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Seasonal ingredients sourced from Dorset’s secret garden

Storybook skincare starts with a storybook supplier, whose passion for sustainable plant cultivation provides quality fresh ingredients grown on Lush’s doorstep.

The successes of gardening come from failure, from trying new things and seeing what works or what doesn’t. You’ve got to be patient with crops, and get good at failing as that’s how you succeed - the biggest tool is making mistakes. Don’t fight nature, it will win.

- Dan, Garden Designer at Careys Secret Garden

Written by: Lou Harrison - Ingredient Writer and Coordinator
Published: June 2026
Read time: 3 minutes

What is Careys Secret Garden?

Nestled in green woodland just outside of Wareham, a mere 10 miles from Poole where our Dorset manufacturing site and Fresh Kitchen are located, you’ll find a spot fit for a fairytale. Careys Secret Garden supplies us with seasonal fresh produce ripe for adding to our cosmetics.

Careys is tucked in a previously disused Victorian walled garden, dating back to the 1880s. The garden was out of use and growing wild by the 1970s, but in 2019,  it was rediscovered in all its untamed majesty. Now, the 150-year-old garden walls have been reimagined to create a serene, sustainable horticultural hub that focuses on nature restoration and regeneration. 

What ingredients do we source from Careys?

Lush UK source fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and even flowers from Careys Secret Garden, depending on need, season, and availability. Whilst we also use other suppliers to maintain year-round availability, all of whom are approved by our creative buying team, Careys close proximity gives us the freedom to create seasonal offerings with the freshest ingredients to reflect the time of year. So in late Spring, you might find asparagus from Careys in your fresh face mask, whereas later in the summer, it could be cucumber. 

Feeling herbal? Careys is also one of our suppliers of fresh whole mint, sage, rosemary and thyme. Beyond the botanical (though the bees might argue otherwise), Lush has even featured honey from Careys in limited edition products. Our buyers are always exploring new fresh ingredients, such as rhubarb and strawberries, based on successful growing periods and availability at Careys. 

Depending on the time of year and availability, here are some products where you might find fresh ingredients grown at Careys Secret Garden:

Seasonal delights from seed to skin

Lush product inventors have always taken inspiration from nourishing, fresh-grown produce. When it comes to our fridge-fresh Ultrafresh Box, Product Inventor Michelle champions local ingredients and knows when certain plants are grown at Careys. She plans the boxes around the seasons, waiting patiently for ingredients to grow, supplementing with fresh ingredients from other suppliers too. Whilst this intentional approach to product invention can be challenging when environmental factors impact growing rates, it really highlights Lush’s epithet of fresh and handmade - all the way from seed to your skin. 

Similarly, many of our other fresh products use seasonal ingredients, also locally sourced where possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables receive a vast stream of nutrients while growing, which start to deplete once harvested. Thankfully, sourcing ingredients from Careys (when we can) means we can add them to Ultrafresh formulas as quickly as possible, alongside other ingredients, to deliver maximum benefits.

How does Careys Secret Garden support nature restoration and regeneration?

Careys has sustainability at the heart of their work. Their goal is to nurture a space where visitors can see regeneration in action, be educated and feel inspired to become environmental guardians. What is regeneration? Quite simply, it’s the renewal of degraded land. Careys regenerative approach safeguards the area for the future by observing and mimicking nature’s processes and using practices such as peat-free soil and organic principles to help ensure healthier ecosystems. Plants are grown seasonally, chosen with restoration of the land and respect for changing weather patterns in mind. Gardener Dan describes seasonal unpredictability as the biggest challenge for the garden: “It’s a good learning opportunity as you have to read the weather and change gardening techniques, which you can’t understand from a quick Google search. We lost a whole batch of cucumbers before realising what went wrong and how to prevent it!”

Careys investment in rewilding stretches beyond their growing practices. The secret garden has proved to be not-so-secret to protected species. Since 2022, it’s been home to Southern England’s first breeding pair of Ospreys in almost 200 years, who have nested in the grounds. What a way to exist in harmony with nature!

Explore our Fresh range and monthly UltraFresh Box to get your hands (or feet, or face…) on your Lush faves, featuring ingredients fresh from Careys Secret Garden.

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