As boys they picked blueberries on a Dorset farm and now the Benson brothers blend tradition, flowers and cafe culture at the plantation
Little did brothers Dan and Josh Benson suspect that their school holiday job picking blueberries in a field near their Dorset home would shape their futures. Today that same field is part of their aptly-named Brothers’ Farm, a flourishing pick-your-own blueberry and creative cut flower enterprise near Wimborne.
The brothers had worked summers here as teenagers, harvesting the crop without realising they would later take the reins.
Trehane, the UK’s first (and now oldest) blueberry plantation. His first blueberries were planted in 1951 in his garden – 80 plants from Lulu Island in British Columbia, which were offered free of charge to any grower who was prepared to trial them to see how ‘high bush’ blueberries would perform in this country. They thrived, and in 1957 David planted a whole acre, about 1,000 plants, following with the larger field in 1964. Over the decades, many thousands of visitors came to pick their own berries, and Trehane blueberries gained a loyal following.
After university, Josh Benson qualified as a tree surgeon, and his brother Dan trained in landscape architecture and joinery and worked in London. ‘My wife and I had two youngsters and were living in a one-bedroom flat in London, with us both sleeping on the sofa with the kids in the bedroom. It was a great time up there but, in the end, we just needed more space,’ says Dan. The ‘home of the British blueberry’ was calling, and after seven years of leasing the land, the brothers were eventually able to buy it in 2022.
The grassy bog blooms
With the warm weather ripening the burgeoning organic blueberry crop, their busiest season of fruit picking is fast approaching. The window is short: they have just six weeks to harvest, sell and freeze for next year. This time pressure coincides with increased demand for their other venture – cut flowers. Bouquet orders for summer weddings and events combine with an influx of visitors to their beautiful flower barn seasonal café.
Dan, pencil behind ear, hands grimy with soil and a list of a 1,000 jobs to do, breaks off to chat. Brother Josh is busy in the far field, training protégé Stuart.
Dan has been at the farm since early morning and has already cut more than 300 flower stems. What was once a grassy bog now blooms with colourful rows of phlox, dahlia, delphinium, nigella, salvia, cornflowers and perfect poppies. Behind this floral cornucopia are rustic picnic tables. Visitors are welcome to enjoy coffee and cake in the peaceful flower field.
Image: Sophie Matthews
‘This bit of land was buried under brambles and scrub a few years ago,’ says Dan. ‘I decided to plant a few flower seeds and it’s grown … literally!’
Dan’s sophisticated spreadsheet keeps track of the varieties he grows (at last count that included 15,000 seeds), ensuring a steady seasonal supply of cut flowers.
Their talented resident florist Becca Franklin then works her magic to devise sought-after wedding bouquets. ‘When people visit and see where, and how, the flowers are growing, they understand we can only offer what we grow and what’s in season. We don’t import any flowers. It’s very much field to florist – and that’s about six metres!’
The last few years have seen the conversion of an old potting shed into a rustic flower barn café, the ceiling artistically adorned with sprigs of dried flowers: all the handiwork of the brothers, who seem able to build, grow, mend and repair anything. Dan’s wife Cecily upholsteredthe bright lime and blue chairs.
The barn is home to a thriving flower workshop, offering year-round flower arranging courses and a sell-out flower club.
‘We’ve come a long way, from just me and Josh and one temperamental coffee machine in a shed shared with all our tools,’ says Dan. ‘We’re now open all year round and employ a wonderful team of people led by Fran in the Flower Barn helping us run the café and workshops, while we brothers manage the fields and Becca manages the floristry business.
‘We feel responsible for the legacy. That’s partly why we’ve kept the Trehane name for the blueberry business.
‘But we feel that all the changes we’re making will secure the future of the fields for generations to come.’
As the blueberry picking season kicks in, a host of summer workers swell the ranks.
Who knows – this crop of school-leavers may follow in the Benson brothers’ footsteps and be the next rural entrepreneurs.
Dan’s best blueberry recipe?
‘Mine must be our Blueberry Smoothie. Combine a handful of organic frozen blueberries with a chunk of banana and a little chunk of ginger. Mix with a big splash of apple juice. Healthy and refreshing.’
Image: Sophie Matthews
brothersfarm.co.uk
Blueberry PYO and Flower Barn Cafe open
Wed-Sun, 10am to 4pm.
Trehane Nursery,
Stapehill Road, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7ND
trehaneblueberrypyo.co.uk
