Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Perfect for gardening enthusiasts at any level, this podcast is your companion to cultivating success and beauty in your own backyard or flower patch. Hosted by Jane Westoby from Fuchsia Blooms Florist and The Hampshire Seed Company.
Each episode is a treasure trove of practical tips, expert advice, and insider flower farming guides designed to help you sow and grow with confidence and harvest with pride. Whether you’re dreaming of rows of neat vegetables or cutting flowers for bouquets all year round, we’ll walk you through every step.
Let’s grow together!
Jane Westoby (00:03)
listening to the Blooming Garden podcast, the place where aspiring and established flower farmers learn how to grow beautiful blooms and build a thriving business. I'm Jane Westoby and today I'm tackling one of the biggest questions I get asked all of the time.
How do I start a flower farm? So whether you've got a tiny garden or a few acres, this episode will give you the exact steps to get started.
Jane Westoby (00:34)
starting a flower farm is one of the most exciting and rewarding things that you can do, but it can feel completely overwhelming. So where do you even start? Do you need acres of land? Do you have to quit your job? And is it even possible to make money from selling flowers? I know exactly how that feels. When I started, I had all of those same questions.
And what I've learned since then through my own journey and through working with flower farmers is that the most successful ones, just, they don't overcomplicate things. today I am walking you through some simple steps to start your flower farm the right way so that you don't waste time, you don't waste energy or money. And if you want to go deeper than I have created a step-by-step course.
which I can take you through more on that later. But first let's just get into the nitty gritty. Okay. So the first thing is finding your way and defining your goals. if you don't know where you're going, how are you going to know how to even get there? Are you growing flowers as a side hustle, a full-time business?
Or just to cover the costs because you love flowers so much. Do you want to sell to florists at markets or directly to customers? having this clear goal will really help you to decide everything from what to grow to where to sell.
from what to grow and where to sell. write down your why. Is this for creative fulfillment? Is it for extra income? A career change? Get really, really clear before you even plant a single seed. And why, why do we do this? Because otherwise you will end up growing completely the wrong flowers in the wrong colors.
and you will have a whole load of wastage on your hands. Your compost heap will thank you, but your bank balance won't. the next step really is to start small, but start really smart. You do not need acres of land to start a successful flower farm. You can start it with just a few beds in your back garden and still make some money.
The key really is to grow high value and high demand flowers that can really easily sell. So what are the best beginner flowers I would recommend? for starters, Cosmos, it's a cut and come again and it will bloom repeatedly through the season. Zinnias, again, they're cut and come again and they have so many gorgeous shades. Plus they last ages in a vase.
dahlias are my next one. Now these are a little bit tricky because everybody is totally in love with dahlias right now. However, they don't last long in the vase. They only last three to five days. So in reality, they don't really make sense as a great cut flower, but it doesn't matter how much I explain this to my customers. They don't care. They want them anyway. However, if you're growing for weddings, it doesn't matter.
because that's just one day anyway. So that perfect for wedding work. And then my last one is snapdragons. They are so productive. Again, they're cut and come again. You'll get blooms all summer long. They're really easy to grow and customers just love them. And they are so beautiful, such beautiful shades. you might not know exactly what you're good at growing yet or exactly
what your customers will want from you. But you need to start small. So just choose a small test plot. Even just a few raised beds or a 10 by 10 patch will give you enough space to test the waters, to practice arranging and to take lots of photos in preparation for something much, much bigger in future seasons. And I'll be talking more in depth about how to work out what to grow.
in my up and coming workshop, Flower Farming 101, which is start your flower farm in 30 days. So if you want to learn more, I will pop that link into the show notes for you and you can register and I can just give you more information on that if you'd like to know. the next step is to essentially plan your season or plan your first season like a pro.
And one of the biggest mistakes I see new flower farmers make is planting without a plan. they end up growing various crops, lots of crops, but without any knowledge of when the flowers will bloom or what they can put together or when to even sow the seeds. So you don't need tons of varieties, just a few that bloom for a long period of time and that are in demand.
in my very first podcast, so go back literally to podcast number one, where I talk all about succession planning and we do also have some succession planning guides and cheat sheets that you can use to plan what and when to say, because it's really, really important.
a flower farmer that you have blooms exactly when you need them. you need to sow seeds on time, you need to transplant them on time when they're ready and you need to make a plan for this all at the beginning of the season. you actually might need to plan for gluts. Everyone always thinks a glut is a bad thing but actually in a week when you have a really big wedding you might need that glut.
to be able to fulfil that wedding. Or you might just need a steady supply of flowers each week, the same kind of numbers, you know, from one week to the next. Whichever this is, it all takes lots and lots of planning. And honestly, if you are not one for spreadsheets, then you can do it by hand, but it's just a little bit more laborious. our cheat sheets and planners that we have...
They are all free resources, those ones, and I will link to them in the show notes for you. They're all really, really handy for just doing some of that planning. the key to all this succession planning. the key really here is succession planning so that you have blooms all season long when you need them. But remember, you don't need to grow everything. Just start with a few flowers.
the staples which will keep you going, especially if you're totally new to this and you've not really grown for cutting before. You'll need to do lots of practice. you know, just pick five to 10 flowers maybe that you can focus on and create a really, really simple planting schedule so that you are not drowning in seedlings and plants all at once and you don't know what to do with them.
it might look something like this. So you could maybe choose tulips, ranunculars and Hesperus, let's say for the early season. And then when they're all done and you've cleared the ground, you could maybe then plant China Asters, maybe some Larks, Sparrow and some Ami for mid season. And then for late season, you could maybe choose Dahlia's, Zinnia's and Chrysanthemums.
by doing this, you're not overwhelming yourself with too many varieties and too many things to think about. you might be thinking, well, why would I limit myself when there's so many things I can grow? But think about some of the growers out there. Being a specialist is not a bad thing. Some of the most successful growers that I know only grow peonies or dahlias or
chrysanthemums or eucalyptus. growing single varieties has huge, huge advantages. There's so much less complexity. It's easier to juggle everything and to stay really, really focused on your growing, on your customer, on what you're doing. Growing a hundred different varieties takes a lot of expertise and things can really
easily go wrong if you don't have that expertise. So the next thing that I would really encourage you to do, and I touched on this in my podcast with Jen from Life on the Lot earlier this year. So that's back in episode four, go back and have a listen. Super interesting podcast from a very new flower grower, a new flower farm just started up on the Wirral.
is to just spend as much time on marketing as what you do on growing. Because if you wait for your flowers to bloom to think about selling them, you are already behind. So really think about who is going to buy your flowers. Florists, farm shops, wedding clients, local markets. You've already made this decision in step one, really.
make sure that you do pre-sell your flowers. Okay. So if you're selling to a florist, for instance, ask what wedding bookings they have and grow what they need. You also need to start thinking about social media. start posting now, even if you haven't planted a single flower, look at how you can get ahead.
And that's why I encourage you to start growing small in your first season so that you can build up a ready bank of images and videos, which you can then use on social media. Even if you don't have acres of land, you need to start somewhere. then write down the 10 places that you could sell your flowers and reach out, reach out to them now before you even plant.
Let them know what you're doing, when you're going to be doing it and keep in touch with them. Let them know your progress. And once you've worked out your costs, which again, I cover in my flower farming 101 guide, you can then send them a price list over and you can go from there. So they're the basics really. We've covered quite a lot in this really, really short time. and finding your way, starting small,
you know, planning your season, selling before you grow and getting the right knowledge to succeed. if this episode has fired you up and you are really serious about starting your flower farm or you're thinking, yeah, maybe, maybe this is for me. I'd really love to help you to take that next step. you can figure it out on your own, but it's going to take you years. It will take you a lot, lot longer. It will cost you a lot more in the long run.
it will lead to a lot more mistakes, a lot more wastage. And I've seen so many people struggle because they are trying to piece everything together from random YouTube videos and blog posts. And that's why I created the Flower Farming 101 Start Your Business in 30 Days guide. It's a step-by-step guide. It's not actually 30 days, it's 28 days, it's four weeks really. And it's a step-by-step guide that takes you from idea
to action. So instead of wasting time and making costly mistakes, not really knowing what to do or how to do it, I can set you a clear roadmap to start growing, selling, and making money fast from your flowers. So if you are ready to turn your dream of a flower farm into reality, then do check out my course at Hampshire seed company. I will link to it in the show notes for you and
And just remember, just one last note, no one is ever, ever 100 % ready. You might be working a day job right now. I've done that for years. You don't need acres of land. You don't need to wait to get your acres. I've never had acres of land. I still don't grow in acres of land. I grow in about half an acre and I still have a day job. You don't need lots of fancy equipment.
or a huge budget to start a flower farm. All you need is a plan and a willingness to start small. And if you want that plan, then you know exactly where to find it. thanks for tuning in. And if you love this episode and it's fired you up, then do share it on Instagram and tag me at the Hampshire seed company. And I'd love to hear what you're planning for your flower farm.
I have my fingers crossed for some sunshine this weekend as I do need to get out onto my flower patch and start transplanting some seedlings. I hope you have some garden plans too for this weekend and I will see you next time.