A budding new flower farm in the middle of Abbotsbury is welcoming pickers to come and cut their own bouquet.

Abbey Farm Flowers has been set up by Amy Ralph and Emma Hughes to grow seasonal flowers in a sustainable manner.

With a colourful array of flowers spread over two fields in the heart of the abbey ruins, the public can take a pair of snips and fill a vase with sunflowers, dahlias, snapdragons, cosmos and all sorts of perennials and annuals specially selected for the best cut flowers.

And after not even four months on the site, Amy and Emma are delighted with their progress.

Amy said: "We've had such a warm welcome from the village and the reaction from pickers has been lovely. People love the chance to wander in beautiful surroundings and help themselves to whatever flowers they fancy."

With a shop selling an ever-growing collection of dried and pressed flowers, as well as locally made gifts, they are determined not to waste a single flower.

Emma said: "Many people are starting to wake up to the carbon footprint of fresh imported flowers, but they don't realise that imported dried flowers can be even worse, especially if they're commercially oven or chemically dried."

With nothing more high-tech than a traditional laundry rack and a draughty stable building, they are producing their own dried flowers to complement the fresh flowers sold at the gate and in local farm shops. They have click and collect deliveries weekly to Rise Bakery and Thorncombe Village Shop.

Amy added: "We still can't really believe how quickly we've managed to grow enough for the pick your own and are now excited about plans for the future, we have just ordered over 3,000 speciality bulbs for spring.

Pick your own is available every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm, with a VIP loyalty scheme for 'Very Important Pickers', homemade cake and Baboo ice creams for everyone to enjoy - even the dog!

For more information, visit abbeyfarmflowers.co.uk

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