Join me for a behind-the-scenes look at how I'm starting to grow and sell cut flowers in the south of England. Over the course of the year I'll be sharing every...
An Epiphany! Shrinkage! Pricing Disasters! Profit Margins! Production Costs! It's All Here.
I've had an epiphany! I've been listening to a new podcast and it's made me think really hard about the "business" side of what I'm doing so I have paused with the seed sowing for a moment to give this some thought. I've been learning about production costs, overheads, profit margins, and calculating profitability per square metre. I'm a data nerd so I'm suddenly really excited about all of this data collection and analysis: I love it and I can't wait to see what it tells me about what I'm doing on the plot.I've grouped my flowers into "priority groups" so it helps me when it comes to allocating space and time. I realised that I don't want to be spending too much time or allocating too much space to flowers which don't sell for a lot of money. We will see if this technique pays off later this year!Also exciting news: Kylie my baby hen has (finally!) become a Mum of three gorgeous while fluffy baby chicks. Well done, Kylie.Here's the podcast I'm talking about in this episode: Six Figure Flower Farming, created by Jenny Marks. I nearly didn't listen to it because I thought it wouldn't apply to me (I won't be earning six figures this year!) but I'm really glad I did. Lots of incredibly useful info about the business-side of things. In this episode, join me as I'm having an epiphany!What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Why it's vital to calculate production costs for each flower variety✅ How production costs help to calculate profitability per sqm ✅ The importance of researching pricing ✅ My embarrassing experience of selling/pricing in 2024 ✅ What I learnt about shrinkage and how it applies to my flowers ✅ Why I need to think in a much more business-like manner!✅ How interning with a florist could really help you 🌻 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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28:08
It's Time to Wake the Dahlias & The Ultimate FREE Liquid Fertiliser
It's a beautiful week and I've been busy. It's a bit overwhelming at times: I feel like I have so many things to do all at the same time and sometimes it's hard to work out what I should be doing first. Normally I'm pretty good at prioritising but at this time of year it's challenging...In this episode I take a breather from digging up nettles and do a brief review of what's happening on the plot this week including: admiring the coppiced hazel poles, conserving water in the bowsers, enjoying the naturally-growing daffodils, PLUS what I've been doing with my dahlias to wake them up and the seeds I've been sowing this week. I also talk about taking Maggie C to see Richard (my super-amazing dahlia-expert teacher) and an update on Kylie, my broody hen. Finally I discuss planning for lean times of the year (i.e. Feb/March/April) in terms of what to grow to bring in some money, and the importance of planning ahead for this so you're prepared for these lean times. The first half of this podcast was recorded out on the plot and the second half inside in the warmth. I hope you enjoy it, despite some background traffic noise in the first half.In this episode, I’m waking up dahlias and planning for lean times.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ How to make brilliant Nettle Liquid Fertiliser ✅ Why I'm using "rebar" to grow (some of) my sweetpeas up this year✅ Technique for waking dahlias up and getting them going ✅ What I've been sowing over the weekend ✅ Skip-diving: always ask permission before taking anything! 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers. I'm going to give you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.
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22:38
Q&A Session with the CEO (that's me). And I Talk About Profitability, which is Very Important.
What a gorgeous week: it's been very warm and sunny in the last couple of days, which has made me feel very excited about spring. And also slightly overwhelmed. I look at my seed trays and simultaneously think "Oh there are SO MANY!" and also "Oh I don't have enough!". But it's all fine: it's just what happens at this time of year.Lots of updates for you in this episode including the progress of my seed germination, some vegetable seed sowing, the fate of the Victoria plum, and what I've been doing with my compost at the plot.In part 2 I answer some listener questions plus one from me about the most profitable cut flower stems to grow (I've been wondering a lot about this). So join me as I talk about direct sowing, not getting lonely even when you spend a lot of time alone, why I can't really sell direct to customers and my thoughts on the most profitable cut flowers to grow.In this episode, I'm having a Q&A session with myself.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Seed germination updates✅ What are the challenges of direct sowing?✅ Homemade compost update ✅ Why I struggle to sell directly to customers✅ What is the most profitable cut flower stem to grow? 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review – it really does help more cut flower lovers find the show. Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers. I'm going to give you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.
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19:10
We Have Germination! And Backup Plans: I Need One. Do YOU Have One?
It's been a really busy few days: some of the new seeds that were sown last week have germinated, the new beds have been marked out with string, a whole new planting area has been created, I finally found my missing broad bean seeds (yipeeeeee!), more seeds have been sown, the sun has been shining and it's warming up nicely.I've been thinking a lot over the weekend about a backup plan: what happens if my main cut flower buyer for 2025 can't take my flowers? What would I do? Where else would I sell them? I need a plan for a worst-case-scenario. I really hope it won't happen but it's always good to be prepared... do listen to this episode to find out more. In this episode, let's talk about the importance of having a backup plan.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ Which seeds have germinated✅ The new seeds that I've sown this week✅ Perennials I still need to plant ✅ How to find a florist who you vibe with ✅ Why you need a backup plan for your cut flowers🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review – it really does help more cut flower lovers find the show. Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers. I'm going to give you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.
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18:16
Scabious: Focal or Filler? Or Both?! More Seed Sowing. And Quiche!
I went to the garden centre just to buy a ball of string to finish marking out the new cut flower beds and came home with some lovely new flowers seeds!In this first part of this episode I'm back in the greenhouse on a warm and bright afternoon sowing more of my cut flower seeds as well as the new ones that I picked up in the garden centre. As I'm sowing (you can hear me rummaging in the background as I fill up trays with compost) I have a moan about podcast adverts, I talk about why I'm sowing much smaller batches of seeds successionally this year, and I discuss my new Scabious seeds and whether they could actually be focal flowers rather than fillers. I also talk about why I don't start sowing seeds until March. Someone stole the padlock chain from the gates of my plot on Monday and I talk briefly about this. In the second part I'm inside in the warm and I give a brief recap on the second part of the week including standing my sweetpea loo rolls upright, getting caught in a hailstorm, having a hog roast at my plant wholesaler's spring open day, and breaking news: I made a very nice quiche and then ate it.In this episode, I’m still in the greenhouse sowing more cut flower seeds.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✅ New seeds from the garden centre I'm sowing this week✅ Why I'm sowing smaller batches of seeds more often this year✅ Scabious: focal flower or filler? ✅ Why I don't start sowing seeds before March ✅ What happens with security on your plot when you don't own it?✅ Genius hack for stopping loo rolls falling over and seeds falling out ✅ I made a fantastic quiche! 🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!If you like what you hear, please follow so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show. Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers. I'm going to give you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.
Join me for a behind-the-scenes look at how I'm starting to grow and sell cut flowers in the south of England. Over the course of the year I'll be sharing everything I'm doing from planning through to harvesting flowers, by way of highs and lows, hints and tips, lessons I've learnt the hard way and (hopefully) some beautiful cut flowers. If you're thinking of starting your own cut flower business or you'd just like the low-down on what it's really like, this is the podcast for you. Subscribe & Stay Connected!✅ Find me on instagram @henhillcutflowers ✅ For more information visit my website www.lydiathegardener.co.uk ✅ Follow the podcast so that you don’t miss an episode✅ Please support the podcast by leaving a review/some kind words and sharing this podcast with someone who loves flowers - thank you.
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