The Flower Farmer''s Year : How to grow cut flowers for pleasure and profit

The Flower Farmer's Year is a light, entertaining look at how to plant, maintain, and keep evolving a productive cut-flower garden. Whether you want to devote a corner of your garden to a stand of sweet peas and some cosmos, take up flower production for gate sales, or make a livelihood from cut flowers, Georgie Newbery will take you through everything from planning your garden to budgeting and marketing. With plenty of stories about mistakes she's made along the way, this book is a practical manual that teaches how to get involved in local, sustainable flower production for the home or commercially. Whether you want to grow for pleasure or start your own business, The Flower Farmer's Year is the perfect guide. Grow your own cut flowers and you can fill your house with the gorgeous colours and heavenly scents of your favourite blooms, knowing that they haven't travelled thousands of miles – and you can make money while you do it! Combining boundless passion with down-to-earth guidance and practical advice, Georgie Newbery draws on her own experiences as an artisan flower farmer and florist in this delightful guide. The Flower Farmer's Year covers everything, from how to start a cut-flower patch and guidance on what to grow, to cutting, conditioning and presenting cut flowers, and creating a hedgerow for Christmas. For those interested in selling cut-flowers, the guide includes useful information on how to start a business, including where to sell cut-flowers, and marketing and social media tips. A flower farmer's year planner is also provided to make your cut-flower farm as productive as possible. Title Page 2 Dedication 3 Contents 4 Acknowledgements 5 Foreword 6 Introduction: Why grow cut flowers? 8 Chapter one: Getting started 16 Chapter two: Annuals 46 Chapter three: Biennials 78 Chapter four: Perennials 88 Chapter five: Bulbs & corms 112 Chapter six: Shrubs 142 Chapter seven: Roses 161 Chapter eight: Dahlias 176 Chapter nine: Sweet peas 198 Chapter ten: Herbs 223 Chapter eleven: Wildflowers 235 Chapter twelve: Cutting, conditioning & presenting cut flowers 259 Chapter thirteen: Hedgerow Christmas 280 Chapter fourteen: Starting a cut-flower business 293 Chapter fifteen: Where to sell 318 Chapter sixteen: Marketing & social media 331 Afterword 344 Appendix 1: The flower farmer’s year planner 345 Appendix 2: Plant names 354 Resources 360 Index 366 Copyright 390 Advertisement 391 “I love this book – it's a beautiful yet practical and accessible guide that will help you transform whatever sized patch you have into an abundant oasis of flowers." – Mark Diacono, gardener, food writer and broadcaster. Grow your own cut flowers and you can fill your house with the gorgeous colours and heavenly scents of your favourite blooms, knowing that they haven't travelled thousands of miles – and you can make money while you do it! Combining boundless passion with down-to-earth guidance and practical advice, Georgie Newbery draws on her own experiences as an artisan flower farmer and Introduction : Why grow cut flowers? Getting started Annuals Biennials Perennials Bulbs and corms Shrubs Roses Dahlias Sweet peas Herbs Wildflowers Cutting, conditioning and presenting cut flowers Hedgerow Christmas Starting a cut-flower business Where to sell Marketing and social media.