Becoming a Cut Flower Grower

• Hot Flushes in a Heatwave (not fun!), New Gates, Prepping for a Wedding Order, Flower Hub News (it's very exciting!)

  Hello. It's Tuesday 1 July 2025 and I'm sweltering, even at 8am.Lots to tell you: we made some new gates to enter the plot over the weekend so that I don't have to go into Roland's enclosure every time. It's an improvement but then I managed to step on a bit of metal and injured my foot. Highs and lows! The sweetpeas are incredible and smell so good: they are a real success. It's such a busy time on the plot with all the watering, deadheading, weeding, and staking. Exciting news: I'm officially joining my local flower growing hub! I can't wait! In this episode I talk about how the meeting went yesterday, hosted by Fenella at Flower Fields in Cookham. I share everything that we talked about, what we ate and drank (it's all in the details), how the hub will work, when it's kicking off, and what Fenella is growing on her land. I believe that the hub will be really beneficial for all local growers, particularly me, and that it will open me up to lots more florists to showcase what I'm growing. I'll keep you updated. Here's Fenella's website: https://www.flower-fields.co.uk/I'm really loving connecting with you on instagram @henhillcutflowers. I love hearing from you and if you have any questions then I'm always very happy to answer them. I do hope you enjoy this episode.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ The joys of having hot flushes in a heatwave     ✅ How much water I've brought on site over the weekend✅ All the details of my shiny new gates into the plot✅ The joys of my sweetpeas✅ How I'm preparing to supply for a wedding this weekend ✅ All the news from my flower hub meeting ✅ Why joining a flower hub could be a game changer for me 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. 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. I'm going to give 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. 

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• Six-Month Review: Good Times, Disasters, Cornflower Overload, What I've Learnt, Drought, Heatwaves, It's Been Alot!

  Hello. It's Friday 27 June 2025 and the mercury is rising once again.In this episode I talk about how the first six months of 2025 have been for me as a new cut flower grower and I hope you find it interesting. If you've been listening from the start then you'll recognise some of the issues raised, like the time I left a tap running and emptied out my own water storage tanks overnight. I discuss the highs and lows so far ranging from the excitement of actually selling stems to what to do with the ones I haven't sold, to pests, my high-maintenance cornflowers, and everything in between.I talk about some of the things I've learned in the first half of this year and what I'd do differently in future, including improvements to staking, earlier sowings and reduced plant spacings. It's a fairly detailed review of what's worked and what hasn't, together with some pretty honest reflections on how I'm feeling right now. One things that's definitely a high point is this podcast: it's a real source of joy in my life, particularly connecting with you on instagram @henhillcutflowers. I love hearing from you and if you have any questions then I'm always very happy to answer them. I do hope you enjoy this review episode!What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ My highs and lows from January 2025 to June 2025      ✅ How I felt when I saw my first cut flowers featured in a bridal bouquet✅ What's actually gone well and what hasn't✅  How my cornflowers have literally taken over my life ✅  How feeling overwhelmed is draining and stressful✅  What I'll be doing differently in 2026 ✅  Why I can never have enough perennials, shrubs and foliage🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. 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. I'm going to give 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. 

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• Cut Flower Farm Tours, Pitching Flowers to a Pub, Storage After Cutting & Daffodil Plans for 2026

  Hello and welcome to the latest episode: it's Tuesday 24 June 2025. The heatwave is over (thankfully) and now it's just annoyingly windy.First off, a clarification of my position on cut flower farm tours that give you lunch.  I'm not knocking them - they're brilliant. I talk about the farm tour that I went on before I started growing and it was so inspiring. Here's the details of what I did and I highly recommend it: https://www.plantpassion.co.uk/field-tourPlot update: what's doing well, what's flowering, an Ammi and Nigella update, and the sweetpea situation after the ducks ate loads of the tops through the fence panels. I had a strange man at the gates over the weekend which was really unnerving: it's always a challenge dealing with strangers when you're working alone. I'm buying some rudbeckia hirta plants tomorrow and I urgently need to find a suitable place for them where the soil is good enough to support them. It's also time to start thinking about ranunculus for 2026 and I also talk through my daffodil choices for next year, so there's a lot to tell you!As always, thank you if you've sent me a message via my instagram @henhillcutflowers. I really do love hearing from you and if you have any questions then I'm always very happy to answer them. I do hope you enjoy the episode. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ What I spent my calendula money on    ✅ How I got on pitching to supply bud vase flowers to a local pub✅ What's going on with my sweetpeas after the ducks ate them ✅  How I'm storing my harvested cut flowers to keep them cool✅  My experience of doing a cut flower farm tour ✅  How refining your planting techniques improves efficiency✅  My daffodil choices for 2026🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. 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. I'm going to give 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. 

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• I Just Sold my First Stems! Demystifying Pricing, Expert Dahlia Tips, Cornwall Grower Visit Report PLUS How to Choose Tulips

  Heatwave! Good evening, it's Friday 20 June 2025 and it's very hot! Good news: I've just sold my first stems! I was beginning to wonder if this would ever happen and now it has. All the news about this including how I priced it and the stresses of physically delivering them (it's harder than it looks). It's a long episode because I have so much to tell you including useful tips from my expert dahlia grower, Richard, what I've been cutting from the plot this week, how I've been getting on making hand-ties (badly), plus my report from the visit I made to a cut flower grower in Cornwall and lots of things I learnt. Massive thank you to Rowena at Grey and Green Flowers near Boscastle for being so generous with her time and for sharing so much really useful information with me ( and for letting me pass it on to you).Finally I answer a great question from a listener about what tulips I'm going to be buying for 2026 including how to work out what to choose taking into account stem length, flowering time, and colour schemes. I also list some varieties that I have short-listed. I hope this is helpful and that you enjoy the episode.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ How I priced my recent stem order   ✅ Delivering my stems: how I transported them ✅ What I learnt from my dahlia expert this week (i.e what to do now)✅  How I got on making hand-tied bouquets ✅  What I've been cutting this week✅  Hints and tips from an experienced Cornish grower✅  How I'm choosing tulips for 2026🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. 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. I'm going to give 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. 

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• Welcome Back, Sweetpea Mishaps, Stunted Growth, Plant Spacings, and Is It Bindweed or a Bean?

  I'm back from my break and delighted to welcome you to the latest episode. It's Tuesday 17 June 2025 and it's been a super hot day.I was in Cornwall last week but I still have so much to share with you today including why it's not a good idea to take a break during the flowering season, what happened in my absence and what's happening now that I'm back. I talk about the plants that are flowering on the plot right now and those that are just about to flower, plus how big my weeds are, and my plans for some of my zinnias. There's a quick update on the hens (I now have four broody girls) and some sad news about one of the ducks. There's so much to tell you that I have split this episode into two parts and in the next episode on Friday I'll tell you the super-useful hints and tips I learnt from a Cornish cut flower grower that I had the pleasure of meeting last week: it's really helpful information so I do hope that you'll join me to hear how an established grower runs their plot. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Where I went last week on my break ✅ What's flowering right now on the plot ✅ Bug update: where have they gone?✅  Plant spacings: have I got it right or not?✅  What happened to my sweetpeas in my absence ✅  Seedlings that have been planted out tonight ✅  Why my first zinnia flower is such a disaster  🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. 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. I'm going to give 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. 

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