When you find a sweet spot it is wonderful if you can then use it to start a business and do what you love. That is exactly what a couple in Shoscombe have done, turning their love for the humble and eternally-popular sweet pea, into the eco-friendly business Single Hill Flowers.

Nub News went along to find out more, discovering that their passion for Lathyrus odoratus has turned into something very special.

Alice is in her wonderland

Alice who runs the business, alongside her husband and looking after her children, AND another job told us: " It is really wonderful to find something you love, which you can then develop into a business. We are still learning and experimenting with what works but it is a total joy.

Alice Souad and her husband started growing sweet peas when they lived in a tiny rental home and it was love at first bloom. " It was just so exciting and we got such a kick out of growing sweet peas we gave bunches away as presents and everyone really liked them. So then we saved the seeds and started growing more.

"When we moved to Shoscombe it seemed inevitable that we would use our big garden to grow sweet peas. So that is what we did."

The couple recycle and re-use as much as they can planting those seeds in re-cycled pots, milk cartons - whatever they have to hand,

They make their own mulch and compost and use the local horse manure ; with a clay soil they need to mix it with something to make it lighter. That said they are also experimenting with what works, so currently putting the contents of the compost bin straight into the ground, mix it and letting it decompose directly. What is unusual is that neither Alice or her husband have a background in horticulture. " It is a new found passion. It is such a beautiful place to live in we wanted to do something in the garden. We needed something to run along side other jobs and looking after their children. So it all fitted and it's really exciting. "We are growing slowly, digging more ground as we grow, expanding within our capabilities. But they are all home-grown flowers so we do not force things, we start them on the window sill, and then plant out whenever we can." So now the flower range has grown from just sweet peas, to cornflowers, dahlias, zinnia, nicotiana, violas... all kinds of flowers.. but again only if they are British.

Why people love sweet peas

"They just smell amazing. We sell them in dried them as well - and last year we sold some as confetti as dried petals. Sweet peas are just a delight, we are flooded with flowers you cut them and they come again. They are joyful. Hopefully next year we still have even more space to grown in our garden." Of course there is always the weather and in the short time the business has been operating they have had storms, floods, and high temperatures. This year the early warmth meant flowers early for Mother's Day and now, when we visited, a late frost. Now they are waiting for the big burst in their season and will hopefully be able to offer up buckets of flowers too, for churches for instance or for those doing their own weddings.

Where can you see Single Hill Flowers ?

You can meet Single Hill Flowers at the Somerset Farmers Market in Midsomer Norton and they will also be at Peasedown Party in the Park. You can also buy direct: HERE: Flowers should not be forced

Alice is passionate about encouraging people to think again about local beauty. " People need to be made aware of what beautiful British flowers there are and there are also lots of new growers too.

British flowers are so beautiful, they look so much more vibrant than forced varieties. People are used to seeing just the range in a supermarket, but they need to be educated on what people can get from the local land."

The slug whisperer

Obviously it is not all sweetness in the garden, they have their share of pests. Like slugs - losing 30 larkspur to them last month, while last year slugs wiped out all the couple's cornflowers. The only only flowers they didn't seem to like were foxgloves, which they never touched. Alice admits: " I just cant bring myself to kill them in any way, I go out at night with a torch and then collect them and put them back in the middle of the garden, who knows maybe they will learn eventually not come back, " she laughs. " We want to find out what works best on our land, and find out which plants work well. Right now we just have planted out a big long strip of garlic on the edge of beds which does seem to stop many pests. "We also experiment with different planting times, so starting sweet peas in the autumn, we are just experimenting with succession sowing so you always have something coming up. We are trying to make it work the best way with the land we have, so we try to fit in with what we have."