Becoming a Cut Flower Grower

Hello, it's Friday 10 July 2026. Another scorcher of a week..... and never mind the plants, I've been wilting under the glare of the sun. I've been watering so much this week that I've finally run out of water on the field and I have to top the IBCs up tomorrow. I always have water ring-fenced for the chickens but not enough for the flowers at the moment. I had a visit from a n...

Hello, it's Tuesday 7 July 2026. I've been away for a week and it has been nerve-wracking leaving the flowers in the warm temperatures that the UK is still experiencing. I landed back tonight and went straight to the field to see how everything coped and I'm sharing my findings with you in this episode, including the plants doing really well/those that are doing so-so and the ones w...

Hello, it's Friday 3 July 2026. Tonight I'm doing a Q&A session to celebrate 150 episodes of this podcast. I hit that milestone a few episodes ago but totally forgot that I planned a special themed episode - so here it is. Apologies for my persistent sniffing throughout the episode - I don't quite know what happened. I'm chatting about topics and questions I've been as...

Hello, it's Tuesday 30 June 2026. Temperatures have finally dropped - thank goodness! That heatwave was intense. In tonight's episode I'm talking about the perennials I've just been planting on the field and how I bought them guilt-free, thanks to the new technique I've adopted, called Profit First. I've put the name of the book below in case you're interested in...

Hello, it's Friday 26 June 2026. Well it's pretty much the end of the current heatwave and I'm flagging a bit, unlike the plants which are doing just fine. UK temperature records have been broken (again) and there's no sign of rain for the next ten days, which is not good. The hens are doing absolutely fine and have been enjoying lots of leafy greens and watermelon.  In light o...

Hello, it's Tuesday 23 June 2026. Lots to tell you about tonight whilst recording from my very hot field. Even a peacock interrupted me (it's not mine!). We're in the middle of a heatwave here in the UK at the moment which is a teeny bit stressful. So far the seedlings are coping, but the water levels in the IBCs are taking a hit. Orders are starting to head off the field - more det...

Hello, it's Friday 19 June 2026. Thank goodness it's Friday! Phew! If you sent me a message about the annuals/perennials debate this week - thank you - and if you commented on Spotify, thank you too. Tonight I'm talking more about starting annuals in autumn: I'm psyching myself up to get back into sowing. Please get in touch if you buy annual plug/starts: I'm really intere...

Hello, it's Tuesday 16 June 2026. Normal service has been resumed (no more moaning tonight!). Thanks for bearing with me as I yakked on and on about what a dreadful week I had in the last episode.  Growing cut flowers is an absolutely wild ride: equal parts fun and sheer terror, and it's a very fine line. I find it really hard to look at the 'big picture' cut flower work I&apos...

Hello, it's Friday 12 June 2026. It has been a week. And not a good one! I had a nasty injury on the field, a car drama, non-stop rain, no sales on the hub, my garden is a jungle and I didn't get anywhere near enough seedlings planted out. Oh, and did I mention the rain? So, in light of that, this episode is a bit of a rant about how dreadfully things have gone this week, just in case yo...

Hello, it's Tuesday 9 June 2026. I have lots of news from the field in today's episode including planting seedlings, staking and netting, and weeding (or rather, pulling endless creeping thistle). I've also removed a succession of one of the Saponaria seedlings because they weren't performing well and space is at a premium. It's the first time I've ever done this - an...

Hello, it's Friday 5 June 2026. Lots to tell you about tonight: news from the field including staking random cornflowers, more maintenance of the living pathways, and I'm starting to question whether it is more economical to buy plugs or sow seeds. There's also news from the greenhouse because some of the seedlings had to go back inside to protect them from the cool/windy/rainy weat...

Hello, it's Tuesday 2 June 2026.  Phew, May is over. Last month really tested me (and a significant number of fellow growers). Our flowers were subject to such weather extremes that they (and I) didn't know if they were coming or going. Whilst plants are generally resilient, the flowers aren't and many either weren't ready for events or finished before they could be used. I hop...

Hello, it's Friday 29 May 2026. I'm really delighted to share with you a wonderful conversation with my wedding & event florist, Jo Caldwell, on today's episode. We had such a long chat that I've actually had to split it into two parts so here is part 1 and the second one will be available next Tuesday.  We cover a lot of ground including how growers can adapt to colour tre...

Hello, it's Tuesday 26 May 2026 and it's EVEN HOTTER! It's a beautiful May evening and you join me tonight on the field to feed the chickens and tour the cut flower area. I haven't talked you through what's happening on the field in a while so I thought that tonight would be a good opportunity. If you're reading this in the UK, I hope you're surviving the high te...

Hello, it's Friday 22 May 2026 and it's HOT! So much to tell you tonight including sharply rising temperatures (and the pressures that brings), my visit to my wedding & event florist today, and a new rose I'm desperate to acquire. I'm also talking about what I'm calling the "tight rope zone" which is May: how do growers manage all the different tasks which ha...

Hello, welcome to Tuesday 19 May 2026.  Oh the wind and cold is bothering me this week! I've just stocked up on more chocolate because I'm really not feeling it this week: one of the hens got into the flower area and dug up some of my sweetpeas, plus growth is slow because of the cool conditions.  In tonight's episode I'm talking about why I wish I had gone to Chelsea Flower Sh...

Hello, welcome to Friday 15 May 2026.  What a week: it started with frosts and continued with hail storms which were very strong and potentially damaging to the seedlings. So I spent 'Hail Day' i.e Wednesday, sat in front of the TV watching Rivals and eating a big bar of chocolate. Thank you if you sent me a message this week, it really cheered me up! In this episode I'm talking abo...

Hello, it's Tuesday 12 May 2026.  Tonight I'm talking about goal setting: why it can be super-helpful to how you run your business, why I do it, how I do it and some suggestions for things you could consider, including goals for your finances, production, lifestyle, skills and purpose.  If you're not goal-setting yet, it could help you to avoid mission drift, remain focused and turn...

Hello and welcome to Friday 8 May 2026.  Lots to tell you about tonight so I have all the news from the field (including an unwelcome caterpillar on a climbing rose, what's just about to flower, an allium disaster, peony news and dahlia sprouting numbers), plus all the news from the greenhouse (zinnias and cosmos seedlings update, still no Larkspur, and staggeringly slow didiscus and nicotian...

Hello, welcome to Tuesday 5 May 2026.  I'm still getting over my cold so my voice sounds a bit croaky. Thank goodness we had some rain over the weekend! Phew! It really helped the soil although it wasn't enough to top up IBC1 unfortunately. I spent the weekend planting out the first few batches of my hardy annuals on the field: the agrostemma, ammi, scabious, stocks and saponaria are out...

Hello, welcome to Friday 1 May 2026.  I've got a horrendous cold so tonight's episode is shorter than normal because I feel dreadful and I haven't done anything constructive on the field this week. I've just about managed to keep on top of the plants which have needed watering, plus keeping an eye on the seedlings in the greenhouse, but that's it.  Thank you if you sent me...

Hello, welcome to Tuesday 28 April 2026.  Lots of news from the weekend on the plot: all the details in this episode of how I'm getting on prepping bed 4. I've also been doing more seed sowing including another batch of half hardy annuals and tenders, including my new ProCut sunflowers. This afternoon I had a wonderful site visit from the owner of my local flower hub, Fenella, from the F...

Hello, welcome to Friday 24 April 2026.  Lots to tell you tonight including all the news from the field and the greenhouse. Exciting news: some dahlia shoots have appeared, which is amazing and I'm so glad to see them. I'm reviewing the seedlings in the greenhouse and I'll share the ones that are doing well and the ones which are testing me (hello, Larkspur). I've had some grea...

Hello, it's Tuesday 21 April 2026.  I'm recording this episode from the plot but hopefully the audio is ok. I've been very busy and tonight I'll be sharing how I've just planted my sweet peas out and the steps I've taken to ensure that they're protected. I've also been sowing (more) seeds - so many that I've had to go and buy more shelving for the green...

Hello and welcome to Friday 17 April 2026.  Lots to tell you about tonight: I experienced a strimming mishap with my Cephalaria (giant scabious), the other scabious have collapsed after they were moved last weekend, and I've busy trying to keep the greenhouse at a constant temperature, which is no mean feat. This week I visited a fellow grower's plot together with some other members of m...