SUSTAINABILITY

AS A BUSINESS

One of the most significant issues in business is exploitation of labour, that we rely on people in other countries to produce things very cheaply so that we can have access to goods that we can then dispose of without thought.

The people in my paper supply chain are responsibly employed and as many of my other suppliers as possible are UK-based. If you want to throw them away, please do feel free. Chuck the seeds on a spare bit of ground and the packaging on a compost heap.

My packaging is as plastic free as I can make it, although I do use little bits of sellotape. I am actively trying to find plastic free alternatives to this. The gift boxes I use are beautiful and high quality to encourage re-use, but they are recyclable if you don’t want to.

AS A GARDENER/FLORIST

I do not use oasis (floral foam). I never have and I never will. It is not only very nasty stuff but it is not necessary. I have always used re-useable alternatives such as chicken wire scrunched in balls and flower frogs.

I do use plastic pots as well as newspaper root trainers for sweet peas. However, three years ago, I invested in a large job lot of high quality plastic 9cm square pots. These fit together so I can get more on a tray without gaps, and as soon as one plant gets put out, then it gets refilled and another seed goes in. I make every effort to prevent them getting back into landfill.

I source seeds from UK suppliers where possible and where I cannot raise the seed myself. I use local nurseries for compost, again, where I cannot make my own. I find that their choice of products is better than the garden centres because they are both the buyer and the user, and so they are picky about really good compost mixes.

For the big annual top dress, I order ten tonnes of recycled green waste from our local Viridor. Oh and a pile of cow muck from the farmer on the other side of the village.