Faced with the challenge of identifying a viable range of diversification options for their 140-acre farm near Inverbervie, Ailsa and Jan-Georg Van Rooyen decided to include flowers in the mix.
They are now members of a Scottish network of 60 “Flowers from the Farm” growers who are striving to reclaim the cut-flower market from imported suppliers.
For Ailsa, current output from Sillyflatt Fare, Flowers and Gathering, located at her family’s Sillyflatt Farm, is based on a relatively modest one-acre plot of cut flowers, with the three-year-old venture running alongside the production of farm eggs and geese for the Christmas market.
“Sillyflatt has been in my family for the last 70 years but, like many other units of this size, needed to embrace diversification in order to have a future,” said Ailsa.
She said one diversification option was to grow herbs but this was ruled out as the family decided that plenty of people were already doing that in the local area, and doing it well.
“Growing flowers to provide people with more local buying options then emerged as an attractive proposition,” said Ailsa.