Ben is the fourth generation of his family to grow flowers commercially and he will be talking about how he grows alstroemeria – and without pesticides or insecticides and using green energy – and why it is important to choose homegrown or not flown blooms.

The talk is FREE and is organised by Chiswick Flower Market and Chiswick Horticultural and Allotment Society.

Ben is an award winning 4th generation grower at Crosslands Flower Nursery which was established in 1936 in West Sussex and is one of the last flower nurseries in the UK producing cut flowers in a full colour range all year-round.

Next to being a fulltime grower, Ben is an avid campaigner for British Flowers and takes any opportunity he can to spread the word that British Flowers Rock!

Ben’s British Alstroemeria is a very sustainable crop. His flowers are not sprayed with any chemicals after being harvested and go into recyclable, reusable boxes and arrive with customers the next day. No soil cooling techniques are used to force production and some flower beds are over 20 years old, still producing premium quality stems. Under 5% of the crop is replanted a year so sterilizing the soil is kept to a minimum.

The British Alstroemeria is known as a ‘Cool Crop’ and a ‘Dry Crop’ so doesn’t take much heat input or watering. Optimum heat at night through the winter is just 13°C via a biomass boiler and the crop is watered for just 20 minutes once a month in the winter and just 20 minutes once every 10 days in the summer unlike flowers grown in warmer countries that use a lot more water resource.

Ben won the Grower Award in 2019 and 2022! And won the Gold Sussex Environmental award in 2020

You can meet Ben at Chiswick Flower Market on 5 March and can also contact him on his social media channels - twitter and Instagram @alstroemeriaben and on facebook at Crosslands Flower Nursery.