British Flower Grower - Greystone Flowers
Meet the Grower: Greystone Flowers
It's British Flowers Week, and there's no better time to shine a light on the growers working hard behind the scenes to bring British blooms into our studios. We know how many of you are keen to use more British-grown flowers, and we also know how tricky it can be to find and connect with the right grower for your business.
So this week, we're introducing you to Greystone Flowers, a young flower farm based in Holmesfield, Derbyshire, just outside Sheffield and Chesterfield, with big ambitions to work more closely with florists like you. If you're based across South Yorkshire, Derbyshire or North Nottinghamshire and are looking to source more seasonal British flowers, they're definitely one to have on your radar.
How It All Began
Megan and Vicky actually met through Water Babies, Vicky was teaching, Megan's son was learning. Neither of them would have guessed it was the start of a flower farming partnership.
They'd both grown and arranged their own wedding flowers, Vicky in 2021, Megan in 2022, and that was really the start of it. They began building their own small businesses alongside other jobs, staying close through the flower farming community as things grew. In 2023, they decided to join forces and become Greystone Flowers, and in 2024 they took on a 1.2 acre field to start farming properly.
Their backgrounds are quite different. Megan spent 15 years as a frontline children's social worker before going full-time with Greystone in 2025. Vicky came from business and marketing in London, before retraining and joining Grow UK as a farm manager, helping young people aged 16–24 who weren't in education or employment. It's a connection they've continued to foster, Greystone now partners with Grow UK to offer paid work experience to their trainees.
You can tell how well Megan and Vicky complement one another. They bring very different experiences to the business, but share the same enthusiasm and ambition. It feels like a genuine partnership.
Stepping Onto the Farm
When you arrive at Greystone, you're greeted by their plant nursery first, a really beautiful space, full of the kind of "florist-type" plants you'd normally only find through a specialist wholesale order. Unusual, special varieties, the sort you'd love to grow yourself if you had your own cutting patch.
Their style runs through everything, from the plants on the nursery shelves, to the buckets of cut stems and finished bouquets.
What struck me most wasn't actually the flowers, it was how genuinely excited Megan and Vicky were about everything they were growing. Every bed had a story, every new variety had a reason behind it.
There are a few polytunnels close to the nursery, but most of their cut flowers are grown 5 minutes away, on a plot of land behind the local church.
They currently grow across 48 beds, each around 14 metres long, with plenty of plans to keep expanding as demand grows.
They've put a lot into perennials and shrubs, knowing it'll take a few years before they're properly established and ready to cut from, not the easiest decision for a young farm, but one they're confident will be worth it.
In the meantime, their staple annuals (cosmos, scabious, cornflowers, sweet peas and zinnias) fill the gaps, alongside a growing cutting area and indoor space at the nursery.
Megan and Vicky are quick to talk about their team - Safi, who works with them two days a week, and a couple of brilliant freelancers who've genuinely helped them grow faster and take on new areas of the business than they could have managed alone.
What They Grow
Their real loves are wonderfully seasonal: ranunculus and tulips in spring, sweet peas not far behind, and dahlias taking over by late summer. Their style is seasonal and garden-inspired, and they're not afraid of the more unusual textures either - twirling clematis vines, grass seedheads, and many more.
This year, their Butterfly Ranunculus and sweet peas have done really well in the new polytunnel, and they're hoping to grow both crops further next year. Their dahlias are a particular favourite too, started early this year, grown both as cut flowers and as garden-ready plants for the nursery. Dahlias don't travel well when imported, so having a good British source matters more than people might think.
They're also trying violas for the first time this year, working to bring modern bedding varieties back towards the longer stems they were originally bred for as cut flowers, a small but lovely bit of floristry history in progress.
Where Floristry Meets Growing
Right now, most of what Greystone grows goes into their own wedding and event floristry, which is growing year on year.
“It can feel like running two businesses at once, but doing both gives us a good understanding of each side”.
Floristry shows them what florists actually need from a stem. Growing teaches them seasonality, timing, and gives them the confidence to try flowers you wouldn't normally find through wholesale.
As their growing space expands, so does their hope to supply more florists directly. It's still early days, and their space, plans and varieties are expanding all the time.
What do you wish more florists understood about buying British-grown flowers?
"As growers, we can provide florists with much more variety than what can traditionally be imported. If a florist can trust their grower with a colour palette and style, rather than a prescribed list of flowers, they will likely receive things they may have never seen to use in their floristry before."
What advice would you give to florists wanting to start working with a grower?
"Get in touch with your local flower farmer and start to build that connection with one another. It may only be small quantities at the beginning, but by supporting them, you are enabling them to continue to grow their business, and grow more flowers."
It's a lovely, honest way to put it, and one we hear from growers time and time again. Sourcing British flowers directly might take a little more time than placing one wholesale order, but it's a relationship that grows the more you put into it.
Looking Ahead
There's a lot on the horizon for Greystone. The new nursery and polytunnels have opened up the chance to grow plug plants at scale for other flower farmers, alongside their existing nursery retail. They're hoping to join one of the flower hubs connecting growers with florists, which would make buying from them much easier. And next year, they're planning to run workshops, opening up their space for others to come and learn more about cutting and arranging.
How to Buy From Greystone
Greystone already work with a number of florists, and those relationships continue to grow alongside the farm. They genuinely look forward to working with more florists in the future, so if you'd love to work with them, reach out.
The best way is to get in touch directly, and join their mailing list. That way you'll hear first about seasonal availability, gluts of stock, and updates as they grow their offering to florists. It costs nothing to get on a grower's radar early, and as Greystone's wholesale side develops, you'll already be a familiar name.
So don't be afraid to reach out, even if it's just to say hello and ask to be kept in the loop. It's exactly this kind of connection that helps growers like Megan and Vicky keep building a future with florists at the heart of it.
Visiting Greystone reminded me how much passion, patience and hard work goes into every stem before it reaches a florist's bucket. If you're looking to use more British flowers this season, they're well worth getting to know. I have a feeling this is only the beginning of their story, and I'll certainly be following along.
Quick Facts
Based: Holmesfield, Derbyshire (S18), on the edge of Sheffield & Chesterfield.
Best known for: Garden-style British flowers
Ideal for: Wedding & event florists
Wholesale: Direct enquiries welcomed
Mailing list: Recommended
Don't miss: Butterfly ranunculus, sweet peas & dahlias
