South West Carnivorous Plants Crowdfunder

Let’s start with the story of the journey we had…

We are Simon and Marit and we are born and raised in The Netherlands. For years Simon had a company in real estate and Marit had a company in the hardware garden industry. After our daughter Charly was born in 2017, we turned our lives completely. We chose to sell our companies in The Netherlands and planned a travel with our motorhome, starting in Kent, England. We’ve been travelling throughout the United Kingdom for 2,5 months and every day we fell more in love with this beautiful country.

In January 2020 we made one of the biggest choices in our lives and emigrated to the United Kingdom. From that point onwards we started a new life here in Devon. 

South West Carnivorous Plants, a 30-year old nursery

Marit's passion for plants and the shared passion of Simon and Marit for revitalising an existing company into a sustainable company for the future, is the reason we chose to buy an existing plant nursery.

We felt quite lucky to find the specialist nursery ‘South West Carnivorous Plants’, a 30-year established and RHS Chelsea and Malvern Flower Show Gold Medal winning nursery in growing quality Venus Flytraps, Trumpet Pitchers, Sundews and some other carnivorous plants species. Our carnivorous plants are mainly sold online via www.littleshopofhorrors.co.uk.

We are a proud supplier of Eden Project in Cornwall and the Gardens of Highnam Court in Gloucester. A few years ago BBC used our plants for filming some spectacular timelapses of carnivorous plants. We are quite fascinated by this world of carnivorous plant species and we took over the nursery in 2021.

Sustainable growing

Our nursery grows carnivorous plants with sustainability in mind. The plants grow in unheated glasshouses and are adjusted to the UK weather. We aim to recycle our pots as much as possible. Our carnivorous plants thrive best in rainwater, so we collect it in rainwater basins. Carnivorous plants grow naturally best in peat (sphagnum) moss. 

Expanding the nursery, meeting the demand

As we got to know the nursery better, we learned that to be able to provide our customers with the plants and seeds they love, we needed to expand the space of the nursery. The current nursery has about 300 m2 of space for growing plants and harvesting seeds, however the maximum capacity for growing more plants has been reached already for years and that is why we cannot fully supply the current demand. 

Why we launched this Crowdfunding Project

We launched this Crowdfunder project to expand the nursery to approximately 600 m2. For this expansion we will buy: 

- 2 large commercial polytunnels of 250 m2 each
- 36 large second hand nursery tables
- 1 large rainwater reservoir and some small ones

And hire contractors for:
- Infrastructure, levelling and preparing the field
- Assemble the polytunnels

We will relocate the nursery to Dotton Lane in Sidmouth and install the polytunnels on a field surrounded by woodlands and cattle, so our plants will be provided with enough insects. We see lots of opportunities to grow more exclusive species and larger numbers to meet the increasing demand.

Besides that we will be able to convert growing our plants into a peat alternative, because of the ban of peat in 2024 for domestic use and in 2028 for professional plant nurseries in the UK. More space will help us to do trials for growing our plants in new forms of compost.

Donation and rewards

We offer some stunning rewards for your donation, and obviously we are quite excited about our new venture and would love to be able to not only provide in the demand of our passionate customers, but also to be able to conserve these amazing exotic plants.

Trustpilot Customer Reviews 4.5 out of 5

"I have purchased quite a few items from Little Shop Of Horrors now, and can say I have always been satisfied with all items received. I have recommended this service to friends who are interested in creating their own living terrariums."

"Plants arrived quickly and in very good shape. They have already settled in nicely with new traps growing after a week. The pitcher kit is ideal as a gift with everything you need in the box to get you started. Im very happy with my purchase. Thank you."

"Ordered 3 varieties of Venus flytrap. All arrived within a week, well wrapped and moist with an instruction leaflet. I also bought the specialist compost in readiness of having to pot them up in the future."

"I was delighted when I received my order as plants were all healthy and very well packaged. I also received my order fast and will be a return customer, I would definitely recommend."

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! WE LOOK FORWARD TO GROWING MORE OF YOUR FAVOURITE CARNIVOROUS PLANTS.