About Us

More about Essentially Hops & Flowers

Established for over 100 years at family run Chalkpit Farm in Bekesbourne, Essentially Hops is one of Kent’s premier growers and suppliers of traditional hops, hop plant varieties, grasses, lavender and country dried flowers.

Harvested in late summer every year, Its exceptional hops can be used for a variety of purposes from brewing beer to making bread. For more than 30 years though, its prodigious hops have found more decorative applications. From the quintessential cottage décor to stunning event center pieces; the tradition of hanging fresh hops and displaying dried hops has found its way into modern floral and interior design.

Freshly hand-picked throughout the summer months and kiln-dried on the farm, Hops & Flowers also delivers an extensive variety of country dried flowers and dried grasses throughout the year.

Our History

The farm and Essentially Hops is owned by Amanda and Mike Barker who met at Wye Agricultural College.

Amanda’s Grandfather started farming here at Chalkpit Farm in 1954, followed by her father.

In 1989 Amanda’s father decided it was no longer economical to continue growing hops for beer, but kept just one acre to continue the tradition of hanging hops in the farmhouse. It was at this time that Amanda and Mike came to the farm.

Initially to help with the harvest, Amanda and Mike saw an opportunity to sell hops for ‘decoration’ at the farm gates which was a huge success and started to explore the decorative flower market, and so

…and Essentially Hops was born!

30 Years of Essentially Hops

Since its small beginnings, Essentially Hops has developed and grown to become the vibrant business that it is today.

Mike focuses on the farming and growing side whilst Amanda and her small team focus on growing the retail side. Over the years its flowers, hops and grasses have been available to buy in M&S, The Conran Shop, The White Company and Liberty to name a few.

Essentially Hops also frequently supply TV production companies; so you may well have seen its flowers on shows including ‘Richard II’ (BBC2), ‘Primeval’ (ITV), ‘Homemade Homes’ (Channel 4), and ‘Kirstie & Phil’s Perfect Christmas’ (Channel 4).