a desire to help people to connect to nature.  Picking flowers is good for the soul.  Giving flowers has been shown to be hugely beneficial for the wellbeing of the receiver*.  And the world needs pollinators.  When you add in the fact that an outdoor grown British flower bouquet has just 5% of the carbon footprint of the equivalent imported bouquet a flower farm was my answer!

How did you start a flower farm?

With my HR career behind me I set about finding a growing space.  In March 2020 I moved onto a ½ acre site on a farmer’s field and set up my flower farm.  I sowed thousands of seeds, planted hundreds of perennials and battled against the weather, mice and slugs. 

I learnt how to plan my crop so as not to have flower-gaps, what flowers grew best on my site, the difference between commercial cut flower growing and gardening and a whole host of non-flowery things like setting up a website. It’s been a steep learning curve.

Moving on

Sadly in spring 2024 I learnt I would have to leave my growing space.  After all of the hard work it was pretty heart-breaking but ultimately I couldn’t bring myself to give up on Nature’s Posy.

In the autumn of 2024 I began the huge job of re-locating the flower field to a new site at Frank’s Farm in Elsworth.  The new location allows me to expand an area of the business I’ve been keen to change for a while – Pick Your Own.  I’m especially keen to develop a child-friendly flower picking experience.

A new era begins but the aims and my ethos for growing remain the same.

My ethos

I grow in an eco-friendly way. This means encouraging natural predators such as birds and ladybirds to help with pest control and using natural fertilisers such as home-made compost, green manure or nettle tea. I don’t use chemical fertiliser or pest-control.  Diversity is the key with lots of different crops attracting a host of different bugs and beasties.

I use minimal plastic and where I do use it, for example in plant pots, I re-use and re-use. I’m completely no-foam in all of my floristry. My floristry uses my own grown flowers.  I top up occasionally with other British grown flowers but I never import flowers.  I use what I have, when I have it, and don’t worry about what I don’t have.  Being seasonable is about using what is available in the moment.  You can read the full Sustainability policy here.

To keep up to date with the goings on at Nature’s Posy, you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram, or check in to the blog with news on what’s in season and some top tips for growing some of the flowers yourself!


* An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion; Flowers Jeannette Haviland Jones, Journal of Environmental Psychology.