My Country Life: Rosebie Morton of The Real Flower Company

Rosebie Morton founded The Real Flower Company in 1999. Her vision was to grow and sell beautiful scented flowers, putting provenance, sustainability and good business ethics at the forefront of her business. She has two London stores, one in Chelsea and the other in Hampstead, and sells to florists and at farmers’ markets in the southeast.

Were you brought up in the country?
I come from an army background, so we moved all over the world: Malaysia, Cyprus, Germany, Kenya. And wherever we went, my mother would take a rose bush or two with her to plant. My maternal grandmother was based in Hampshire and had the most beautiful garden. So I remember that incredible scent when I was growing up. It sticks with you for life. 

Can you describe your home?
I live on a farm in Hinton Ampner in Hampshire, in the South Downs National Park. My husband is a farmer and we built our own house, which we love, in 2008. We took down an old barn with a corrugated roof and built on that footprint, so we’ve ended up with an open timber-framed house with a big kitchen. It has wood cladding and we sourced local bricks and old tiles for the roof. It’s in the most idyllic spot – our neighbours are deer and pheasants.

Why did you choose this particular location?
It was what we had! And it’s just above the flower paddock, where the business is based. We are very lucky – it’s glorious.

How would you describe the style of your home?
The house is quite barn-like, but practical. Because it is small, having a cellar has made a huge difference. We’ve put all the utilitarian stuff down there and have a ground-source pump, which does all the heating and hot water. It’s clad in wood, so it sits beautifully in the landscape. We did the rounds of reclamation yards, finding doors and hinges and baths. It was quite an undertaking.

How do your surroundings influence your work?
My surroundings are my work. They’re my inspiration. I’ve always been affected by what’s around me, from my grandmother’s rose garden to walking along beaches in the north of Scotland, where we used to go on very cold holidays. Nature has always played a huge role in what I stand for. I grew up knowing how important scent was. That’s why we specialise in garden roses. My aim has always been to bring scent back into the industry. We go for blooms with character and use lots of herbs in our bouquets. When I set up, my vision was to be able to dispatch flowers in a box that you could open up and the smell would be the first thing to hit you.

Is there a house locally that you covet?
Hinton Ampner – it’s a beautiful National Trust place next door to us, and sits in the most wonderful countryside. It was built in Tudor style, then they put on a Georgian front. It gives thousands of people a huge amount of pleasure every year. It’s got a sweet church, too, and the gardens are incredible. 

Any galleries in the area that you love?
One of my friends has a lovely old barn at Lane End Farm, two miles from Hinton Ampner – she hosts a pop-up gallery there twice a year. There’s a local artist called Paul Treasure who does the most wonderful wild paintings – he sometimes features there and I’ve bought his work. And Stockbridge has the super Wykeham Gallery, which has fabulous landscapes and abstracts. 

And your favourite local markets?
Winchester Farmers’ Market was one of the first to set up, years ago. There’s so much good local produce that finds its way there. It’s on every second and final Sunday of each month, but I wish it was every week, as they are in France, so you could rely on it for your regular shop. 

What do you love most about where you live?
It’s the beauty of nature: it’s always changing. My commute down to work is a walk through hundreds of different flowers and foliages, and the wildlife is extraordinary. Sometimes we’ll drive up to a farmers’ market at 6am, open up the back of the van and, within 30 seconds, the bees have found us.

The Real Flower Company

Main image: Rosebie Morton with Willa, her dog