Gillyflower Farm
On the slopes of the Fowey Valley, an extraordinary
adventure into productive gardening is growing..
The Gillyflower mission
At Gillyflower, we’ve set ourselves a challenge; to produce quality food on a commercial scale whilst working to create a healthier, more bio-diverse and resilient landscape.
With diversity at its heart, Gillyflower Farm is challenging the conventions of commercial agriculture by introducing varieties of fruit and vegetables seldom seen at this scale for centuries. Growing in harmony with the demands of the landscape and local wildlife, we are unearthing unusual and peculiar varieties of crops, many of which you won’t find in any supermarket, whilst challenging the limits of what its possible to grow in Cornwall as our climate continues to change.
With all our crops, we’re prioritising quality and flavour over quantity and uniformity, challenging convention as we regenerate the land around us.
The Orchard
With 14 different varities of apple, including the famous Gillyflower, cherries, gages, mulberries and more - we’re bringing traditionally planted orchards back to the Fowey valley, producing a biodiversity hotspot for local wildlife, and supplying local markets and businesses with crops not readily found anywhere else.
The Potager
The potager garden aims to unearth unusual and peculiar varieties of vegetables, challenging conventional ideas of what can and cannot be grown in our changing Cornish climate. Our passion to prioritise quality and flavour over quantity and uniformity opens a whole new world of cropportunities...
Our story
When choosing a site for our next pioneering horticultural adventure, an old dairy farm and golf course with depleted soils and poor biodiversity may not have seemed like a great option – but at Gillyflower farm we’re not afraid to challenge convention. Whilst industrial agricultural practices have stripped our crop choices down to a few tried and tested plants, adored for their high yields and freezability, not for their flavour or uniqueness, our farm is a little different.
Across our land we’re growing a wide variety of crops, many of which you wouldn’t imagine could be grown in Cornwall. Some are rare heritage varieties on the verge of dying out whilst others are crops which have never been grown in the UK on a commercial scale before – this is about plant and crop experimentation not just conservation. Each seed dropped into our soil is there with the purpose of showcasing crop varieties that you won’t find in any supermarket, all whilst working with the local environment to test the limits of what it’s possible to grow in Britain as our climate continues to change.
This is uncharted horticultural territory and we know that not everything we try is going to work. The importance of our journey is that we can learn as much from our failures as our successes. By exploring agricultural practices which are in harmony with the environment as well as finding markets for traditionally overlooked crops, it’s our mission to develop commercial agriculture for the better.
Latest from the farm
Gillyflower Golf Course
Aside from pioneering gardening adventures, Gillyflower Farm is also home to one of Cornwall’s top golfing experiences.