The History of R. F. Lawrence & Sons

R. F. Lawrence and Sons, our parent company, has over 50 years horticultural experience. The family partnership includes Reg and Joyce Lawrence and their sons Trevor and Nigel. They are the only large-scale producer of Chrysanthemum blooms in the UK. Trevor Lawrence, along with Don Wright and Martyn Flint, set up Chrysanthemums Direct early last year to sell young plants direct to you.

Since the begining, in 1958, there has been a vast transformation of the business, from a County Council smallholding, with approximately two acres of bare land, to now being privately owned by the Lawrence family. The land area now totals approximately 35 acres, of which the glasshouse coverage is currently 5.5 acres.

In the early years, sales were mainly to small, local retailers and to New Smithfield Market in Manchester. Currently, supply is to most major wholesale markets in the North, North West, Midlands and North East. Since 2008 we have been supplying our Chrysanthemum blooms to Marks and Spencer.

Many different varieties of flowers have been grown over the years by the Lawrence family, including Stocks, Iris and Sweet Williams. However, the main core of the business has always remained with the production of many varieties of Chrysanthemum. This has enabled them to become specialists in all stages of production, from propagation, using their own virus-free stock, to the finished product. They are now one of the few remaining bloom Chrysanthemum producers in the country, cutting annually some 1.1 million blooms.

We have an in-house florist shop, Country Flowers Florist. Our trained staff can supply a variety of flowers for any occasion. They specialise in weddings and can travel to any part of the country to help make your special day perfect.