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29
Aug
‘We’re pick-your-own with a pretty pub garden’: The wildflower experience taking Harrogate by storm
In the heart of the North Yorkshire countryside is a 10-acre field full of flowers.
People wander through the colourful wildflowers and tall sunflowers, picking bunches to take home before grabbing a coffee and cake or pizza with their family.
It is truly idyllic.
The farm, The Flower Belt Harrogate, is founded and run by – rather unexpectedly - a 27-year-old man, as part of a fifth-generation family farm.
John Houseman always knew he wanted to go into agriculture, but with the farm already packed with his extended family members he decided to branch out and diversify.
Mr Houseman said:
I wanted to do my own thing a little bit. So I rented this 10 acres from the farm, off my dad and uncle. They do dairy, arable and pigs at the farm a mile and a half down the road.
Visitors can pick wildflowers or sunflowers.
His university friend, Henry Wainwright, started The Flower Belt in Helmsley four years ago, and after seeing its success Mr Houseman approached him asking if he wanted to franchise.
And so, in just 18 months, The Flower Belt Harrogate was born.
Despite only opening last month (July 2026), it has been a roaring success, with thousands of vases worth of flowers sold.
Mr Houseman puts this down to not only being a pick-your-own experience, but a community hub - especially when the bar is open from Friday to Sunday.
He said:
We’re different from the normal pick-your-own experiences. It’s not just about picking flowers, people come here to get a coffee and bring their laptop and do work here. We get people through the week – because we don’t charge entry – it’s more a community place.
It’s great to see villagers from the local area coming repeatedly every weekend for a beer or bottle of wine and a pizza with their family. That’s what we’ve seen a lot this summer. People know they can come here having made no plans but will know somebody here. People drive here, leave their car overnight and get the bus back home.
We also have classes - circuit training with a PT, yoga classes, Pilates, live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. This Wednesday we have a lady who does kids’ storytelling coming in, and there’s 40 kids in total coming to listen. We’re hoping it gains more popularity when we open again next year.
The venue also has a tent for enjoying coffee, pizza and drinks.
The Harrogate Flower Belt, just off the A61 between Ripon and Harrogate, offers coffee and cake from 10am, and pizza from 12pm.
This year the farm will be closing in September, but in the future Mr Houseman hopes it will have a broader offering – from tulips in the Spring to pumpkin picking in October, just like its sister site does.
The Flower Belt also works hard to support the local community. Mr Houseman said:
All our produce is Yorkshire. The beer is from North Yorkshire, apple juice is from North Yorkshire, the coffee is from Malton, we have a local honey supplier. Even the loos are from a couple of local young lads. The cakes and sausage rolls are from Hunters of Hemsley – everything’s local.
After going to university to study agriculture, Mr Houseman realised that the margins in farming were “rubbish” and instead went to work for a building company as site manager for four years, before starting up his own building company, ICG Construction.
He said:
This isn’t my full time job – without a doubt it’s a hobby. My main focus is the building company – I employ eight people – this is on the side. I don’t have a lot of time to do practical farming, but I like to get involved in what’s going on in the office – the numbers and the business side.
Family farms have got to a point where they’re not generating enough money to support all the family members, so you’ve having to go out there and find other things that will. That’s the main story here.
The experience has been a huge success.
Mr Houseman explains how the current legislation harms British farmers, with cheaper imported food undercutting them – allowed to be sold here despite having lower welfare standards.
He said:
The UK government regulates us to the top so we have to jump through so many hoops to make sure everything is bang on. But in a lot of these countries where we’re importing this stuff cheaply they don’t have to jump through the same hoops – so again we’re at a disadvantage.
It’s been like this for years. British farmers want to be at the forefront of higher welfare but it’s annoying when you’re undermined, that’s the bit that people can’t stand.
We need more places like Fodder, by the Yorkshire Showground, which is just stuffed full with Yorkshire produce. It’s amazing, such good quality, and that’s how it should be.
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