Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Roz caught up with Tessa Dooley from Ladybird Plantcare this week. 

Tessa, mum to young twins, bought Ladybird Plantcare in November 2018. Prior to owning Ladybird, Tessa worked in marketing, she has worked on lots of different brands across a long periods of time.  A definite career shift from marketing to plantcare.

Listen in to this fascinating episode all about natural predators for plantcare.

This weeks key discussion points included:

• About your business - Ladybird Plantcare
• What’s the market for biological control in the UK? 
• What’s your best seller? 
• Slugs and snails are already in the garden. 
• Vine weevil and slugs. 
• What are thrips? How do we avoid them? 
• What to do if you’ve got a lot of whitefly. 
• Who’s inspired you in your career? 

Tessa Cobley Resources:

• https://ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/
• https://facebook.com/ladybirdplantcare
• http://instagram.com/ladybirdplantcare

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Joining Roz in the studio today is Bethany Harries.

Bethany was originally a personal trainer, and decided she needed a career change, suffering mental and physical burnt out and exhaustion.  She was always interested in public health and health promotion. So after doing a bit of Career Research Bethany decided that she wanted to become a health psychologist. So she enrolled on to a psychology degree with the Open University, and then after that, went and did her master's in health psychology, and now she is on to the PhD, which is the final stage to becoming a fully qualified health psychologists.

Key points Roz and Bethany discuss today include: 

• Bethany’s journey and where she is today. 
• Therapeutic gardens in the mainstream. 
• How do people sign up for the survey? 
• Will you publish anything along the way? 
• Gardening as a way to relax. 
• What’s the future of green prescribing? 
• Gardening can be adapted to so many different needs. 
• What’s your ideal job? 

Bethany Harries Resource Links:

• Instagram: @sustainably_healthy_
• Twitter: @BethanyHarries
• Linkedin: (16) Bethany Harries | LinkedIn
• Website: Bethany Harries | University of Surrey

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

This week Roz is joined in the studio by Dr David Bek,  who is a reader in sustainable economics based at the Research Centre for Business in society at Coventry University, which is in the UK.

David has extensive experience undertaking research into sustainability within horticultural supply chains, especially cut flowers.

Key points we discuss in today's episode include:

• David’s journey into cut flowers. 
• How to be open to whatever your journey takes you. 
• Where did his interest in supply chains come from? 
• What is the impact of our choices within the supply chain? 
• What’s happening in the world of flowers. 
• Florists don’t know about sustainability, they do not know any different. 
• Why is it so hard to get the message out about sustainable products? 
• What’s the impact of globalisation on the flower industry? 
• What is the biggest driver of the British flower market? 
• The buzz from people who are trying to make a difference in the flower industry
• The importance of getting the word out about sustainable forestry. 
• If you were on a desert island, who would you want with you? 
• What’s going on in the world of agriculture. 

David Bek Resource Links:

• Twitter: DavidBek@DaveDBRS
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bek-13545b1a/
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC42Ho1eiWS6B1thJicijUHg/content/playlists
• Website: https://sustainableflowers.coventry.domains/

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

This week Roz caught up with Amber Partner from Howe Farm Flowers. Amber bought her farm in 2012, and the rest as they say is history. 

Howe Farm Flowers is located on the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire border, in the pretty village of Dorton. The farm is within easy reach of Thame, Bicester, Aylesbury and Waddesdon, and is a half hour’s drive from Oxford. Theylove to grow beautiful, seasonal cut flowers with a proclivity for scent and sustainability.

Key discussion points in this weeks episode:

• What is your flower farm like? 
• You need to attract the right audience. 
• What are you growing on an annual basis? 
• What challenges do flower farmers face in the main? 
• How can we make British flowers more accessible to florists? 
• Weeds are the bane of my life. 
• The beacon of inspiration for the industry. 
• Manifesting is about what you really want and how you want it to happen. 
• Don’t give up, invest more! 

Howe Farm Flowers Resources:
Instagram and Facebook @howefarmflowers
Website- https://www.howefarmflowers.com

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Roz is joined in the studio this week by the incredible husband and wife team Steve and Paula from Floral Media, who describe their business as 'More Than Just Flowers'.

Floral Media's  heart is in horticulture, they also do events, where garden groups come on visits, and they take them on tours. They run about 15 acres in total now, so part of its garden, and part of its for growing. Included in the garden tours are workshops, and they also do lots of competitive stuff with the floral art and the floristry.

Key discussion points this week are: 

• Introducing Steve and Paula. 
• What’s going on in the world of seeds. 
• How they came to work with flowers and how they work together. 
• How they got started with no plan. 
• What is your number one recommendation for landscaping? 
• Florist’s need to be able to work with growers. 
• If you want to disrupt the market, come and talk to me. 
• Paula's biggest claim to fame.
• What would you be doing if you weren’t growing flowers? 
• All female, middle-aged change of careerlifers. 

Resource Links:
www.floralmedia.co.uk

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Roz is joined in the studio this week by Joanna Game a British flower Florist.

You can follow Joanna on Instagram here > @joannagame_flowers

Key points for discussion this week:

• Introduction to Joanna Game
• What’s the biggest issue with the British flower industry? 
• Ex-nurses vs. current florists. 
• When is Beltane coming up? 
• What inspires you to do what you do? 
• Don’t be envious of others’ success. 
• If you weren’t growing and producing these amazing pieces of art, what would you be doing? 
• Take the same shot every month and then speed it up. 
• How would you rate this summary?

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Roz is joined in the studio this week by Michael Kennard.  Michael is the founder of Compost Club just outside Brighton.  Compost Club is a social enterprise, to regenerate soil with really good living, biologically abundant and diverse compost, using food waste from residents and businesses.

Key discussions points for today:

• Introducing Michael Kennard founder of Compost Club  
• The Women’s European Championship. 
• What is the future of the garden? 
• What is the compost club? Where is it? What is its aim? 
• How to make a positive impact on the world. 
• How do you make the compost? 
• Composting is the best evidence that death is the source of life -. 
• When you were born, how do you spell “environment”? 
• Can people individually compost their own food waste and what can they do with it? 
• How do we get involved? How do people get involved? 
• How would you rate this summary?

Michaels Resource Links: 

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/clubcompost
• Facebook composting community group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1280887389372143
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/compost.club
• Tiktok - https://tiktok.com/@compostclub
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/clubcompost
• Youtube - https://youtube.com/@clubcompost
• Website - https://www.compostclub.online

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Roz is joined in the studio this week by Alice Vicent.

Alice is a writer, ostensibly, who happens to garden. She has spent the last 15 years mostly as an arts journalist, She has spent a long time as a music journalist. The bulk of Alice's career was spent in house at the telegraph.

In the last few years, Alice has been working all over the place, and she's written about gardening as well.

Listen in to this weeks really interesting discussion 'Why Women Grow'.

Key points Roz and Alice will be covering in today's episode:

• Introduction to today’s guest, Alison Vincent. 
• What did you discover in writing Why Women Grow? 
• Gardening is not all roses and cute little trees. 
• My dream was to sit once a day on a walk with the dog. 
• Gardening is not perfect, it’s a way of life. 
• What’s going to happen to the garden? 
• The importance of having an open brief in a wedding. 
• What’s changing in the flower farming industry. 
• What’s your dream job? 
• What’s next for you?

Alice Vincent Resources:

• IG handle: @noughticulture
• Twitter: @alice_emily
• Website: alicevincent.co.uk 

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

In this weeks episode Roz is joined in the studio by Bex Partridge. 

Bex dried flower business really took off during covid lockdowns, she joins Roz to discuss the journey from corporate marketing and project management to dried flower entrepreneur.

She is the author of:  Everlastings comes Flowers Forever – a book that will inspire you to create beautiful floral displays with long lasting, dried flowers.

Key discussion points Roz and Bex cover today are: 

• Bex’s journey and how she got started. 
• Dried flowers have always been a part of the British flower movement. 
• Dried flowers are not a replacement for fresh, they are a different option. 
• What’s your business? 
• What’s your most proud project? 
• What are some of my favourite plants to grow? 
• Who inspires you to keep going? 
• The power of a coaching retreat. 

First Tunnels, leaders in domestic and commercial product tunnels. 

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection 

Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

Today Roz is joined in the studio by Tom Simpson from Woolmans. 

Tom has been in the horticultural industry really, from a work point of view ever since he left school. Tom's first interest in gardening stems right back from when he was a very young child through his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. 

Key discussion points in todays episode:

• Tom’s background in gardening. 
• What’s the current trend towards Dahlia? 
• When do you plant out your alliums? 
• What should you take into account when you’re planting your dahlia tuba? 
• What are some of your favourite varieties and colours? 
• Dahlias taller varieties. 
• Single flowers are more popular than ever before. 
• How do you know if your soil is free-draining? 
• Tom’s advice for propagating from cuttings.

• https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/newsletters
• The Growth Club: https://fieldgateflowers.kartra.com/page/thegrowthclub
• Lots of free resources on our website: https://thecutflowercollective.co.uk/cut-flower-resources/
•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldgateflowers  
•  Facebook Group 'Cut Flower Farming  - Growth and Profit in your business' https://www.facebook.com/groups/449543639411874
•  Facebook Group 'The Cut Flower Collection' https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowercollection