Hello. It's Friday 7 November 2025. Welcome to tonight's episode.

Tonight it's all about mistakes I've made in 2025 because I've been thinking like a gardener rather than a cut flower grower. I have therefore compiled a list of the Top 10 mistakes I've made and I thought I'd share them with you in the hope that you won't make them!

There are many benefits to having a background in gardening if you're thinking of establishing a cut flower grower (although I'd argue that a knowledge of marketing would probably be more helpful at times). The benefits include knowing how to grow and look after plants, experience of sowing seeds and propagating, pruning, composting and mulching, when plants flower, the list goes on and on. 

But there are some gardening habits that are ingrained in me that have caused me some problems when I have been growing cut flowers this year, including issues with spacing, staking, cutting, getting rid of non-productive plants, disbudding (properly), giving plants too many chances to improve, underestimating wear and tear on paths and high-traffic areas, not writing things down and not breaking the year down into a schedule of tasks to be done at the right time (and not getting distracted).

So I hope that you find this episode helpful! And I hope that you will come back and join me for the next episode when I'll have more news. I really hope that you will join me.

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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 reviewbecause it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to 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. 

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Hello. It's Tuesday 4 November 2025. Welcome to the latest episode.

Another busy week: lots of planting new plants, particularly foliage in my new dedicated foliage bed, lifting and dividing of perennials, moving peonies, weeding, and watching the last of the strawflowers that the chickens haven't trampled putting on a lovely colourful display. 

I talk about how I'm getting on with making leaf mould this autumn, as well as the benefits of inter-cropping cut flowers amongst other plants to maximise yields. I'm also thinking about inter-cropping with vegetables next year so that I have more homegrown organic veg. 

I spent this afternoon digging up dahlia tubers with my dahlia mentor, Richard Bailey, so all the details about this. He is kind enough to donate his unwanted dahlias to me which is amazing. I filled the back of my car with a dozen enormous dahlias (which now need splitting and replanting) and I have to go back and dig up another lot next week. It's a very busy time.

I do hope that you will come back and join me for the next episode when I'll have more news. I really hope that you will join me!

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 just like you to 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. 

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Hello. It's a rainy and windy Friday 3 October 2025. 

You're joining me from a car park outside my vet where I'm waiting for my dog's teeth to be cleaned and for my little hen, Mo, to have some surgery. 

This week the podcast is celebrating 10k downloads which is amazing and very surprising. Thank you if you have contributed to this number - you're very welcome at every episode.

I've been super busy tidying and weeding on the plot and yesterday I had a massive drama when I managed to lose my house and car keys somewhere amongst the cut flowers. All the laughs about this in today's episode plus how the situation (eventually) got resolved. You may wonder how I will ever get this business off the ground after this story! 

The second part of the episode is the concluding part of last week's episode where I talk you through the plants I've just bought for 2026 and beyond: it's a detailed breakdown of what I've bought and why. Perhaps you're already growing some of these and you know what I have to look forward to?!?

I hope you have a great weekend: please come back and join me for the next episode on Tuesday.

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. 

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Hello. It's Tuesday 30 September 2025. Welcome to the episode!

Lots of activity on the plot to share with you: weeding beds 3 & 4, adding bark to bed 1, more cutting back and weeding, and mulching some of the perennials. Many of the zinnias have been cleared away because they've gone really mouldy, even though some of the flowers are ok.

With some invaluable help I've finally finished my studio, aka 'Kylie's Room' and I'm really pleased with it. I now have lots of storage in the form of an old wardrobe and some chests of drawers, plus lots of hooks on the walls for all the dried flowers I've been collecting. I'm really looking forward to having a dedicated space for working in and hosting florists next year.

I've been reflecting on my reconciliation report that I talked about in the last episode and I received an excellent question from a listener after the episode about what the findings might mean for what I grow next year, so I talk about this and what I decided (somewhat on the spur of the moment). I'll go into more details of what I've ordered in the next episode on Friday so I do hope that you'll join me for that.

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. 

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Hello and welcome to tonight's episode on Friday 26 September 2025. 

It's spreadsheet time! I simply couldn't wait to do a reconciliation with all the data I've been collecting in 2025 so I've done an interim report this week and I'm excited to share my findings with you in this episode. I'm afraid I'm quite geeky so I took great pleasure in creating lots of tabs in my spreadsheets and then sorting all the data to work out my most profitable cut flowers. If you're interested in my findings then this is the episode for you!

Other news from the plot includes another vet visit for one of the hens with tummy troubles, my soil blocker arrived (I can't wait to try it out and report back to you), plus bed prepping and seed harvesting continues. Hopefully the weather stays dry this weekend so more prep can be done for 2026. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Please do join me for the next episode on either Tuesday or Friday every week and you're always very welcome. 

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. 

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Hello and welcome. It's Tuesday 23 September 2025. 

Lots of news to share with you in this episode including my astrantia finally being ready, hub sales, connecting with a new florist, and making a website for the cut flowers. Also real progress is being made on the new beds on the plot, which is excellent. I've been adding lots of lovely chicken manure compost as a top dressing (I have a 'no till' system) and found plenty of worm casts, which is positive. I'm about to start experimenting with using a soil blocker to germinate my seeds and I'll let you know how I get on.

The highlight of the week has been entering some of my dahlias into my local dahlia society show. I actually won some prizes! And some very useful raffle prizes! I also got to shadow the judge as he was marking the exhibits, which was a real education, and I have learnt so much about how the stems are assessed. The show was yet another reminder that the types of dahlias I grow are so important.

Please do join me for the next episode on either Tuesday or Friday every week and you're always very welcome. 

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. 

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Hello, it's Saturday 20 September 2025. Welcome to today's episode.

In this first part of today's episode I'll fill you in on all the activity on the plot including rediscovering my cephalaria, harvesting seed, removing stakes and support string, planning new paths, and mapping out the new beds using my road pins. I chat about what's still flowering well and what's not looking so good in its current location, which is all useful information for crop planning in 2026.

In the second part of the episode I talk through my key learnings from the dahlias this season. I have learnt so much from growing them myself including important lessons on spacings, staking, watering, disbudding, stripping leaves, and vase life. I also share some of the things I did which I think helped my dahlias to flourish, plus how the clever location I chose for the tubers this year turned out to be not so clever after all. I'm not yet sure what my dahlia plan is for 2026 and I talk you through this too. 

Please do join me for the next episode: they come out on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and you're always very welcome to join me. 

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. 

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Hello and welcome. It's Tuesday 16 September 2025. It's been a glorious autumn day today - just beautiful.

This week I have been "testing" the local flower hub that I've joined. I say testing, because it turned out that it was actually live and I was actually selling to areal florists - scary stuff! The majority of this episode is me chatting about the testing process and the outcome of it all. 

I chat about my thoughts on the importance to me of understanding how my florists work so that I can serve them better. Maybe it's because I'm so new to growing and selling cut flowers that I'm thinking about this so much but I've always wanted to know how my flowers are going to be used so that I choose the right ones for the job. 

It's incredible that the hub is up-and-running and I'm very grateful to be included in it. It's a wonderful way for local growers to sell to a wider audience and I look forward to using it. If you're in a hub, I'd love to know how you're getting on with yours. Drop me a DM @henhillcutflowers with your thoughts. 

Please come back and join me for the next episode: they come out on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and you're always very welcome to join me. 

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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome to Friday 12 September 2025. It's feeling quite autumnal tonight: the nights are drawing in quickly and there's a little bit of a chill to the air.

My two wedding orders have gone out and I hope the brides enjoy seeing them. I managed to cut the flowers in the dry (one order by torchlight which is not ideal) but the foliage ended up getting cut in the rain, which was a messy business.

Tonight I'm answering some questions that I've received. I love answering your questions so do feel free to ask away. I'm not an expert but I can talk about what I'm doing, and in the first part of this episode I talk about my dahlia choices, how I'm collecting and storing this year's seeds, plus how I balance learning about being a grower and simultaneously doing it (you can probably guess the answer to this one!).

In the second half of the episode I talk about my star performer of the year so far: my hydrangea paniculatas. These shrubs have been my most popular for cut flower stems and have sold at a good price. The plants have been super-easy to look after, productive and very popular so I'm planning on buying more for 2026. Compared to growing from seed, shrubs and perennials are invaluable but they're expensive to buy when getting a cut flower growing business established, so it's a bit of a catch-22 situation. 

I hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one: episodes come out on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and you're always very welcome to join me. 

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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello. It's Tuesday 9 September 2025.

Well it's been a weekend of bad stuff: an attempted fraud on my bank card, a cancelled bank card, failed card payments which meant no phone contract renewal (which meant no working phone), together with hormone dramas, plus poorly chickens and sadly one of them, Florence, passed away unexpectedly yesterday. So it's been a lot. 

I'm still busy on the plot: deadheading, cutting back, tending to the dahlias, negotiating sales with florists, co-ordinating availability lists, cutting and conditioning, practising my spiral hand-tied bouquets and wrapping them (with some success this time), plus the obligatory weeding and tidying. I've also been sorting 'Kylie's room' in preparation for turning it into a flower studio/workspace. 

The second part of the episode is me talking you through my sales goals for 2026 which, quite frankly, are now baffling me. In order to make the sales goal I came up with, I have to sell a large volume of stems (at the right price). There's a lot to factor in, such as plant spacings and price per stem, and I need to keep crunching the numbers until it all makes sense. I hope that I'll have some sensible figures soon!

I do hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one: episodes come out on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and you're always very welcome to join me. 

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. 

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Hello and welcome to Friday 5 September 2025.

Where has the week gone?!? I have no idea. Time is just flying by. I've been busy on the plot deadheading, cutting things back and collecting seeds, in between the heavy rain showers. I can't wait to do a big tidy up and let the chickens enjoy rummaging around and fertilise the soil.

I've had two new florists visit the plot and buy cut flowers from me, which has been great. I love showing people around and chatting about what's growing and what's to come in 2026. When it has rained I've been studying like mad and really thinking about potential local clients and my USP. There's plenty more work to be done but it's a good start.

This weekend I'll be starting off some hardy annuals and tidying up an area on the plot to create a proper dedicated workspace for my flowers and equipment. At the moment everything is crammed into the feed room for the chickens and it's not ideal so I have plans for a new studio space.

I hope you enjoy this episode and come back and join me for the next one: episodes come out on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and you're always very welcome to join me. 

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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome to the latest episode: it's Tuesday 2 September 2025.

Lots to tell you in this episode and I've divided it into two parts with a tiny bit of music in between so please don't switch off when you hear the music and think the episode has ended!

I've been cutting flower stems and foliage for two florist collections tomorrow. These are new florists for me so I'm looking forward to welcoming them to the plot. I've also had an order from my lovely wedding florist for this weekend which needs cutting on Thursday. I went back to the Flower Festival on Sunday to see how my flowers survived the weekend and I talk about this.

The second part of the episode is my review of the National Dahlia Society Show that I attended today at RHS Wisley. It's a great show and my mentor, Richard, was exhibiting so it was lovely to catch up with him and see how he got on. It was truly fascinating to hear how the show works from Richard's perspective and see how other growers have coped with their dahlias in the massive amount of rain we've had in the last week. There is so much to share with you!

I hope you enjoy the episode and come back and join me for the next one. It's always great to hear from you: feel free to contact me on instagram @henhillcutflowers.

Details of The National Dahlia Society Show at RHS Wisley:

https://www.dahlia-nds.co.uk/events/2025-nds-national-show-rhs-wisley/

https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/rhs-garden-wisley-flower-show

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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome, it's Friday 31 October 2025. Happy Halloween (if you're celebrating it).

Lots to tell you: today I bumped into my fabulous dahlia mentor, Richard Bailey, and he has lots of dahlia tubers for me. These are tubers from plants that he no longer wants and I'm very lucky to receive them. I have also been offered some beautiful pink Japanese anemones which I will be gratefully digging up next week.

I've been learning a lot from fellow podcasters this week (links to the show are below), particularly about lilies. I adore lilies for their scent and sheer exuberance so I'm going to get some lilies for 2026 and see how I get on. 

I've also been thinking more about bouquet recipes and what I need to be growing for my market bouquets next year, and how to grow enough flowers to do this but not grow so many different varieties that it gets out of hand. This is a tricky balance, especially when new seed catalogues arrive and they're full of stunning flowers...

Thank you if you sent me a DM on insta this week: I love hearing from you, I really do, and it's always me that replies. 

Please do come back and join me for the next episode when I'll have more news. I really hope that you will join me.

LINKS to the podcasts I talk about today:

Blooming Profits: Conversations with Flower Farmers https://open.spotify.com/show/5CjQaTyga21Fj8ofR2r1U1

Slow Flowers with Debra Prinzing

https://www.slowflowerspodcast.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 just like you to 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome! It's a wet Friday 29 August 2025.

Good news: my electrics are fixed, yippee! We've had a lot of rain this week which has caused some issues on the plot by flattening things and adversely affecting the quality of some of my cut flower stems. I was up on the plot super early on Thursday to cut for the local Flower Festival in a nearby town. I attended the Festival tonight and it was quite emotional seeing my blooms in a range of beautiful arrangements.

My studying continues with Lennie Larkin's incredible book, 'Flower Farming for Profit', which is an amazing source of information. I've been reading about all the things I've been doing wrong (there are a lot!) and having a laugh at how silly I have been sometimes. There is so much improvement to be done and I hope that you'll stick with me on my journey. 

Please enjoy the episode and come back and join me for the next one. It's always great to hear from you: feel free to contact me on instagram @henhillcutflowers.

Book:

Flower Farming for Profit by Lennie Larkin

https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Farming-Profit-Complete-Successful/dp/1645021769/ref=zg_bs_g_5262_sccl_1/143-6181273-7259911?psc=1

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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome! It's a warm evening on Tuesday 26 August 2025.

Tonight I share with you all the latest news from my plot and also talk through the seeds I've just received for 2026 including stunning Orlaya and some (hopefully) pastel Zinnias. Selling stems has restarted after a short break and it feels great, the batch cooking has restarted and there's an update on Dolores.

We need to talk about plant spacings: I have made a mess of it this year and so things have to be improved in 2026. I've been getting some answers for how densely I should be planting annuals per square metre and the results are daunting... Plenty to talk about with this!

I love hearing from you. Feel free to send me a message on insta @henhillcutflowers with questions, comments or suggestions and it's always me that replies. I hope you enjoy the episode and you 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome to today's episode: it's Saturday 23 August 2025 (not the 22nd like I say on the podcast).

Join me on on the plot this morning as we let the chickens and ducks out together. It's been another busy week although somewhat quiet on the flower selling front. Still lots of watering to be done as we remain in drought conditions and lots of deadheading (although admittedly not as much as normal). 

Today I'm talking to you about cool-season annuals. Do you know what they are and why they're called 'cool-season annuals'? I've never understood why some growers sow their annuals in the autumn (rather than spring) but now I do. I've been reading Lisa Mason Ziegler's book, The Cut Flower Handbook, all week and I've learnt so much. It's an incredible book and I'd really encourage you to read it. I feel very inspired to start sowing my cool-season annuals now and get them planted on the plot in the next couple of months. 

I do hope you find this episode interesting and I very much hope that you'll 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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Hello, it's Tuesday 28 October 2025. Welcome to the latest episode :-)

The clocks have just gone back which means shorter days and longer evenings: it's a great opportunity for plenty of studying in the evenings but I have to remember to get the hens to bed an hour earlier...

I've had the busiest weekend planting out my new shrubs including the Hydrangea Limelights, Eucalyptus, Lilac and Cotinus, plus some raspberry canes and peonies that I transplanted from home. I also relocated my Verbena bonariensis from one area of the plot to another to make space for the new perennials that I've ordered.

I've been shopping today: all the news of that in this episode including what I've purchased and why, the benefits of these plants and the prices I paid. Having very recently made the decision to sell direct to customers in 2026, I have a renewed focus on what I will need next year and this is really helping with crop planning.

I hope that you've had a great weekend and that your own planning for 2026 is underway. Please do come back and join me for the next episode when I'll have more news. I really hope that you will join me.

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 just like you to 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. 

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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. 

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Hello and welcome. It's Tuesday 22 July 2025 and I've had to put a jumper on this evening for the first time in months. 

So much to tell you about this evening: I've been batch cooking dinners, collecting lots of rainwater, staking dahlias (properly this time), removing dahlia leaves to discourage earwigs, and deadheading cornflowers like mad (again). I've also had to deal with an unpleasant red mite infestation in the henhouse.

I've been doing a lot of thinking this week: how can I have more blush-coloured flowers next year as I don't have anywhere near enough, the power of intention, how your values impact the way you grow, and how to find customers who really want organically-grown seasonal blooms so that my hard work isn't wasted. Pricing continues to blow my mind and it's turned dynamic which adds a whole new dimension to the challenge of working out how on earth to price stems. 

I hope you enjoy this episode and thank you if you sent me a message this week on my insta @henhillcutflowers: I really love hearing from you. Please join me for the next episode 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 flower-lovers to 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. 

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Hello and welcome to warm evening on Friday 18 July 2025.

Tonight I'm sharing all my news about cutting and selling my flowers: this week I've been cutting and conditioning for a Thursday morning collection to my wedding florist, as well as securing a (very) last-minute order for a client that I delivered to a marina this morning. I'll also be talking about preparing my availability list for my florist for a wedding she has next weekend.

As well as all of that, there's more good dahlia news with some buds now fully open but the arrival of an unwelcome visitor could mean problems, plus what I'm learning from cutting stems for myself and how I've become a bit obsessed with collecting random stems to make a "picky bits" bucket. In the middle of all of this I also got stuck in a faulty cinema seat: if you get the chance, I highly recommend the new F1 movie as Brad Pitt looks super hot in it and the soundtrack is brilliant.

Thank you if you sent me a message this week on my insta @henhillcutflowers: I love hearing from you. Please come back and join me for the next episode on Tuesday,

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 flower-lovers to 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome to a windy and cloudy Tuesday 15 July 2025.

Today's episode includes a chat about the challenges of prepping for supplying the weddings that I have coming up and the problems I'm having with pricing: it's really hard. I'm not sure I'm getting it right yet, which bothers me. It's also challenging for me to ensure that all the cut flowers that I'm committing to supplying are looking fabulous when my florist comes to collect them, which is not easy in the current conditions.

There is good news with the dahlias and some sad news with the chickens, plus how it's such a weird growing season. And I would really love your help with a problem: when do I tell people that I'm a podcaster and I might talk about an interaction? It's been bothering me that some people may not be happy about me talking so frankly about it: what happens if people don't feel able to say they don't want to be talked about and instead just ghost me? Am I right to share so much in the first place? Help! Please drop me a DM on insta @henhillcutflowers with your thoughts: I'd love to know what you think.

I really hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me on Friday's 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 flower-lovers to 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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Hello and welcome! It's the evening of Friday 11 July 2025 and I'm recording from the plot so the audio quality is a little bit up and down. I hope it doesn't bother you too much. It's so much nicer talking amongst the flowers than at home. 

Today's episode is a gentle evening walk-round of the plot and a chat about what's going on with everything I have, starting from the entrance gates and ending up at the far end. I'm talking about everything that I have growing on the plot and assessing the successes and the not-so-good ones. I've got the dog with me tonight because it's too hot to leave her at home and I'll also be filling you in on my Wednesday visit from my event florist. I really hope you enjoy the episode and that you'll come back and join me next week too.

Follow & Connect

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode and if you enjoy this episode, please could you 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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Hello and welcome to this episode. It's a hot Tuesday 8 July 2025. 

I've been very busy on the field with dahlia staking (thanks to my birthday present of road pins), deadheading, staking and weeding. I really must sort the staking out earlier next year as it's a nightmare trying to do it when the plants are big and flowering. No dahlia flowers yet but any day now...

I've also been busy on a big planting job for a couple of days which was nerve-wracking and either my hormones or my bolognese sauce conspired to make it even harder. I have an entire shower tray of Hydrangea Annabelles which I acquired quite by accident and which I'm trying to keep cool and hydrated as we enter Heatwave Number 3 of the year. It's not an easy task. And I desperately need a shower now so they have to be relocated urgently.

Lots of challenges for growers across the UK at the moment due to the lack of rainfall and excess heat so if you're having problems, you're not alone. Finally I've been prepping for a visit to the field from my wedding florist and hopefully she likes what she sees. The rest of the week is looking busy so I'll have plenty to share with you on Friday - please come back and join me. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why I can't take a shower right now

✅ The impact of the weather on UK growers this summer

✅ How proud I was to see photos of my flowers in wedding photos 

✅ Why I don't want to sell my nigella

✅ How the craspedia have grown but no golf balls yet...

✅ What I did to my statice yesterday

✅ Peri-menopause: you don't have to be "old" to experience it so seek help if you are struggling, regardless of your actual age

🌻 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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Hello and welcome! It's Friday 4 July 2025 and it's my birthday! And Happy American Independence Day if you're celebrating that today!

I'm on a massive high after selling 100 stems of cut flowers to my lovely event florist, Jo, so I chat about this and how I managed to get everything delivered without breaking anything or spilling any water (a miracle). There's a photo on my insta @henhillcutflowers so you can see one of the buckets. 

It's been quite a busy week as I took a day out to go to the beach with my other half to celebrate his birthday. I hate the thought of going anywhere these days but I'm really glad I went because we had a lovely time and discovered that the dog is not a fan of the sea. 

Everything on the plot is doing fine and some things are flowering beautifully including the heleniums, cornflowers, sweetpeas and calendulas. The nigella have finally started flowering and they're stunning. My snaps are about to flower too (finally!) together with the didiscus and scabious. Lots of forward planning going on including next weekend's flowers and choosing sweetpeas for 2026. I've got a really long to-do list as well so there will be lots to tell you about next Tuesday!

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:

✅ I'm celebrating selling 100 stems to my florist!     

✅ What cut flowers I sold today 

✅ News from the plot this week

✅ What's flowering and what's just about to flower 

✅ Making the plot safe for a visit from my florist next week

✅ Choosing sweetpeas for 2026

✅ What I'll be doing over the weekend on the plot

🌻 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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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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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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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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-tour

Plot 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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Hello and welcome to a slightly rainy Friday 24 October 2025. 

Straight into it tonight: let's talk about bouquet recipes. What are the categories of flower type and what months of the year am I growing in? What do I have flowering in each month and in each category? I've made (yet another) spreadsheet and this one has been illuminating so I'm going to talk you through it in this episode.

I answer some really great questions from a listener about growing perennials and annuals and I hope the answers are interesting. I talk about the number of peonies that I have and my thoughts on growing cornflowers in 2026, given how much time I spent deadheading them and how little money I made on them in 2025...

Finally, jobs for the weekend: I have loads including planting new shrubs/woodies, transplanting foxgloves and re-locating my existing perennials to make space for the new plants that I've just ordered. There's a lot to do at this time of year so I hope you're feeling on top of things and not overwhelmed with it all. 

Please do come back and join me for the next episode when I'll have more news. I really hope that you will join me.

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 just like you to 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. 

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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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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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Hello and a very warm welcome to this episode. It's Friday 6 June 2025 and I'm talking to you from the plot. 

I don't know where this week has gone: it's been busy. We had a whole day of rain which has been an enormous help for the plants. This happened after I manually topped up the IBCs with water from home, which was a whole big drama. 

Everything on the plot is doing fine and I'm excited to see that the cornflowers are just about to burst into flower. I've been pinching out the calendulas and snaps, which is something you need to do with branching plants because it encourages lots more flowering stems. 

I do hope you enjoy the episode: it's a bit shorter than normal because I'm rushing around trying to get some seedlings planted on the plot but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How I manually topped up the IBCs on the plot

✅ Why I've been pinching out the branching plants 

✅ How much rain we've had this week  

✅ What I've been watching on the internet this week 

✅ Why I'm feeling so much better about doing hand-ties for markets  

🌻 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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Good evening. It's Tuesday 3 June 2025 and I'm talking to you from the plot. 

We've had rain! Not enough by far but it's very welcome and the seedlings have really enjoyed it. The water levels in the IBCs are critically low but I'm hopeful that the rain still to come later this week will help. 

Lots of updates from the plot: all of the dahlias are in and I've been making some new beds on the newly-lifted turf area and adding old waste material from the duck house which has rotted down. I'm not digging it in: it gets laid on the soil surface and will slowly amalgamate into the ground. There's a pests update with the latest news on my blackly, greenfly, slugs and pigeons. 

Finally I end with an update on the latest with the hens, who are an integral part of the plot in that they fertilise my soil, sort through my compost and help to control pest numbers. I do hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for joining me on my cut flower journey. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why it rains as soon as I buy a proper pair on sunglasses   

✅ I've finally got all the dahlias planted out on the plot

✅ How I've made my new beds and added a compost mulch 

✅ Who attacked Goose: the security camera reveals all 

✅ Seedlings that have just gone in the ground  

✅ Pests update: who is doing what and where 

🌻 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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Hi! It's Friday 30 May 2025: welcome to today's episode!

It's the end of another busy week and (finally!) the end of May, which I'm quite pleased about. Roll on, June! News from the plot includes the hiccups getting the dahlias in the ground, a couple of zinnias damping off, cornflower staking experiments and another lack-of-water issue. I also managed to spill lots of Roundup in the back of my car which has been a pain to sort out: I'm 100% chemical free (and always have been) and was doing a favour for someone in transporting it. Big mistake! Huge! Roundup (glyphosate) is a herbicide and it's non-selective which means it kills everything it comes in contact with so I had a proper dilemma trying to work out how to sort it out. 

I share more thoughts on not having anything ready to sell at the moment and I keep telling myself that it's ok. And it is ok! I always said I would grow seasonally and I need to keep reminding myself of this. I don't want to use a heated greenhouse or a polytunnel with the aim of forcing things to be ready before they naturally are. Finally, some thoughts on why my dog does not look like other growers' dogs on their instagram.

I'm so glad that you're joining me on this journey and I really hope that you enjoy this episode. Please consider taking a minute to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts - it really does help other people (just like you) to find the podcast.

In this episode, join me for updates on my cut flower seedlings.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why it's taking me so long to plant my dahlias out  

✅ How I'm changing my plant spacings for my successional cornflowers

✅ Dilemma: how to safely get rid of a Roundup (glyphosate) spillage

✅ Who attacked Goose: the security camera reveals all 

✅ Nothing for sale? Why it's time to stop beating myself up about this 

✅ Seasonal means seasonal: it will be ready when it's ready!

✅ Insta envy: why are other people's dogs so well behaved (and mine isn't)?

🌻 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. 

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Hello. It's Wednesday 28 May 2025 and I'm very happy to welcome you to this episode.

There's so much to share with you today including an update on my dahlias, what happened to the cornflowers and the leucanthemum in the wind, and how I've been dealing with a blackfly invasion. I've also taken a headcount of the seedlings which still need to be planted out and it's quite daunting: there aren't enough hours in the day.

Today I saw Rosa 'Juliet' for the first time. It's a stunning David Austin rose created specifically for their wedding and event cut flower collection. The rose plant itself is not available to buy: only the cut stems are available for florists. It cost GBP 3 million to produce!! The particular stems that I saw today had just flown over from Ecuador, a whopping 5,726 miles away, and you could tell because they looked a little exhausted. Seeing these stems close up made me even more determined to grow roses myself because I know that I could offer a beautiful locally-grown rose that's scented and just as gorgeous as Juliet (well, almost). Let's hope that I can make some money this year and then buy some bare-root roses this autumn.

After attending the funeral of a wonderful former gardening client of mine, I share some thoughts on what arrangements I could make for my plants in the event of my death. It's not morbid to think of these things: none of us know what's going to happen in the future and it doesn't hurt to put arrangements in place. I hope the you find the episode interesting.

In this episode, join me for all the latest news.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why I've had to stake my cornflowers 

✅ How I'm removing blackfly

✅ How many seedlings still have to be planted out (it's a lot...) 

✅ Why I'm going to be mulching my dahlias with chipped bark 

✅ How many flowers I've sold so far this year

✅ Rosa Juliet is the ultimate wedding flower: my thoughts on it 

✅ What would happen to your plants if you died? 

🌻 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. 

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Hello and welcome to this episode, recorded on Friday 23 May 2025. 

It's been a really busy few days since my last episode: I've been planting out my dahlia tubers plus some seedlings, weeding around my perennials, and tidying up my living paths. Sometimes I'm in two minds about living paths: are they a good idea or not? They need maintaining, which takes time, but I do like them. I also love bark paths which don't need maintaining, so I'm a bit on the fence but overall I think I will keep some of my living paths and replace others with bark.

The Cephalaria have been planted out. These were a bit flaky to germinate and I very nearly threw some of the cells out when it didn't look like anything was happening. Good job I didn't. My dahlia cuttings arrived on Wednesday and I potted them on straightaway. They're in very good condition and I'm so excited to see their flowers. 

There's a quick update on my poorly hen, Goose, who is doing really well. Also doing very well at the moment are the greenfly, who have arrived in vast numbers. Some ladybirds have also arrived but they have been a bit distracted and not eating as much as I'd like: there's a couple of videos of the ladybirds on my instagram @henhillcutflowers, do check them out!

Finally I give a full and detailed description of my water capture and storage system on the plot: I hope it makes sense. I list all the containers I have and how they're connected, plus info about gutters and syphoning water. I don't think you can ever have too much water stored so it's worth setting up as much water capture as you can, in whatever sort of containers you can use. 

In this episode, join me as the dahlias get planted out on the plot.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ The expert advice I followed to plant my dahlia tubers

✅ The importance of patience when germinating seeds

✅ How I've dealt with my new dahlia cuttings 

✅ I'm under siege from greenfly and the ladybirds aren't helping 

✅ How my water storage system is constructed and operates

✅ Pros and cons of living paths between 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 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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Hello. It's Tuesday 20 May 2025, it's 10pm and I'm recording this while boiling spaghetti and microwaving some bolognese sauce. Batch cooking (and reheating) is the only way I get to eat properly right now.

I have lots to share with you as I've been really busy on the plot since the last episode. Seedlings have been going out, including zinnias, orlaya, nigella and snaps (plus courgettes, broad beans, peas and sweetcorn). And I finally got to use the recycled steel 'rebar' trellis for my peas - very excited about that. 

The larger of the two new growing areas needs some TLC: I've bought packets of green manure seeds, peas and a wildflower annual mix to cover the soil and (hopefully) regenerate it. I'm now dreaming of filling the whole area with beautiful roses: all I need is some money to buy them when the bare-root season opens. And my dahlia cuttings from Halls of Heddon are finally on their way and due for delivery tomorrow: I can't wait to see them!

A massive thank you for your lovely comments asking about Goose (my poorly hen) and also those about my reel on insta (@henhillcutflowers) with Nigel turf-lifting. I LOVE hearing from you, it makes me so happy. I really hope you enjoy the episode and I hope that your growing season is going well.

In this episode, join me for all the news from HenHill Cut Flowers - and there's a lot!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How April 2025 in the UK has been the warmest driest spring for 100 years

✅ Why some climbers find textured support easier to grow up 

✅ How I'm prepping the new growing areas

✅ Why I'm sowing green manure on the soil 

✅ How perennials give you a head start with flowers to cut early on

✅ Bark mulch: the verbena bonariensis are loving it and finally growing 

🌻 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. 

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Hello. It's Thursday 15 May 2025 and I'm talking to you from the plot. 

Exciting news that the Digger Man, Nigel, came yesterday to lift the turf on my plot and it' amazing to have more growing space. Quite a lot more, in fact: an additional 171 square metres. He did an excellent job and was a very nice man. 

I had an emergency with one of my chickens just before he arrived so this is a really quick episode to update you on the turf-lifting and then I'll have more to tell you next week. 

In this episode, join me for Digger Man news

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How the digger man got on

✅ The size of my new cultivatable growing area

✅ How I've broken yet another water bowser tap fitting 

✅ My emergency visit to the vet on Wednesday  

🌻 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. 

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It's Tuesday 13 May 2025: welcome to today's episode. 

Beautiful sunshine but still no rain. I'm running low on water so it's a bit of a tense time. Tonight I'm on the plot talking about how I'm managing my seedlings in the hot and dry conditions. Some plants are doing fine but I really wish I had more water right now.

The digger man is booked for tomorrow and I'm very excited. Having more turf lifted will double my planting area so I can't wait but I'm slightly holding my breath until he arrives and does the work. The dahlias are outside now and doing really well. I've found some gall on one of the tubers which is disappointing but not the end of the world. 

More seedlings have been planted out but now watering them is becoming a bit scary: do I have enough water to last until it rains? I also talk about an idea I've just heard on another podcast about selling single varieties of stems at local markets rather than mixed bouquets so I'm giving serious thought to doing this. It's an extremely busy time and there's alot going on. I do hope you enjoy the episode. 

In this episode, join me for an update on the plot. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How the dahlias are doing 

✅ Why I've just mulched my Verbena bonariensis

✅ Dahlia gall: what to do with infected plants and tubers 

✅ Why you should buy good quality hosepipe fittings  

✅ Thoughts on selling at my local market 

✅  Digger man update  

🌻 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. 

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Hello and welcome to Tuesday 21 October 2025. 

Lots has happened and there is so much to tell you. I went to a fantastic peony sale held by a local cut flower grower on Saturday and picked up three new beautiful varieties which I'm excited about. I also finished prepping bed 4 and supervised the installation of a sink in Kylie's Room (aka the new studio/workshop), and cleaned out gutters to collect the incredible volumes of rainwater we've just had over the weekend. 

The main part of the episode is a conversation all about doing retail flowers in 2026: I've made a spreadsheet to work it all out so it's now a proper "thing". There's so much to think about when selling retail (and it's part of the reason I wanted to dodge it and just do wholesale) including looking at bouquet recipes, working out stem counts, choosing which varieties to include and in what numbers, plus pricing and factoring all the other costs associated with selling at a local market. It's a lot! After a while my brain stopped working entirely but I'm discussing it with you tonight and maybe you can relate.

Please do come back and join me for the next episode on Friday when I'll have more news. I really do hope that you can join me!

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 just like you to 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. 

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It's Friday 9 May 2025 and another gorgeous evening. I've recorded this episode at home tonight, out of the wind, so the audio quality is much better than the last episode (sorry about that one). 

Executive decision: the dahlias are finally moving outside this weekend! They have had enough of being inside (and I want my living room back) so they're going out to be hardened off before being planted out on the plot. I talk about the importance of data collection for my cut flowers and how I'm getting on with collecting information like the time it takes me to sow/plant out/water. I know it will be useful information when it comes to calculating stem prices and productivity later on. 

I analyse what's going on with my nigella seedlings and why I don't think I'm going to grow them in 2026 (unless they sell really well). Some of my seedlings are doing brilliantly (like the cornflowers) but the nigella are not happy. There's an update on my 'lookbook' for showcasing my flowers to florists: are you doing anything similar? I'd love to know. There's a bit of a discussion about a marketing idea I have for persuading brides to ask their wedding florists for local and seasonal blooms (rather than imports) in the hope that it increases demand for British blooms. 

Finally I have a bit of a rant about competition from other growers (I'm in favour), through the prism of growers who have a leg up in the setup of their business. I'm only jealous because I've been doing things the hard way. Despite my moaning, I hope that we can all lift and support each other in this crazy business and I wish everyone the very best (even if I am green with envy sometimes). 

In this episode, join me for a chat about what's going on this week. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Still no rain...

✅ My seedlings are still on the inside-outside carousel   

✅ Why my dahlias are finally going outside this weekend

✅ How I'm watering my sweetpeas

✅ The importance of recording time spent sowing and planting out 

✅ How my flower "lookbook" is progressing 

✅ Why I want to start marketing to brides 

✅ Competition from fellow growers: good or bad? 

✅ Clockwise or anticlockwise: which way do your climbers want to go?

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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. 

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It's 8:30pm on Tuesday 6 May 2025 and a really beautiful evening.

You join me for this episode on the plot as I'm planting out some of my hardy annual seedlings (calendula, orlaya and scabious). It's been a busy bank holiday weekend for me and I haven't had as much time on the plot as I would like so I'm up here this evening getting things done and sharing this with you.

I've spent today thinking about tulips for 2026: it's never too soon to start planning for them. I've decided to only grow certain types (parrot, viridiflora and Rembrandt) as they're very dramatic and showy and I hope that they will sell well. They will go in the dahlia beds when the tubers get lifted in November. I will need to order them in August so I need to start compiling a list very soon. It's important to keep planning ahead. 

I had some microphone problems tonight: the first half seems to be ok but the second half sounds like I'm on the hard shoulder of a windy motorway (I'm not) so I hope you can still hear me. 

If you have a minute, I'd be over the moon if you left a rating or review - not only would it mean so much to me but it really helps other people to decide whether or not they should listen to the podcast and I'd love to share my journey with as many people like you as possible. Thank you. 

In this episode, join me on the plot for an update on my seedlings and more. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How my seedlings are doing on the plot 

✅ Why I need to keep an eye out for squirrels and pigeons   

✅ Why I'm not weeding around my seedlings this year   

✅ My tulip plans for 2026

✅ I'm excited about the last of my dahlia cuttings arriving next week

✅ Why I'm going to start learning to do hand-tied bouquets 

✅ Why you need to talk to like-minded people when times are tough 

🌻 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. 

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It's 8:30am on Friday 2 May 2025 and it's another beautiful sunny day.

What a busy week! I've been juggling a lot of things this week and it got me thinking about what I've learned about starting to grow cut flowers and what no-one tells you! So I have created quite a long list of things I'm learning the hard way and I'd like to share them with you. 

From not having enough money, time or water to the many demands on your time in every aspect of your life, I'm talking about it all. The seedlings all have different needs and the fifty-six dahlias are like small children! As well as focusing on the here-and-now I'm also trying not to forget what I need to be doing in six months/one year/five years hence. 

So from the collapse of my social life and neglecting friends to a lack of understanding from others about the pressures you're under, to worries about what's coming down the line and exhausting days, it's a tough time of year. But it will pass and in a couple of months everything will calm down (I hope!). This episode is a really honest take on what I've been thinking about this week and I hope that you find it interesting. 

If you have a minute, I'd be over the moon if you left a rating or review - not only would it mean so much to me but it really helps other people to decide whether or not they should listen to the podcast and I'd love to share my journey with as many people like you as possible. Thank you. 

In this episode, join me for a frank discussion about what no-one tells you about starting a cut flower business!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ The different needs of my seedlings 

✅ There aren't enough hours in the day for everything  

✅ How my social life has taken a nose-dive  

✅ Pressures around lack of money are stressful

✅ Why you still need to be thinking 1 year/5 years ahead

✅ How time management is really crucial right now 

✅ Why you spend your days checking weather apps 

🌻 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

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The chickens are back on the podcast! It's Tuesday 29 April 2025 and it's very hot.

Join me for this episode on a really beautiful spring day, which started off well then turned out to be a bit too busy and fraught for my liking. I am in charge of the diary so that's entirely my fault. While I'm letting the hens out this morning I talk about water (again), the planting out of my nigella seedlings, and my tough-love watering policy to ensure that plants get their roots down quickly and don't become reliant on me constantly watering them.

The second part of the episode is me trying to unwind on the plot this evening after a really busy day. I spent my (brief) lunch break quickly moving my seedlings out of the heat of the greenhouse and taking panes out of the framework to cool it down. I answer a couple of questions I've received: one about my mini-digger plans and the other about my sweetpea spacings. I end with some thoughts about the importance of carving out time for yourself during this busy period of the year in order to stay calm and focused. 

As always, it's just me talking directly to you on my cut flower journey. I really hope you enjoy the episode. The chickens make a few noisy interruptions too!

In this episode, join me on a hot spring day for chickens and a Q&A 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How the newly-planted out nigella seedlings are getting on 

✅ My tough-love policy when watering new seedlings and perennials 

✅ How I cool my greenhouse down 

✅ Seedling heat tolerance: who loves it hot and who doesn't?

✅ How I reconcile using a mini-digger with my No-dig policy

✅ Problems you can get with planting too close together

✅ Why it's so important to carve out time for yourself during busy times

🌻 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. 

Text The Podcast Here!

Support the show