My story

I am Naomi Haynes, the founder of Hop and Hay. 

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The roots of Hop & Hay stem back to my dad (The Hop in the name), who was an old school plants-man and Head Gardener to a private estate. I spent my summer holidays working alongside him, learning how to get the best out of each plant creatively for a beautiful and collective effect. During this time I also worked at a local organic farm which specialised in arable farming. Between them, I gained a strong foundation of respect for the behaviour of our local soil and the importance of restoring lost ecosystems back into residential gardens. 

I went on to study Marine Biology and then Nutrition, but after 5 years I acknowledged that my real love remained still out in the garden, with the microbes in the soil rather than the microbes in our guts. I began working with my dad again, studying Horticulture in the evenings, where Hop and Hay began as a father/daughter duo until he retired in 2022. 

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