Greens of Devon
Edible flowers and unusual garnishes for an exquisite finish to your wedding food and drink
Who are we...
Greens of Devon is a rural family micro-business, established in 2008, alongside a new vineyard near Silverton, in Devon. All the work is done by two partners, Ivan and Janice.
Express the unique magic of your wedding at every stage with the fresh beauty of our flowers and garnishes. From cocktails to canapés, wherever you want that special touch, that will delight your guests, an edible flower will complete the unique picture you paint.
Edible flowers are remarkably versatile- you can use them in any and every dish, sweet, savoury, even umami: we can offer you a seasonal flower for whatever takes your fancy.
Perhaps the most spectacular use of flowers is on wedding cakes. There is something magical about the beauty of flower petals. Just like a good cake – their sweetness will be remembered for years to come.
But their delicacy also works for starters – soups or seafood, for example. Main courses are lightened by the prettiness of the flowers, either whole or shredded, and desserts are made sumptious by the deep colours and textures of the flowers.
Sustainability and environmental issues have always been at the forefront of our business. We purchased our land in 2008, really happy in the knowledge that it had been organically farmed for a number of years. Our desire was to build upon this and continue to respect the land we were now looking after.
We collect and plant our own seed, and we compost plants at the end of their natural life, continually recycling vegetative matter in an (almost) closed loop. We don’t use artificial light or heat, so our energy use is close to zero. Any energy that is used, is solar powered. We are fully “off grid” with the land and elements providing what is needed for us and our business.
We don’t use the intensive methods of some herb and flower growers – we practice companion planting rather than monoculture, and we always prefer to work with natural cycles rather than against them. This means shorter seasons for us and our produce, and we think that’s the right way to do it. For fertiliser and soil improvement we use only organic manure from a nearby farmer, and compost which is locally sourced. We have been rewarded in recent years by the appearance of skylarks, stonechats, dozens of buzzards and even a red kite, not to mention the bats and swallows that swoop around our beautiful corner of Devon.
In the past couple of years we have welcomed beekeepers to install hives onto our land, to tap into the vast nectar bar of our edible flowers, an invaluable asset to encourage the declining bee population.
All watering is done by hand and solar powered sprinklers, using the water from the well on our land.
Our end product of edible flowers and herbs are all packaged into recyclable trays, uniquely designed by us, with separate pockets to protect the different sizes of flowers in transit, thus eliminating the need for insulating materials such as polystyrene or chiller packs. The outer cardboard packaging is completely biodegradable. All the orders are sent via the local Post Office, helping to ensure its continuing existence for the local community and ploughing money back into the local economy.
The process of planting trees, maintaining hedgerows, recycling, reusing and continually enriching our land is never ending, but one we regard as extremely fulfilling and necessary. We hope you think so too.