Business is blooming for West Dorset women who will be following in the footsteps of Benedictine monks when they bring gardening back to Abbotsbury Abbey Barns.

Abbey Farm Flowers is a brand-new flower farm set in Abbotsbury, where Amy Ralph and Emma Hughes are hoping to grow seasonal, sustainable flowers and offer the public the chance to pick their own bouquets with family and friends.

Both from countryside and horticultural backgrounds, Amy and Emma are excited to be taking on a new challenge.

Amy said: "Our aim is to grow seasonal flowers in a sustainable manner, to supply local shops, sell on site and also welcome visitors to come and pick their own flowers.

"Too many cut flowers are still flown in from all over the world, and many are grown in regimes using exploited labour and pesticides at dangerous levels.

"British-grown flowers are gathering strength as people discover the joy of an eco-friendly, ever-changing bunch of flowers, and with awareness growing, weddings and funerals are also going green.

"Our flowers are absolutely buzzing with bees, hoverflies, butterflies and all sorts of wildlife and there will be no air miles or intercontinental shipping with our flowers. Sustainability is key to what we do and how we do it, and we will endeavour to keep plastics, packaging and waste to a minimum.

"We hope Abbey Farm Flowers will be a lovely day out for everyone, to come and spend time surrounded by flowers, in a unique historical setting will be such a treat."

They are planning to use a no-dig method - this means instead of disturbing the ground, they will mulch with compost and plant into that. This method of growing minimises inputs in terms of fertilisers, water use and more and means there will be no need for heavy machinery or heavy groundworks.

Amy and Emma have also launched a Crowdfunding campaign to "get people excited" and sell 'pick your own' sessions in advance. This can be found here.

Amy added: "We have a long road ahead of us, but can't wait to welcome people to come and share the colour and life of our flower patch. Just give us some time to get some seeds in the ground first."

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