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Welcome to Friday 16 October 2026.  I've had a really busy week off-field so I haven't got anything productive done but I have acquired a large volume of cardboard boxes, which are going to be laid over my beds this winter to protect the soil. I've also bought some more of my best-selling shrubs (and where I'm going to plant them) and I had a great polish hot dog (and that's not a euphemism). Tonight I'm talking about the Top 5 Books that I have found invaluable for learning more about my soil, being more efficient when moving around the field, mulching, interplanting, improving soil fertility, reducing waste, ring-fencing profit, saving for tax and capital expenditure, everything about hardy and tender annuals, plus pricing, record-keeping, marketing and crop planning. All the details of the books are below. Do let me know if you read any of them and how you get on with them.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. BOOKS: 1.  The Living Soil Handbook by Jesse Frost. Also check out his daily podcast, Growers Daily, because it's great. 2.  The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman. Very clever and insightful book.  3.  Profit First by Mike Michalowicz.  4.  The Cut Flower Handbook by Lisa Mason Ziegler. She also has a podcast called Field & Garden Podcast. Lisa is the queen of growing hardy annuals. 5.  Flower Farming For Profit by Lennie Larkin. Brilliant book, brilliant woman. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to Tuesday 13 October 2026.  Seed catalogues: they're here and they're fabulous! I get wildly excited at this time of year and I spent all weekend with a packet of post-it notes earmarking what annuals I'd like from the catalogues that have just arrived. Then I remembered that I'm actually only doing my Big Five next year, so I've had to hold myself back... In case you need a gentle reminder not to blow your budget in five minutes on pretty seeds, in this episode I'm talking about the perils of going mad with seed catalogues: the risks of ordering too many different things, why I need to focus very carefully on what my target customers will actually want, why I want larger volumes of specific varieties next year, and what the catalogues don't tell you (and what you really need to know). On a positive note I'll also explain why there's always room to experiment with new varieties. So, sorry to be a killjoy and do enjoy the catalogues by all means, but stay focused, stick to your plan and keep your skill level and target customer firmly in mind when you're buying. I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to Friday 9 October 2026.  We've had it all this week: rain, cold and wind, which is a reminder that autumn is well and truly here. It's been so warm and sunny that I'd almost forgotten that the cooler days were coming. I spent an afternoon with a local florist, Aly from Garden Room Flowers, in her beautiful studio (I had serious envy...) and we spent hours chatting about her work, what she's doing, marketing, the flowers and foliage she works with most often and how we can work together next year. The main topic tonight is my plans for more roses: the dahlias have to come out because they're not paying their way, and they will be replaced with gorgeous garden roses. I'll talk you through how I made the decision, what it involves, how I'll be dealing with the dahlias and the timeline for this project. I'm also listing the roses that I'm planning to buy and how I'll be growing them, plus the risks with the whole plan. Tonight's plant profile is the lovely perennial Persicaria. I have been cutting alot from the ones in my garden and I'd like to have some on the field for autumn colour. I think they're pretty, robust, have great stem length and I'm hoping that they will be popular.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to Tuesday 6 October 2026.  So much to tell you about in this episode including the start of my autumn seed sowing (finally...), plus some chicken news, a crushed CD, and a mystery turd on the field... I'm talking about how I've been sowing my hardy annuals this autumn including the new compost I'm using, the trays I prefer to use, and the sowing technique I've used this time - which is not my favourite one but I'll tell you why I've done it. I had the pleasure of being interviewed on someone else's podcast for the first time a few weeks ago and the episode is now live. If you're interested in hearing me talk about the changes I've made to how I run the cut flower business this year, I've put some links below. Here are the links to listen to me being a guest on Jenny Marks's Six Figure Flower Farming podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/six-figure-flower-farming/id1731202008 https://open.spotify.com/show/1FUIDDrT66BMeby8Tea9dB I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to Friday 2 October 2026. Where did September go...?!?!!?  Join me on the field for today's episode where I'm struggling with some kind of nasty cold/flu. Before I got sick, I spent an afternoon this week learning how to make a fresh autumn wreath with my wedding & event florist (photos on my instagram, if you're interested in taking a look). I've been diving into my camera roll this week for photos and I shocked myself to discover just how much I'd achieved this summer. For the last couple of months I've had a narrative running through my head that it's been a bad year (drought/heatwaves/short stems, etc) when in fact, it hasn't been that bad. So I'm sharing some of the learnings I've made with you tonight. It's perhaps a gentle reminder to celebrate the wins.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to Tuesday 29 September 2026.   Did you spot the new podcast logo?! I thought it was time to update it and I hope you like it. I've got some news to share with you about the hens, the bed prep I've been doing over the weekend plus my seed saving situation. The main topic in this episode is contingency planning and I'm going to be discussing why I'm going to do it, what it involves, why it's important, the risks I'll be considering, how I'll be taking steps to protect things like my resources, as well as myself. If you have sole responsibility for your cut flowers then you might find this episode interesting. This exercise isn't going to involve a complicated spreadsheet (for a change...), it's really more about thinking about what could go wrong before it does, and having a plan to handle it without panicking. I'd love to know what you think - please do get in touch (details of how to do this below). I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome! It's Friday 25 September 2026.   Come and let the hens out with me this morning: I'm recording this episode on the field so there is quite a bit of cockerel crowing in the background. In today's episode I'm answering some great listener questions including whether or not you can buy-in stems if you're already a grower, and an alternative way of marketing (that has worked for me in the past) if you're finding social media increasingly frustrating. I'm also talking about what an increase in the minimum wage in Columbia might mean for prices of their flower exports, and the knock-on effect this might have on local growers.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome! It's Tuesday 22 September 2026.   Two topics today: letting self-seeders get on with it, and a look at the overall strategy for 2027. I discovered lots of self-seeded Ammi and Clarkia over the weekend when I was bed prepping and decided to leave them, even though they're not on The Big Five list of annuals for 2027 - all the reasons why in this episode. I'm also going into the details of my strategy for next year and the thinking behind it.  Plus, dahlias: should they stay or should they go? I'm 50/50 on this right now. I'd love to hear what you think if you're growing dahlias. Do you find them profitable? Do they earn their keep for you? Also, a reminder that the closing date for winning a FREE place on The Six Figure Flower Farming course is this Friday 25 September 2026 so don't delay if you're thinking of entering!  Six Figure Flower Farming GIVEAWAY: Jenny Marks runs a brilliant course called Six Figure Flower Farming and it's the course I took in 2025. It has been an absolute game changer for me and I'd love you to experience it too. Being the superstar that she is, Jenny is giving away one completely FREE spot on the 6-week course. Give it a go - you could win it! Entries are open from wherever you are in the world, until Friday 25 September 2026.  Please let me know if you enter: I'm not on commission, I'm genuinely interested. Good luck! Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl_sfa90kHPUXGXz05BglENOEkHkaEaSE1dY509QOuucX39w/viewform I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Friday 18 September 2026.   Tonight's episode is all about foliage and it's essentially a massive souped-up plant profile series in one single episode. Curious about foliage? Are you asking yourself if you really need to grow foliage? Do you already have some but not sure if it's suitable? Are you wondering about getting some but not sure where to start? I'll be sharing how much I have and where I got mine from. I'll talk you through all the plants I have, why I chose them and what they're good for, plus the foliage you might already have (and not realise).  Six Figure Flower Farming GIVEAWAY: Jenny Marks runs a brilliant course called Six Figure Flower Farming and it's the course I took in 2025. It has been an absolute game changer for me and I'd love you to experience it too. Being the superstar that she is, Jenny is giving away one completely FREE spot on the 6-week course. Give it a go - you could win it! Entries are open from wherever you are in the world, until Friday 25 September 2026.  Please let me know if you enter: I'm not on commission, I'm genuinely interested. Good luck! Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl_sfa90kHPUXGXz05BglENOEkHkaEaSE1dY509QOuucX39w/viewform I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Tuesday 15 September 2026.   Join me on a cheerful tour of the plot tonight as I talk you through everything that's going on right now, including the flowers blooming right now, the plants that I'm re-locating, the flowers I'm keeping for drying, the plants that just keep coming and the flowers that are very short (but just about usable).  There's an update on the chickens and the stems I sold last week, plus a little discussion on the personal struggles I'm experiencing at the moment, which make life a bit harder. If you're going through something similar, do seek some help and don't struggle alone.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome! Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Friday 11 September 2026. Thanks for your Spotify comments: I always love hearing from you and your ideas are always interesting. And I'm grateful for your kind words. Tonight I'm talking about the orders I took when recently out of the country. I don't recommended doing this unless you particularly want a massive adrenaline spike. Thankfully the order got successfully collected this morning, although I then forgot to deliver a separate foliage order I'd also taken.... I'm also talking about the flowers I just bought in Spain for a funeral casket: it was a very odd feeling buying overseas and my buying principles went out of the window. It was very weird taking delivery of flowers sitting in floral foam. I'm discussing all the reasons why this whole process felt distinctly uncomfortable and why it made me so much more appreciative of what native growers produce.  The Plant Profile series this week is Sedum, an absolute workhorse of a plant which produces lots of beautiful robust stems. It's easy to propagate from (even for people like me who struggle with propagation) and the plants cope well with  drought conditions, once they're established.  Have a great weekend and I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome! Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Tuesday 8 September 2026. Ok, so after the last episode on pricing, I received some questions so I thought I'd answer them on tonight's episode. Pricing is a hot topic - if you have more questions, feel free to send me a DM on instagram or click the "Text The Podcast Here!" link at the bottom of these notes. I thought I'd share some information with you about my local flower hub, having sold some stems to it last week. I'll be sharing details about what it does, when I deliver, how I condition my stems before drop-off, and lots more. If you're thinking of joining your local hub, you might find this of interest.  I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome! Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Friday 4 September 2026. Tonight's episode is all about pricing: why it's so hard (especially when you're a new grower), benchmarking with other suppliers (pros and cons), the impact of market forces, how the Dutch auction system works (it's fascinating), how to just get started with pricing and finally, THE most important thing to consider when pricing. I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Tuesday 1 September 2026. Somehow, it's September! How did that happen?!? Hub sales - I've finally made some! Very exciting and I'll tell you all about this tonight, including what I've sold.  I've been doing some work on my dahlias over the weekend and I'll share the details of what I've been doing and why. Plus, I found a slug!  I'm also talking about exactly how I chose my 5 annuals for 2027: did I choose based on profitability or best sellers? Well, I'm talking you through my thought process for each of the chosen ones. The next episode on Friday will be all about pricing: why it's so hard (especially when you're a new grower), benchmarking with other suppliers, the impact of market forces, how the Dutch auction system works (it's fascinating), how to start with pricing and the most important things to focus on when pricing - you won't want to miss this episode. If you haven't already, subscribe/follow the show so you'll be the first to hear it (it's free). I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.

Welcome to today's episode on Friday 28 August 2026. Much to tell you in tonight's episode including an update on the borehole, the rain situation, my footwear, and an unexpected pile of grey feathers on the field... Thank you if you sent me a message of support after my last episode - it's very much appreciated. The main topic tonight is those pesky annuals for 2027: what am I growing and why? I had some questions following my announcement that I couldn't face spring-sown annuals again (especially if we have heatwaves and drought again) so tonight I'm sharing all the details of my annuals masterplan for 2027. Today's Plant Profile is Nicotiana, and what a fabulous plant it is. Branching stems, big plants, pretty flowers and scent, oh, the scent! What's not to love? I hope you enjoy the episode - please come back and join me for the next one - you're always very welcome. Text The Podcast Here Support the show Connect with me Join me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.  Find out more on my website at www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk  Drop me an email [email protected]. New episodes are available every Tuesday and Friday.  Please take a minute to leave a rating or review because it really does help more cut flower-lovers just like you to find the podcast.  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.