Becoming a Cut Flower Grower

Hello, it's Friday 20 March 2026. 
It's been an epic couple of days: yesterday I got a flat tyre on an isolated road in the middle of nowhere and then I found bindweed on the field. On the plus side, my seedlings are doing really well, which is great. 
Today I had a meeting with my main wedding and event florist - all the details of that in the episode - and she's agreed to be a guest on the podcast so please send me your question(s) for her and we'll tackle them. It's a really great opportunity to pick the brains of a florist so please send me a DM on insta or drop me an email at [email protected] by mid April 2026.
Tonight I'll be discussing my latest project: a Shopify store to sell my cut flowers directly to florists from my website and instagram. I have been thinking for ages about how I can streamline my selling process and I'll talk you through this tonight including all the reasons behind it and the process of making it. 
And as it's Friday, tonight's Plant Profile Series continues with Rudbeckia. This lovely hardy perennial was a popular flower for me in 2025 and I'll be talking about why you might like to consider growing it tonight. Here's the latest one I'd like to have which is Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' and in the UK it's available from the Beth Chatto website (although it's currently out of stock as I'm writing this, sorry, but you can at least see what it looks like). https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/conditions/plants-for-general-conditions/rudbeckia-subtomentosa-henry-eilers-1l.htm
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. 
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Hello, it's Tuesday 17 March 2026. 
Lots to tell you tonight. Everything is growing away nicely and I've been busy weeding and prepping the beds. I share everything else that's going on including the jobs on the field I have coming up. The greenhouse is also rapidly filling up with seeds and tonight I'll talk you through how I've been sowing differently this week.
The tulip disaster continues and needless to say, I won't be growing them in crates ever again. Even the rats are turning their noses up at the remains of my tulips bulbs. They have been an expensive mistake and a steep learning curve. Finally I discuss whether or not I think cut flower are a luxury item. 
I hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one - 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. 
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Hello, it's Friday 13 March 2026. Welcome to the episode.
Tonight' I'm focusing on my cut flower website.  You'll hear about which company I used to make it, who hosts it, how much the hosting costs per month, where I buy my domain names, which domains I buy, why it's so much easier to make a website these days (no coding required), how I get started when I don't know where to start, using photography to make an impact, making it personal, why it's crucial to optimise a website for mobile phone users, why you mustn't ignore SEO or website analytics, why it's so important to be be consistent about branding, the importance of designing a website with the end user firmly in mind, and finally, why it's so important that my website clearly says what I do, who it's for, and what I want the website visitor to do.
After this it's my Plant Profile Series and I'm extolling the benefits of Achillea, a plant which I grew and sold successfully last year. It's such a great perennial to have and because it grows so well, you'll end up with more plants than you ever thought possible. The flowers are very pretty close up and the entire plant is an absolute trooper. 
I do hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one - 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. 
Text The Podcast Here (Your number is not shown to me but I can reply)
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Hello, it's Tuesday 10 March 2026.
Tonight I'm talking about how I'm sowing my sweet pea seeds and share some techniques that save me time and money. Every penny (and second) counts when starting seeds because it directly impacts the cost of producing each flower stem. And this of course matters when I'm aiming for profit.
I discuss the soil blocker that I'm using (link below for the one I have, not an ad) and I'm wondering if you've tried the new 'Snail' technique that everyone on instagram seems to be doing? Does it work for you? Finally I answer a great question from a listener about which plants to grow together in a bed. I really hope I've answered this question properly.
On the next episode I'm going to talk about my new cut flower website including hosting, domains, templates, plus some hints and tips if you're thinking about making your own. So I hope you enjoy this episode and that you'll come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome.
My soil blocker: Micro 20 from https://www.soilblockers.co.uk/
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. 
Support the show
Text The Podcast Here (Your number is not shown to me but I can reply)
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Hello, it's Friday 6 March 2026.
I started sowing my annuals today and it felt so good. I have been putting it off (no idea why) and I really did just need to get started and I instantly felt better. In tonight's episode I talk about how I did it including how I got on with soil blocking: this is a new method for me so it will be interesting to see how the seeds get on. Let's hope nothing eats them.
There's a lot growing on the plot at the moment, particularly the weeds. Wow, they have suddenly shot up. I'll talk you through what's going on including what I've just planted and what I cut today to make a floral arrangement. It was fun to make something creative. Tonight's plant profile is Phlox paniculata: it's a really lovely herbaceous perennial which sold very well for me in 2025 and was a doddle to grow. 
I hope you enjoy the episode and that you'll 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. 
Text The Podcast Here (Your number is not shown to me but I can reply)
Support the show