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. 

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. 

Great excitement: I've just been speaking to a landscaper about using a mini-digger to lift some turf for me to really expand my growing space. I can't wait! I recorded this episode on Thursday 24 April 2025 in the afternoon and it's cool and breezy today.

I did a reconciliation of how many seedlings I have and it's ALOT! It made me realise that I need more growing space urgently so I've decided to hire a landscaper to remove some turf for me. I can't physically do any more myself.

In this episode I'm talking about my encounter with the mini-digger man, plus the seeds I'm still sowing. Plus there's an update on my visit to my dahlia expert grower, Richard Bailey, last Tuesday, where we split some tubers and took some cuttings. I also clarified what he told me about using cuttings with hollow stems (it's good news). 

Once again, thank you so much for your comments on my instagram @henhillcutflowers - it really does mean the world to me. I hope you're enjoying joining me on my cut flower journey and if you're new to the podcast then welcome.

In this episode, join me as I get very excited about mini-diggers!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How many seedlings I have right now

✅ Why I need a mini-digger to expand my growing space

✅ Why some dahlia tubers can be planted out now but mine can't 

✅ Hollow stemmed dahlia cuttings: to keep or not?   

✅ When it's time to stop sowing seeds 

🌻 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. 

It's a sunny lunchtime on Tuesday 22 April 2025 and I'm basking in the warmth of the greenhouse.

I'm busy sowing more seeds and today I'm discussing the pros and cons of two different sowing styles: scattergun approach or straight lines. Which one do you use? I prefer the straight lines method as I can count how many plants I have and each plant can stay in its tray for longer before going on the plot, which saves time. But you can't fit as many seeds in each tray so you end up needing more trays which takes up more space.

Prepping beds: everyone has their own technique. I do the "no dig" method to avoid disturbing the soil structure but I always remove perennial weeds first, even if I'm only sowing annuals. Then I add lots of organic material, either compost or old chicken bedding. I answer a question about when I plant my dahlias outside and talk about a different technique that a pro-grower in the UK uses and why. There are pros and cons to all of this and I'll talk about them. 

I talk about a wedding that the florist I'm going to be selling to this year has just done and how amazing the flowers looked. She is an incredibly talented florist. Are my flowers going to be good enough for her? YES! They are! 

I end with an update of what's happened on the plot since the last episode and why I'm so excited about my zinnias this year. I hope that your growing week is going brilliantly!

In this episode, join me to discuss some pros and cons of things.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ What's your sowing style: scattergun or straight lines? 

✅ How I prep my beds on the plot

✅ Benefits of "no dig" method  

✅ When to plant dahlias outside   

✅ Keep reminding yourself of your Unique Selling Point

✅ Why Zinnias make great 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. 

Happy Easter! It's 8pm on Good Friday, 18 April 2025 and I'm on the plot.

It has definitely not been my week! After the water debacle on Tuesday I managed to get a tummy bug which has been unpleasant and this afternoon I wasn't even able to leave the house because of it. And whilst I've had tummy trouble all week I've had to do some regular gardening to get some cash in the door which has meant that I haven't been sowing any more seed this week. 

I haven't done a review of what's growing on the plot for a while so this episode is me chatting through what's doing what. I talk about my perennials and where I got them from, plus how to grow your own perennials on a budget. I chat about the importance of keeping mint contained (mint makes great foliage), espaliering apple trees and interplanting flowers with garlic bulbs to maximise planting opportunities.

In this episode, join me for a review of what's growing on the plot this week.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How this week has really turned out not to be my week!

✅ A review of what's growing on the plot 

✅ How to acquire perennials if you don't have much money 

✅ Whether or not I should sow more Verbena bonariensis  

✅ Why Agapanthus need to be grown in pots rather than the ground

✅ How interplanting flowers with garlic bulbs is a great space-saving idea 

🌻 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. 

It's Tuesday 15 April 2025 and this week has started really badly: I left a tap running last night and managed to drain my two full water bowsers. Overnight I've lost over a thousand litres of water. The timing is awful and I'm very disappointed in myself.

I also managed to forget to close the greenhouse door last night, which is not like me. Luckily we didn't have a frost so everyone was fine but it could have been a lot worse. So this episode is a bit low-key as you'll probably be able to tell from my voice that I'm really sad about the water loss. 

I have managed to successfully split many of my dahlia tubers from my dahlia mentor, Richard Bailey, and there's more to do today. I've planted out my cornflowers (there's a reel on insta @henhillcutflowers) and also my sweetpeas, which had lovely roots sticking out of the bottom of their toilet rolls. I've also sown more zinnias and cornflowers.

Other dramas this week include the difficulty of finding a 4m-long pole saw in the South of England (it's impossible) and an issue with my little dog. The episode ends on a more positive note with my plans for potting up the final few dahlia tubers and the seeds I will be succession sowing this afternoon using my new (and very clever) sowing chart. 

In this episode, join me for the first of the disasters on the plot.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How I managed to lose 1,400 litres of rainwater overnight 

✅ The dahlia tubers I've been splitting 

✅ What to do when you don't have sulfur powder to cover cuts on tubers 

✅ How grateful I am to hear from you and why your messages are so lovely  

✅ Where you can see a video of my cornflower seedlings (@henhillcutflowers) 

🌻 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. 

It's Friday 11 April 2025 and another incredibly sunny day. Still no rain but hopefully it's coming next week.

I'll be updating you on what I've been sowing this week and the new sowing chart that I've made to help me remember when to sow the next batch (it's all about successional sowing this year). I discuss my morning feeling routine and how I work out which seedlings get to spend the day where, depending on the day's temperature and their stage of growth. I usually do this with a coffee (see photo on insta @henhillcutflowers) and I water them at this time too. 

I share my thoughts about plant spacings with reference to cut flowers and how I've worked this out. It's all in theory at the moment so I need to actually get on the plot and walk it out. Then there's a discussion about staking the cornflowers and how to get this right in 2025, using various options including metal fencing wire or string. It's all a learning curve and very much depends on the materials I have to hand on the plot and my soil conditions.

In this episode, join me for an update on what I've been doing this week.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How to measure distances if you lose your tape measure 

✅ The seeds I've sown this week

✅ Why a seed sowing chart helps with successional sowing

✅ How I've worked out plant spacings for my cornflowers 

✅ Fence posts vs road pins 

🌻 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. 

It's another glorious week of sunshine and dry weather and the shed doors are finally on! 

Today it's Tuesday 8 April 2025 and I'm pleased to update you on what's been going on since my last episode. I've been busy planting out foxgloves, peonies and raspberries, plus I made a new access path for the plot (and hung a new gate that I made myself, which I'm very proud of!). 

I talk about storing water, even if you're on the mains. You can't really store enough water and I'm a big fan of water butts, IBCs, guttering on all buildings/sheds, reusing grey water, and then covering any exposed water sources so that birds can't fall in and drown. 

I had to buy more Orlaya seeds and while I was ordering I ended up buying some Helichrysum (strawflowers), Limonium (statice), Matthiola (stocks) and Cosmos. I've sown these already and I can't wait to see the flowers. I'm monitoring my dahlia tubers very closely for dahlia gall and if you have tubers it's important that you check yours carefully and take action, if necessary.

In the second part of the episode I share with you my honest thoughts about managing my fears and having imposter syndrome. Even though it sounds like things are going great for me, I'd like you to know that behind the scenes I'm quite stressed and pretty overwhelmed with many fears which I worry about all the time, including fear of failure, desperate lack of funds, imposter syndrome, concerns that I can't deliver what's needed when it's required, weddings being cancelled (totally out of my hands but a huge worry if my flowers aren't required) plus a whole load more. It's exhausting trying to stay positive and doing so much work without any income coming in. If you're in a similar situation, you might relate to this. 

In this episode, join me for a frank conversation about managing fear.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How and why you need to store as much water as possible 

✅ The new seeds I've ordered this week (I know.... more seeds)

✅ Why dahlia gall is a serious problem that can have costly implications 

✅ How fear and imposter syndrome is so debilitating  

✅ How I try to overcome my fear of failure

✅ Why it's so important to back yourself and believe in yourself

🌻 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. 

It's Friday 4 April 2025 and if you're a dahlia-fan then this is the episode for you. Join me as I share everything I learnt this beautifully sunny morning from my dahlia mentor, Richard Bailey, including tips and tricks for success with these beautiful plants. 

Richard is a prize-winning dahlia exhibitor and a Vice President of the National Dahlia Society in the UK. He's been exhibiting for years with much success, having learnt from some of the most eminent UK dahlia exhibitors himself. Richard is very generous with his time and he loves nothing more than sharing his dahlia knowledge with enthusiasts. I'm very grateful for his expertise and delighted to share it with you in this episode. 

What Richard knows is just as applicable to growing cut flowers as exhibiting:  to produce the most beautiful and high value blooms you need to know the techniques that the pros use. 

In this episode, join me to hear valuable hints and tips for growing dahlias.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How to wake up your dahlia tubers after their winter sleep 

✅ To sieve or not to sieve compost?

✅ Why dahlias need bottom heat and darkness to wake up (not light)

✅ How to take dahlia cuttings 

✅ Checking for gall on dahlia crowns: what to look for and how to deal with it

✅ Sow dahlia seeds and see what new colours appear! 

🌻 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. 

There's a lot going on at the moment! Join me on the plot in the fabulous sunshine today, Tuesday 1 April (how is it April already???) as I update you on what I've been upto, including seed sowing, monitoring production costs, ordering more seeds, selecting new dahlias, making new beds, rearranging fence panels, moving the contents of the compost heap into an empty bay plus a whole lot more. 

This weather is proving wonderful for germination: my seeds are coming up really quickly so I have a bit of a merry-go-round system going with seeds germinating inside and then the hardy ones going out into the greenhouse. I hope that you're having success with your seeds this year!

It was windy on the plot this afternoon so the audio is a little bit up and down. I hope this doesn't detract - I much prefer talking from the plot rather than indoors.

In this episode, join me for a catchup in the glorious sunshine.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why it's important to position dahlias near a source of water 

✅ How working out what's going where will help me calculate production costs

✅ Seeds I've been sowing today 

✅ I've finally ordered my dahlias from Halls of Heddon!

✅ Why I'm growing Helichrysum this year and its dual uses

✅ New seeds I've ordered for 2025 (I couldn't help myself!)

🌻 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.