A bit about us...
Our main line of business is selling native wildflower plants at specialist Plant Fairs (we do upwards of 40 per year) and giving expert talks. We also do mail order so that people unable to visit us at Fairs, and from further afield, can enjoy our very special 'super-plugs'.
Here is a little bit about what makes us tick, so you can decide if we are the right company for you...
🌸We sell huge bare-root wildflower plugs for roughly the same price as mini-plugs from most other sellers, so that they establish quickly, in the place you put them, and using only 20% of the compost you would get in a potted plant. You can see a photo-example of one of our plugs, on the Home page.
🌸We don't sell seed. Sowing alone is not the best and most effective way to establish wildflower projects, although it is perfectly feasible in many situations (what other part of our garden - be it rockeries, borders, veg plots or containers, do we try to create by simply chucking some seed down onto bare earth, and crossing our fingers. So why do we expect that to work for wildflower projects?!) Many wildflowers take a long time to germinate and grow. Big plants are faster and more effective, and can be plugged straight into existing habitats (like meadows). Seed is much more expensive at scale than it used to be. We discuss this more in some of our advice sections, and of course, you can do a mix of both sowing and planting.
🌸We are on a mission to reverse the cataclysmic decline in U.K. native wildflowers over the last 50 years (97% of our wildflowers have been lost in that time). Did you know that a 1-acre wildflower meadow can lock away up to 3 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide per year, helping to considerably offset your carbon footprint? This is in stark contrast to a mown lawn, where the weekly production of lush clippings adds to climate change by releasing methane.
🌸We exhibit and sell without using plastic. What's the point in posting you a native wildflower for the benefit of nature, if you have to chuck away plastic wrapping or yet another plastic pot that cannot be recycled, further ruining our oceans, or ending up in landfill? That includes not using plastic labels (so many 'eco companies' still do this, and it's just as a big an environmental problem as the pots!) - we write inside the box. When you open your box from us, there will be no 'firework explosion' of glossy leaflets and polystyrene packing material - just your plants, and a degradable material or meadow hay to protect them.
🌸We are small, but perfectly formed. People have got used to next day delivery, from giant anonymous organisations who preach green credentials whilst destroying our Planet. We are the opposite - "Old School" - a family business, based next to Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, right next to the River Trent. You don't get next day delivery in a shiny box. You do get quality, grown with love, care and expertise, and it is 100% traceable and authentic.
🌸You will NEVER get spam emails from us. We don't even do a mailing list! We don't track you and send your details to other companies and a 'cookie' is still a biscuit to us. But we do have a growing entourage of happy followers - 35% of our customers last year, were repeats.
🌸We don't employ anyone outside of the family. Our brand matters to us. You benefit from this care in what we do.
🌸We have an almost perfect Trustpilot score. Sometimes things happen that are outside of our control (i.e. the postal service), or a plant may not be to your satisfaction. If you were to be unhappy with anything we sell you, you'd get a refund or replacement immediately, not days down the line after being made to fill out a form and provide photo-evidence! We respond to all of our reviews - good or less so.
🌸We know what we are talking about, through the blood, sweat, tears and whoops of joy that come from experience. We have made hectares of wildflower meadows and re-wilded multiple sites. We know what works. And what doesn't! Our main Man (Ed) is a Master in Biochemistry from Oxford and an experienced public speaker on his subject. So it's science as well as experience that informs us.
🌸Our knowledge extends beyond wildflowers, to the nature and biodiversity associated with them. We are particular experts in native Butterflies and Birds. We do around 30 expert talks to a range of audiences every year (see the menu tab above), incorporating topics as broad as wildlife pond creation, climate change and meadow creation.
🌸We share this knowledge for FREE. Our Youtube videos are not monetised (and we do not do product placement).
🌸Best of all you can talk to us. Remember that - when you could ring someone or email someone just to talk through your ideas and options, without getting an over-bearing car salesman on the other end of the line? You are allowed to risk asking stupid questions, because we are all ignorant of something, and not everyone has spent their life gardening and growing wildflowers, so tap into people that have. Not only don't we mind getting general (no obligation to buy) enquiries, we love it. We don't even care if you buy our plants, as long as more and more people turn to re-wilding in one way or another.
🌸Oh, and we've been known to cry with happiness when the first butterflies appear in our latest wildflower patch...
If any or all of that appeals, have a browse of our shop, speak to us, watch one of our Youtube videos or visit us at one of the Events on our Plant Fair calendar.
Regardless, thank you for visiting us, and most of all, for considering joining the hundreds of thousands of people now aware of the vital need to restore lost wildflowers.
Meadowmakers