Join me for a behind-the-scenes look at how I'm starting to grow and sell cut flowers in the south of England. Over the course of the year I'll be sharing every...
Q&A Session with the CEO (that's me). And I Talk About Profitability, which is Very Important.
What a gorgeous week: it's been very warm and sunny in the last couple of days, which has made me feel very excited about spring. And also slightly overwhelmed. I look at my seed trays and simultaneously think "Oh there are SO MANY!" and also "Oh I don't have enough!". But it's all fine: it's just what happens at this time of year.Lots of updates for you in this episode including the progress of my seed germination, some vegetable seed sowing, the fate of the Victoria plum, and what I've been doing with my compost at the plot.In part 2 I answer some listener questions plus one from me about the most profitable cut flower stems to grow (I've been wondering a lot about this). So join me as I talk about direct sowing, not getting lonely even when you spend a lot of time alone, why I can't really sell direct to customers and my thoughts on the most profitable cut flowers to grow.In this episode, I'm having a Q&A session with myself.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Seed germination updates✅ What are the challenges of direct sowing?✅ Homemade compost update ✅ Why I struggle to sell directly to customers✅ What is the most profitable cut flower stem to grow? 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review – it really does help more cut 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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19:10
We Have Germination! And Backup Plans: I Need One. Do YOU Have One?
It's been a really busy few days: some of the new seeds that were sown last week have germinated, the new beds have been marked out with string, a whole new planting area has been created, I finally found my missing broad bean seeds (yipeeeeee!), more seeds have been sown, the sun has been shining and it's warming up nicely.I've been thinking a lot over the weekend about a backup plan: what happens if my main cut flower buyer for 2025 can't take my flowers? What would I do? Where else would I sell them? I need a plan for a worst-case-scenario. I really hope it won't happen but it's always good to be prepared... do listen to this episode to find out more. In this episode, let's talk about the importance of having a backup plan.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Which seeds have germinated✅ The new seeds that I've sown this week✅ Perennials I still need to plant ✅ How to find a florist who you vibe with ✅ Why you need a backup plan for your cut flowers🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review – it really does help more cut 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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18:16
Scabious: Focal or Filler? Or Both?! More Seed Sowing. And Quiche!
I went to the garden centre just to buy a ball of string to finish marking out the new cut flower beds and came home with some lovely new flowers seeds!In this first part of this episode I'm back in the greenhouse on a warm and bright afternoon sowing more of my cut flower seeds as well as the new ones that I picked up in the garden centre. As I'm sowing (you can hear me rummaging in the background as I fill up trays with compost) I have a moan about podcast adverts, I talk about why I'm sowing much smaller batches of seeds successionally this year, and I discuss my new Scabious seeds and whether they could actually be focal flowers rather than fillers. I also talk about why I don't start sowing seeds until March. Someone stole the padlock chain from the gates of my plot on Monday and I talk briefly about this. In the second part I'm inside in the warm and I give a brief recap on the second part of the week including standing my sweetpea loo rolls upright, getting caught in a hailstorm, having a hog roast at my plant wholesaler's spring open day, and breaking news: I made a very nice quiche and then ate it.In this episode, I’m still in the greenhouse sowing more cut flower seeds.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ New seeds from the garden centre I'm sowing this week✅ Why I'm sowing smaller batches of seeds more often this year✅ Scabious: focal flower or filler? ✅ Why I don't start sowing seeds before March ✅ What happens with security on your plot when you don't own it?✅ Genius hack for stopping loo rolls falling over and seeds falling out ✅ I made a fantastic quiche! 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please 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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28:55
Join Me in the Greenhouse as I'm Doing Some Things Differently This Year
It's Tuesday 10 March 2025 and I'm in the greenhouse this afternoon, sowing more cut flower seeds. Come and join me as I'm sowing Achillea, Cephalaria, Centaurea, Crespedia, Zinnia and Orlaya. It's much cooler this week: the weekend was positively balmy and it was wonderful to have so much sunshine. It really felt like Spring had arrived. And then it cooled rapidly!As I'm sowing I talk about what containers I'm sowing into this year (and why it's different to previous years), how I clean my labels, the beauty of cornflower seeds (little rockets!!), the work I got done on the plot over the weekend, the thinking behind sowing smaller trays of seeds and bringing them indoors to get them germinated - then potting them on later, and how I accidentally bought another fruit tree yesterday. It's my longest episode so far and I really hope that you enjoy it.In this episode, I’m talking to you from inside my greenhouse as I continue to sow my cut flower seeds.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Why (and how) I'm sowing differently this year✅ The benefits of recycling empty food containers from your kitchen✅ The importance of successional sowing✅ A quick basic tip for identifying which seeds need covering and which don't ✅ The difference between vermiculite and perlite ✅ The amount of land I'll have under cultivation this year✅ An update on my baby hens, Kiki D and Dani Minogue ✅ Why I can't stop buying fruit trees🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please 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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33:26
What Happens When you're Ill? Let me tell you...!
I was SO looking forward to getting started on my seed sowing this week! And then I was thwarted by a really nasty cold so I ended up sleeping a lot, watching Netflix and endlessly re-reading the latest David Austin rose catalogue. So the first half of this episode is me with a rather croaky voice and a bunged-up nose talking about that. Luckily the second half improves when I was well enough to get into the greenhouse and start sowing my sweetpeas! And the word I was struggling to remember when discussing why I wanted to grow my sweetpeas straight up the fence panels is: tendrils!! I could not think of that word when I was talking and then of course as soon as I finished recording, I remembered it.In this episode, join me as I sow my first seeds of 2025: sweetpeas!What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ What happened when I was ill and couldn't get out of bed?✅ How to recycle toilet roll tubes to sow some types of seeds✅ My top 10 favourite David Austin roses✅ What I learnt from watching 'With Love, Meghan' on Netflix ✅ Why sweetpeas really need toilet roll tubes or root trainers ✅ Why I'm elevating my everyday dinner ingredients tonight🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please 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.
Join me for a behind-the-scenes look at how I'm starting to grow and sell cut flowers in the south of England. Over the course of the year I'll be sharing everything I'm doing from planning through to harvesting flowers, by way of highs and lows, hints and tips, lessons I've learnt the hard way and (hopefully) some beautiful cut flowers. If you're thinking of starting your own cut flower business or you'd just like the low-down on what it's really like, this is the podcast for you. Subscribe & Stay Connected!✅ Find me on instagram @henhillcutflowers ✅ For more information visit my website www.lydiathegardener.co.uk ✅ Follow the podcast so that you don’t miss an episode✅ Please support the podcast by leaving a review/some kind words and sharing this podcast with someone who loves flowers - thank you.
New Zealand