Hello and welcome to a chilly Tuesday 25 November 2025.

Tonight I'm talking about the foliage that I'm growing for 2026 and beyond. I realised that I needed more foliage about mid-way through this year when I suddenly started selling buckets and buckets of beech and hazel. Then I thought that perhaps I needed to buy some more foliage plants for adding to bouquets and mixed buckets and that's what I've been doing over the past few months. So in this episode I'm sharing what I'm growing and why.

In other news, I'll update you on how I'm getting on with my online flower farming course and how lovely it is to connect with fellow growers. There is nothing better than chatting to fellow growers about everything good, bad and ugly about the business. I've said it before and I'll say it again: growing cut flowers can be a lonely business if you're doing it by yourself so connections with other growers are life-affirming and wonderful.

I hope that the rest of your week goes well and if you're in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving! Please come back and join me for the next episode - you're always welcome.

And the Mint that I talk about (but couldn't remember the name of in the episode) is Apple Mint!

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.

Hello, it's Friday 21 November 2025.

Welcome - I'm in a much better mood tonight! It's been a busy week, both indoors and outdoors. My course is going well: module 2 has just dropped which is all about pricing. Can't wait to start that. Pricing is such a huge topic and one that not everyone talks about. I know I've struggled with it this year. I've also just taken a free online floristry tutorial with top florist, Joseph Massie, and I'm working my way through a Lennie Larkin course. She is holding a Flower Summit at the moment with lots of very useful (and free) information.

All the news about my bulbs and planting them in crates, rather than in the ground, plus my thoughts on crate-growing tulips including the pros and cons, as I see them. I answer a great question from a listener about having a farm gate stand so I discuss this and talk about all the things I would want to consider if I were to do one. Finally I offer some tips for saving money when sourcing foliage for making wreaths and I hope this is helpful if you're planning on making your own this year.

I hope that you have a great weekend and that you will come back and join me for the next episode.

LINKS

Florist - Joseph Massie https://www.josephmassie.com/. His podcast is called 'Flowers After Hours'.

Website for Jenny Marks (whose course I'm currently doing) and the courses she has available: https://www.trademarkfarmer.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.

Hello, welcome to Tuesday 18 November 2025.

Winter is here! The temperature has plummeted and I'm bundled up in so many layers that it's hard to even bend down sometimes. Tonight's episode gives you an update of my progress on the new course with Jenny Marks of Trademark Farmer in the US, and news of what I've done with my dahlias over the weekend.

Yesterday I visited a fellow grower's plot for a meet-up of local fellow growers which was very interesting and gave me the biggest plot envy ever! There's news about gathering holly for wreaths as well as the location of my bulb order. I've been watching videos of growing tulips in crates so I feel confident having a go at that when they (eventually) arrive.

The rest of the week is busy as usual and I do hope that you will 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 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.

Hello, welcome to a very wet Friday 14 November 2025.

I've just taken part in the first online 'welcome' meeting for the new course I've just enrolled on with Jenny Marks of Trademark Farmer and it was great. I've made a start on module 1 and there's a lot to take onboard. Today has been a wash-out in terms of heavy rain all day so I spent time this morning unblocking a gutter and getting soaked. Check your gutters before the rain comes!

Tonight I'm talking about factors to consider when choosing my roses for 2026: there are so many roses to choose from that I'm spoilt for choice (and also swamped with indecision). I'm focusing on roses that my wedding & event florists will love and really want to buy but it's hard to refine the list.

Finally, given the weather conditions today, I thought I'd share my tips for surviving a rainy November day including how not to slip over on your plot, the footwear that I swear by, maintaining gutters properly, meshing water tanks if they don't have lids, improving your knowledge levels, prepping for making wreaths, and not having insta-envy and feeling despondent that everyone else in the cut flower world is ahead of you (they're not).

I hope you have a great weekend and I that you will 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 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.

Hello and welcome to 11 November 2025.

There's so much to tell you about in this episode! Life in the cut flower field has been busy: my young cockerel, Lion, finally has his own enclosure and a wife (!); I've been drying more stems in the unlikely event that someone wants to buy them (or they end up in wreaths); physocarpus shrubs have been planted; achillea 'The Pearl' is being moved to a new bed; a new florist came to the plot to buy a mixed bucket this morning (very exciting) and it was great to tell her what I'll have available next year; and I've finally placed my tulip and allium order for 2026. Phew!

Big news: I've just signed up for a proper business flower farming course with the amazing Jenny Marks of Trademark Farmer in the USA. I've been dithering about doing a course for the whole year and was resigned to not being able to afford it, but finally decided that it's something I need to take the plunge and actually commit to. I have a feeling that I've made the right decision because I've already received masses of incredibly valuable information from Jenny and the course hasn't even officially started yet. I'll keep you posted!

Here are some links to the book and the course:

BOOK: The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lean-Farm-Minimize-Increase-Efficiency/dp/1603585923

COURSE: Six Figure Flower Farming by Jenny Marks of Trademark Farmer

https://www.trademarkfarmer.com/enroll

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.