British alstroemeria

Our autumn seasons started on a high with Ben Crossland telling us all about his family business growing alstroemeria near Arundel. His great grandparents started the business in the 1930s when they applied to the Land Settlement Association and were given a plot at Siddlesham. They grew a varied crop on their small holding very successfully, with the government buying their produce for supermarkets and shops all over the south of England. They spotted the need to start growing a single specialised crop and made the move to their current location in 1957 when the government scheme started to fail as cheap imports meant the supermarkets no longer wanted want their varied and unpredictable supplies.

Today they grow over 70 varieties of alstroemeria in their greenhouses, cropping throughout the year. Because they are a ‘cool crop’ they need only a little heat in winter to keep them growing and a ‘dry crop’ means they need relatively small amounts of watering. Ben described the entire 5 to 6 week process needed to import similar flowers from countries like Columbia, and its environmental costs, and then explained the one week needed to get his flowers from growing to the shop floor. He discussed the supermarkets motivation for buying imported flowers, in particular the lower cost and the tiny margins that cause them to reject British grown flowers.

This was a fascinating and inspiring talk that made for a lively discussion over refreshments. Our members will certainly be seeking out the small shops and market stalls where his wonderful, fresh flowers are sold locally, and if we do buy from supermarkets we will be reading the labels more carefully and making informed choices.