Hello and welcome to today's episode: it's Tuesday 19 August 2025.

Lots of successes over the weekend: the fat hose worked brilliantly to transfer water from the back of the van to IBC1; the fence panels are up around the newly-cleared area and they're secure; there is now a skirt of chicken wire around the fence panels to keep unwanted creatures out; and the dahlias are looking incredible and very big! Some bad news: the new flower hub launch has been postponed until September, and poorly Dolores the duck has been to the vet for treatment: fingers crossed that she will pull through.

I've been reading one of my new flowering farming books like a crazy person over the weekend and have realised just how much I don't know! As former US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, said in 2002 "There are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns." Well, I have learnt a lot this weekend about the 'unknown unknowns'! In today's episode I list many of the things which I didn't know anything about and which have undoubtably contributed to me being in the current situation.

I'll be carrying on with the reading and learning this week and will let you know how I get on in the next episode: I very much hope that you'll come back and join me on Friday.

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and welcome to tonight's episode on Friday 15 August 2025.

Lots to tell you! No more navel gazing about how badly I feel I'm doing! This week I was sent a message by a very kind listener from the USA with a book recommendation: Flower Farming for Profit by Lennie Larkin. I ordered the book, it arrived today and it looks brilliant and just what I need. I then did some more research and ordered another book by Lisa Mason Ziegler called The Cut Flower Handbook, which also arrived today and looks amazing. So I'll be reading these straight away and I'll report back to you.

I've been preparing my availability list for the Flower Festival I'm supplying at the end of August and liaising with the organiser. I can't wait for it to happen. It will be a big order for me and given the hot weather we've been having, it's important that I get all the flowers in the best possible condition. This evening I joined my dahlia expert, Richard Bailey, for his annual 'Dahlia Talk' on his allotment, which was lovely, and I talk about this too.

Finally, I end the episode with my Five Top Lessons for setting up a cut flower plot. Given that I'm a novice, these are just things I've learnt from bitter experience and I hope they're helpful. I really hope that you enjoy tonight's episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one!

Books I Talk About Today (with links to their websites). It's always nice to buy books from your local independent bookshop but often this isn't possible, either because books are expensive (especially hardback ones) or if you live in a rural area you might not even be able to. And this is ok. Shop around for second-hand options and do what works for you and your budget.

Flower Farming for Profit by Lennie Larkin https://www.flowerfarmingforprofit.com/

The Cut Flower Handbook by Lisa Mason Ziegler https://thegardenersworkshop.com

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and welcome. It's Tuesday 11 August 2025 and it's really hot (yet again).

We're in the midst of heatwave no. 4 right now and so I've been busy watering and mulching with bark to keep the moisture locked into the soil and try to slow the weeds down. In many places on the plot I have the healthiest and best-looking nettles in the world right now.

I seriously considered quitting this weekend (partly because I had a cold from hell) but I refuse to be beaten by the weather and my inexperience so I'm ploughing on. I've been questioning the route that I decided to take (wholesale only) and then wondering how I would re-do my marketing plan if I tried selling elsewhere. I got well and truly stuck inside a whirlwind of indecision and overwhelm.

On a positive note, at the end of the episode I share some tips with you after I came to some realisations recently: I hope they're food for thought. I really hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one.

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello, it's Friday 8 August 2025.

You're joining me for this episode on the plot: it's a truly beautiful evening and at one point a bat actually flies right over my head. This week has been good in terms of the cut flowers and my lovely event florist collected an order from me this morning. I have also got my car back from the mechanic and my cold has gone, so all round, it's a win.

I've got dahlia news for you from my mentor and expert dahlia grower, Richard Bailey, after my visit to see him this afternoon for one of our regular catchups. He talked me through his dis-budding process and my brain melted halfway through: it's complicated! There is a knack to dahlias but the results are well worth the effort.

This week there has been the usual deadheading, cutting, conditioning and arranging, as well as some emergency staking of the snaps. Do your staking well in advance! There have also been the (fairly standard) crisis of confidence and feelings of failure this week: if you're experiencing the same, I hear you. Growing cut flowers for sale is a steep learning curve: the highs are very high, and the lows are equally low but it's certainly never boring.

I hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one!

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and welcome to a warm and sunny Tuesday 5 August 2025.

I'm back to cheerful business this week. However, apologies for my voice on this episode: I have got a cold at the moment.

I've topped up one of the IBCs with a new water pump, which has been great and saved a lot of effort with no spillage, although it took the same amount of time as doing it by hand. I've also been planting out more of my strawflowers: some of them are flowering nicely and they're very pretty. Some great news: my hen, Shirley Bassey, has successfully hatched her babies and they're the cutest little bundles of fluff ever! I'm so in love with them already and Shirley is doing a great job.

In tonight's episode I answer a question about how I selected my sweetpeas for 2026 and also exactly how I compile my 'availability list' for my florist. I have made up an availability list template on a spreadsheet and I make a new one for each order using this template. I am a great lover of spreadsheets so I find it easier to do it this way but you could also do it on a notes app or on a piece of paper.

This morning I visited a fellow local grower, Fiona at Chiltern Sky Flowers, for a walk-around her plot. She shared lots of information with me and answered all of my questions: it's always brilliant to have this opportunity and if you're new to growing then I'd encourage you to visit as many growers as you possibly can. Fiona also runs workshops and you can find more information about these and her flowers here: https://www.chilternskyflowers.com/. Her insta is also well worth looking at because she's an incredible photographer!

I really hope you enjoy this episode: please come back and join me for the next one!

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and a warm welcome to Friday 1 August 2025.

Bit of a meh week! After praying for rain for months, it massively disrupted all my plans yesterday so today was a bit of a rush to fit everything in - and then my car broke down! On a roundabout! Not good.

I've been feeling a bit flat this week because my marketing plan is clearly failing and I'm not connecting with enough florists so I'm feeling like I'm really letting my flowers down. They all deserve to be going to weddings and parties rather than just sat on the plot. I need to sort this out. Perhaps I need a niche next year and get a reputation as the 'go-to' grower for a very few select varieties?

After dithering over whether or not to grow annuals next year, I then went and purchased some zinnia and sweetpea seeds for 2026 which did get me very excited for a while. I've ordered some new varieties in gorgeous colours and already I can't wait to see them flowering (and smell the sweetpeas).

The weekend is looking busy: fence panels to be put up, chicken wire to be laid down, water bowsers to be topped up and a new home to be made for my broody hen, Shirley Bassey, and her new babies (due next week).

I do hope you enjoy this episode and please come back and join me for the next one.

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and welcome. It's Tuesday 29 July 2025 and I hope you had a good weekend. It's a warm and sunny evening tonight and I'm recording on the plot.

I've been busy clearing thistles and watching fence posts being installed to support the fence panels that will be going up around the newly-cleared area. There's also been lots of cutting, weeding, deadheading and watering going on. I've also been busy contacting local florists and inviting them to the plot so I can show them what's available.

The big flowers of the moment are zinnias and dahlias, whilst the originals continue to flourish (it's those cornflowers again...). I welcomed a fellow grower to the plot this morning to collect some stems: it was a lovely visit and she invited me to visit her farm next week, which I can't wait to do.

I'm just about to start planning flowers for a wedding next week, so there's lots going on. And those perky little lavender plants are coming back so they will need a home too. I hope you enjoy this episode: please come back and join me for the next episode!

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.

Hello and welcome. It's Friday 25 July 2025. How is it Friday already?!?

Today's episode is a little different: the first part is me talking frankly and honestly to you about the challenges of establishing a cut flower business with peri-menopause. It has not been easy! I discuss how my debilitating symptoms impacted on me at a time when I needed every bit of brain power to get going, and the far-reaching effects of peri-menopause on every aspect of my life and work. The podcast only happened this year because I finally sought help when I thought my life was falling into a black hole in 2024.

The final part of the episode is my first ever proper Q&A where I answer some great questions that I've received about everything from snips to mosquito repellent to my most/least profitable cut flowers. And here are links to some of the things I talk about today and I hope they're helpful:

Where to Find Things I Talked About

BOOK: Menopausing by Davina McCall

WEBSITE: https://www.letstalkmenopause.org/

WEBSITE: https://www.drsharonmalone.com/

PODCAST: https://www.trademarkfarmer.com/podcast

PODCAST: https://www.thedirtonflowers.com/

PODCAST: https://www.theflowerpodcast.com/

PODCAST: The English Florist, Lindsey Kitchin

SNIPS: https://www.niwaki.com/garden-snips/?sku=P00425-1

I do hope you enjoy this episode. Massive thanks for your lovely messages on my insta @henhillcutflowers. It really does mean a lot to hear from you. Please come back and join me for the next episode.

Connect with me

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to this podcast so that you're the first to hear new episodes when they become available every Tuesday and Friday. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers like you find the podcast.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.