Becoming a Cut Flower Grower

Hello, it's Friday 6 February 2026.
The stats are in: we've had a lot of rain. According to the Met Office my region of the UK has had 188% of its average rainfall in January. It's no wonder I have been grumpy this month: missing days of work and nothing doable on the field. On the plus side I have collected a lot of rainwater but I'd swap that for some dry days. 
In light of this I'm discussing the impact of flooding and waterlogging, what makes it worse and action we can take, including the use of raised beds. I hope you're not experiencing flooding at the moment but if you are, please don't give up. 
Part two of this episode continues my Plant Profile Series with Verbena bonariensis. This stunning plant is super-easy to grow and generous with its flowering. If you haven't grown it yet, I hope my profile will encourage you to give it a go. 
Please come back and join me for the next episode - you're always very welcome. 
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. And you can find my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk.
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 3 February 2026.
Another wet week! 
In today's episode I realise that I don't have enough growing space for all the annuals that I'm planning to grow, which is a problem. I have come up with a solution and hopefully you'll agree it's a good one (although the chickens may not approve).
I discuss my seed sowing plan in great detail including all the calculations I have made and the reasons behind them. I'm playing it safe with the dates. The formulas behind the numbers mean that I can make any number of changes and the calculations will be done automatically for me. I hope it proves to be helpful and it's a tool that I will be refining over the coming years. 
I'll be continuing my Plant Profile Series on Friday so please come back and join me for the next episode - you're always very welcome. 
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. And you can find my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk.
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 Friday 30 January 2026.
Tonight I'm talking all about the magic of compost. I absolutely love making it, talking about it and using it. Given the price of compost these days, it's so much better to make my own plus it has the added benefit of being tailored to my soil conditions. So I talk about how to make simple compost bays, what to add (and what to avoid), turning it (or not), covering it (or not), plus the importance of using the right compost for the right plants (and the science behind this). If you're not making any yet - please start, it's so much fun!
In part 2 I'm continuing my plant profile series and tonight I'm talking about Echinacea purpurea. This wonderful perennial was No. 3 on my Most Profitable Flowers 2025 List and I'll talk about why it's so easy to grow and the benefits it offers to florists. I think I'm going to grow the white one as well this year.
Please come back and join me for the next episode - you're always very welcome. 
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. And you can find my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk.
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 (a very wet) Tuesday 27 January 2026.
The disasters are coming thick and fast this week (and it's only Tuesday). There is endless rain, my car window has broken (again), and something has eaten a third of my tulips. To console myself I've just made a gloriously rich and decadent tartifette and will worry about the calories in the spring.
Tonight I have two epic chats for you: the first concerns the recent news that the Church is considering a ban on floral foam and imported flowers. It will be formally debated soon so that will be interesting. I'd love to know what you think about this. 
The second chat is about selling to florists and this is a biggie. I'll share my thoughts on this including why florists are not the be-all-and-end-all (although they are for my business model), where you could sell your flowers as an alternative to florists, everything I learnt about selling to florists in 2025, what I tried and (spectacularly) failed at, and what did eventually work for me. However I still have so much more to learn this year.
I hope that you will come back and join me for the next episode - you're always very welcome. Hopefully it will have stopped raining by then too. 
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. And you can find my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk.
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 23 January 2026.
The laptop is back and normal service has been resumed so today's episode has the proper introduction and music, phew. However the audio quality isn't brilliant at the beginning so apologies for that. It does get better about five minutes into the episode so maybe I did something silly with the microphone.
Tonight I'm talking about photoperiodism: what it is and why it matters to cut flower growers. I have been looking into this recently so that I can treat my plants in the best possible way to get long stems and predictable flowering periods. I feel that the more I know about my plants, the better my harvests will be (that's the plan anyway).
I share my final list of annuals that I'm growing in 2026 and it's not as long as I thought. Perhaps you're growing some of the same as me? And also in tonight's episode I'm continuing my plant profile series with Orlaya. This is a gorgeous white flower that I grew in 2025 and it was so popular with my wholesale wedding and event florists that I'm growing more this year. If you haven't tried Orlaya before, give it a go this year and let me know how you get on.
I hope that you will come back and join me for the next episode - you're always very welcome.
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. And you can find my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk.
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.