This year marks a very special milestone for us here at Shropshire Petals, it’s our 20th birthday on the 15th of October 2025!
From humble beginnings on our Shropshire family farm to becoming Britain’s leading grower of biodegradable petal confetti, our journey has been filled with colour, creativity, and countless petal confetti moments.
So, to celebrate, we’re taking a little trip down memory lane to share how it all began…
The Seeds Were Sown – 1940s
Our story starts back in 1948 at Lynn South Farm, when John and Daisy Bubb (fondly known as Nanny Bubb) farmed potatoes, sugar beet, cereals, and dairy cattle. Daisy was a keen gardener with a love for flowers. She asked John for a small patch of land to grow her blooms, and by the 1980s, she was selling dried flowers at the Women’s Institute stand in Newport, just for a bit of pin money. Little did she know, those small bunches would inspire generations to come.
Image: Nanny Bubb
The Family Business Blossoms – 1990s
Daisy’s son Michael and his wife Rose took things to the next level, growing the dried flower business to an incredible 150 acres of flower production. But by the end of the 90s, the fashion for dried flowers faded, and demand began to wilt. Even so, the family’s passion for growing never wavered, it just needed a new direction.
Image: Rose Bubb
The Birth of Shropshire Petals – 2005
And then came a bright idea, what if those beautiful flowers could be used in a new way?
After years of keeping petals on the stems, the Bubbs explored removing them to create biodegradable petal confetti. Perfect for weddings, natural, and eco-friendly.
Our first ever order was just 4 litres of petals, 1 lilac, 1 pink, and 2 mixed colours. From that moment, Shropshire Petals was born.
A Growing Success
In 2007, we attended our first wedding show, and 20 years later, we still love meeting so many of you in person at shows across the country.
Image: Jess and Jim at the Shropshire Petals stand
By 2011, the business had passed to the next generation as Jim became boss, marking the start of a new era for our fourth-generation family farm.
Michael Bubb (Father), Rose Bubb (Mother) and Jim Bubb (Son)
Big Moments in Bloom
2012 brought one of our proudest achievements, supplying wheat for more than 4,800 Olympic and Paralympic bouquets at the London Games!
A year later, Country Homes & Interiors featured our story, and Jim and Jess appeared on ITV’s Off the Beaten Track to share how we turned farming into petals.
Then, in 2019, we took our commitment to sustainability to new heights (quite literally!) with ‘Freddie Mercu-Bee’, our giant bee made from cornflowers that made its debut on BBC and ITV.
Image: Our giant bee made from cornflowers
Adapting and Innovating
When the world stood still in 2020, so did weddings. But we didn’t. To keep the team going, we launched our dried flower letterbox bouquets, which became an instant hit! The demand was so high, the team worked weekends just to keep up.
That same year, The One Show came to visit, capturing the first day of harvest as small weddings began to return, a moment of joy after a challenging time.
Image: Rupert, Jim and Jess's son being interviewed by The One Show
Innovation didn’t stop there. In 2022, we welcomed the world’s first delphinium planting and weeding robot, powered by solar energy and guided by GPS technology. A big leap for British flower farming and sustainability.
Image: Our flower planting robot
Opening Our Fields – 2023
After years of requests, we finally opened our flower fields to the public with Shropshire Petal Fields, a collaboration with Shropshire Festivals. Visitors can now wander among the colourful blooms, take photos, and experience the beauty of the petals that make Shropshire Petals so special.
Image: 2025 Shropshire Petal Fields
Resilience and Renewal – 2024 to Today
Despite some of the most challenging weather conditions in 2024, the team harvested over 785,000 handfuls of petals and over 25,000 dried flower bunches, proof of the dedication and care that goes into every stem.
Image: Harvesting petals in our flower field
And now, in 2025, we’re building something new! A state-of-the-art warehouse and office space is underway to bring all parts of the farm together and create a welcoming home for our growing team.
Image: Our new office and warehouse being built
Our Team Behind the Magic
From a team of two to over 30 full-time staff (and 40+ returning seasonal workers each summer), every handful of petals you see is the result of their hard work, creativity, and care.
Image: Some of the team enjoying the petal fields
We’re so proud of the people who make Shropshire Petals what it is today.
Thank You for 20 Wonderful Years
From Daisy’s first flowers to millions of petals tossed at weddings across the world, it’s been an incredible journey. To all our customers, supplier friends, and supporters, thank you for being part of our story, it really wouldn't be possible without you.
Image: SP customers Richard & Verity | Captured by Fraser McGee Weddings
Here’s to the next 20 years of petals, celebrations, and confetti moments!
Love SP x
