Rain, Pests Update, How I've Made my New Beds & What's Flowering Now

Becoming a Cut Flower Grower · 2025-06-03

Good evening. It's Tuesday 3 June 2025 and I'm talking to you from the plot.

We've had rain! Not enough by far but it's very welcome and the seedlings have really enjoyed it. The water levels in the IBCs are critically low but I'm hopeful that the rain still to come later this week will help.

Lots of updates from the plot: all of the dahlias are in and I've been making some new beds on the newly-lifted turf area and adding old waste material from the duck house which has rotted down. I'm not digging it in: it gets laid on the soil surface and will slowly amalgamate into the ground. There's a pests update with the latest news on my blackly, greenfly, slugs and pigeons.

Finally I end with an update on the latest with the hens, who are an integral part of the plot in that they fertilise my soil, sort through my compost and help to control pest numbers. I do hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for joining me on my cut flower journey.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why it rains as soon as I buy a proper pair on sunglasses

✅ I've finally got all the dahlias planted out on the plot

✅ How I've made my new beds and added a compost mulch

✅ Who attacked Goose: the security camera reveals all

✅ Seedlings that have just gone in the ground

✅ Pests update: who is doing what and where

🌻 Follow & Stay Connected!

If you like what you hear, please follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy this episode, please take a minute to leave a review – it really does help more flower lovers find the show.

Follow me on instagram @henhillcutflowers for a behind-the-scenes look at life on my cut flower plot.

Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers. I'm going to give 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.

Becoming a Cut Flower Grower

Join new cut flower grower Lydia for a behind-the-scenes look at how she's starting to grow and sell cut flowers in the south of England. Over the course of 2025 she'll be sharing everything she's doing to get her cut flower business up and running, from the planning stages all the way through to harvesting flowers, by way of highs and lows, hints and tips, lessons she's learning along the way (often the hard way) to the production and selling of beautiful cut flowers.

If you're thinking of starting your own cut flower business or you'd just like the low-down on what it's really like, this is the podcast for you. Lydia talks very honestly about everything she's doing and she would love you to join her on this journey.

Lydia is a professional gardener and garden consultant who is establishing a cut flower business in 2025. She records this bi-weekly podcast as well as writing monthly articles for The Country Smallholder magazine.

Follow the Show & Stay Connected

✅ Find Lydia on instagram @henhillcutflowers

✅ For more information visit her website www.lydiathegardener.co.uk

✅ Follow the podcast so that you don’t miss an episode

✅ Please support the podcast by leaving a review or some kind words and consider sharing this podcast with someone who loves flowers - thank you.

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