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Day 15 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge and we've

Day 15 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge and we've been asked

Which plant has a special meaning for you?

This is the Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) which has found its way onto our flower fields. It wasn't here when we came as most of the land was grazed by sheep - they kept the grass short and ate the wildflowers. 🐑
There haven't been sheep here for 7 years now so the wildflowers are back - in greater numbers and varieties every year.

#wildflowers #flowerfarm #nosheep #grownnotflown

Day 14 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge from Flow

Day 14 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge from Flowers From The Farm

What would you like customers to ask for?

💐Gift bouquets for birthdays, anniversaries, new homes - all made to order
💐A subscription for a regular delivery of flowers to arrange - weekly, fortnightly or monthly - for yourself or as the perfect gift
💐Bridal flowers - DIY buckets, bouquets, buttonholes
💐Funeral tributes - natural, no plastic, no floral foam
💐For florists - mixed buckets and flowers by the stem - sign up for our weekly availability list

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive information about what we do, when our open days are - details of flower clubs, workshops, 10% off your first order. Link in bio

The flowers we grow are available from April to October via the link above ⬆ - they are truly seasonal.

#britishflowers #locallygrown #fftf #grownnotflown #buylocal #sustainableflowers #pyo

Day 13 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge is Which

Day 13 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge is

Which plant is new to you this season?

There's always new varieties to try every year - I'm a sucker for the seed catalogues.
This year we've planned a new PYO patch so there's plenty of opportunities to try new plants.
We've planted some of these Meron Bordeaux anemones under cover in the polytunnel hoping they'll like their new home - the ones I've planted outside in previous years never did very well.

I've also got some new varieties of gladioli and chrysanthemums - these are becoming firm favourites. New ranunculus, different tulips, lots more perennials, cosmos - big long list of newbies....

#gladioli #anemonemeronbordeaux #eastsussexpyo #localflowers #britishflowers

Day 12 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge from @flo

Day 12 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge from @flowersfromthefarm

What flowers are top of your list?

A difficult question in the gloom of January - my favourites change with the seasons. I love the ones that you wouldn't normally see in a florist's shop, the ones that aren't robust enough to withstand the packing and the traveling - they get called 'cottage garden flowers' and 'wildflowers'. They are the supporting cast of a beautiful bouquet.

Geums
Aquilegia
Orlaya
Omphalodes
Mallow
Snapdragons
Achillea
Phlox

#seasonalflowers #ryeflowers #eastsussxflorist #buylocal

WEEK 3: of the #flowerfarmerama challenge is all a

WEEK 3: of the #flowerfarmerama challenge is all about the plants and flowers that we're growing

Day 11: Do you have any Specialties?

Dahlias are what we grow most of. We grow a large range from little pompoms to large dinner plates, in colours from white to darkest purple. We grow about 800 plants in 60 different varieties.

We normally dig them all up and store them over the winter but as we don't have the space now for so many we've just lifted a few of each variety. These will be divided in the Spring and I'll also take some cuttings to increase the number of plants. They are planted into pots from April onwards and then into the ground towards the end of May.

We opened the field for a couple of PYO days last year which was really successful, so I'm sure we'll do the same this Autumn.

The beds have been (or will be ) well mulched and covered with fabric to keep the ones in the ground cozy. Fingers crossed they survive the winter 🤞

#britishflowers #dahlialove #grownnorflown #localflowers #oncewereweeds #pyoflowers #flowersofinstagram

If you grow flowers for cutting then knowing the d

If you grow flowers for cutting then knowing the difference between how often to sow statice seeds and how often to sow sunflowers is important.

This course will guide you through which seeds to sow when and how often to sow them

https://orchardfarmflowers.co.uk/product-category/workshops/

If you didn’t know - you’ll only have to sow statice once to get flowers all season but you’ll have to sow a succession of sunflower seeds

Day 10 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge run by Fl

Day 10 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge run by Flowers From The Farm

Who inspires you?

Running any small business means wearing many different hats - you need advice and inspiration on all sorts of topics, not necessarily directly related to what you grow or make or produce. There's plenty of flowery inspiration and inspirors (is that even a word?) in these January posts to get us through the next few grey weeks but behind the scenes these are some of the non-flowery people who help push this business forward.

These coaches give great, business advice
Helen Perry Sally Farrant - The Pricing Queen Claire Mitchell

#smallbusinessowner #marketingwisdom

#britishflowers #ryeflowers #weddingflowers #smallbusinessguidance #flowerfarmer

Day 9 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge run by Flo

Day 9 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge run by Flowers From The Farm

How can your customers find you?

We are based in Beckley, near Rye in East Sussex.

🌹You can buy our flowers between the end of March and October and they can be collected or we delivered locally. Order from our website - link in bio

🌹Looking us up on Google Maps bring you right up to the gate as does using the app #what3words and typing

pulses.myths.accompany

🌹You can find us on Facebook and Instagram

🌹We have a website for orders - open all year for subscriptions and during the cutting season for bouquets and bunches https://orchardfarmflowers.co.uk/shop/
or you can email zoe@orchardfarmflowers.co.uk or send a message. Or use the link in the bio.

🌹Once the season starts (towards the end of March) you'll also find our flowers in @eggstoapplesfarmshop in Hurst Green and we'll be at @beckleyfarmersandcraftmarket

🌹 Wedding flowers - if you are keen to use locally grown seasonal flowers please contact me by email. We can supply bouquets and buttonholes as well as buckets of flowers for you to decorate your venue

🌹Looking us up on Google Maps brings you right up to the gate as does using the app to our weekly availability list

🌷Or subscribe to our e-mail list for all our flowery news of Open days, PYO info and planting info

#britishflowers #flowerfarmer #eastsussexflowers #locallygrown #seasonalproduce #fftf

DAY 8 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge. Who/wha

DAY 8 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge.

Who/what keeps you company when you’re working?

As a flower farmer you spend a great deal of time on your own so having a four-legged ‘helper’ is great. Daisy loves being a flower farm dog - she spends her time outside hunting for mice and voles and sometimes even catches one and eats it which makes a horrible noise.

I’m not quite sure what she’s doing up on the greenhouse bench but she’s obviously trying to tell me something 🐾

#grownineastsussex #britishflowers #gardenflowers #diybuckets #2022brides #grownnotflown #wildflowers #orchardfarmflowers #britishflowergrowers #Flowerfarmerama #usedtobeabeancounter #cutflowerfarm #dogsofinstagram #flowersofinstagram

On Day 7 the question from the Flowers From The Fa

On Day 7 the question from the Flowers From The Farm farm team for the #flowerfarmerama challenge is...

Who is on your team?

Most of the time it's just the two of us, Nic - who does the heavy lifting, building, moving compost, driving the tractor, growing the dahlias and (reluctantly!) models bouquets..and me and 2 spaniels obviously and we have weekly help from Sian. She comes here for a morning every week, which is incredibly useful.

#weddingflowers
#modelsown
#dahliabouquets
#grownnotflown
#britishflowers

On Day 6 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge the que

On Day 6 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge the question is...

Who do you love to work with?

Anyone who loves seasonal British flowers, grown locally and without chemicals; whether they’re in a bunch, a bouquet or a buttonhole, by the bucketful, in a table arrangement or in a funeral tribute.

#bountifulblooms
#mondaymorningvibes
#flowersforall

On Day 5 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge the que

On Day 5 of the #flowerfarmerama challenge the question is...

What did you learn about yourself in 2022?

We learnt that we really enjoy opening our farm to visitors.; showing them around and talking about what we do. There'll be plenty of opportunities this year to visit, open days, workshops, flower club, florist's coffee mornings and the new Pick Your Own area. Hope to see you here soon

#localflowers
#eastsussexgrowers
#comeandvisit
#pickyourownflowers
#grownnotflown
#britishflowers
#ryedaysout

DAY 4 of #Flowerfarmerama run by Flowers From The

DAY 4 of #Flowerfarmerama run by Flowers From The Farm

What was your biggest compliment of 2022?

Customers that come back time and time again; to buy flowers for themselves or as gifts for others; who trust us with creating flowers for the events that mark their lives; who tell everyone they know about us; who showcase our flowers in their shops and to use in their work; who sign up for our open days, our workshops and our newsletters; who want to support local businesses; they paid us the greatest compliment.

#eastsussexflowers
#grownnotflown
#supportlocalbusiness
#flowersdontcosttheearth

DAY 3 : HOW DID WE GET HERE? #flowerfarmerama Ou

DAY 3 : HOW DID WE GET HERE? #flowerfarmerama

Our flower farm is in East Sussex in the South East of England - we have 10 acres of woods and fields - using about 1 acre to grow flowers and foraging the rest for greenery and branches.

This will be our 7th growing season, providing locally grown flowers. We have great plans for 2023 which we’ll share during the month.

Now though, it’s time to sow sweet peas and pot up chrysanthemums 🌸

DAY 2 - A DAY IN YOUR LIFE #flowerfarmerama Janua

DAY 2 - A DAY IN YOUR LIFE #flowerfarmerama

January for us is mainly about planning for the coming year. It's about what to grow and where to sell it. After 7 years of flower farming I feel that we understand what grows well, and what doesn’t in our part of the South East of England. There are no flowers to pick this month and it’s too soon to sow most seeds. If the ground is dry enough and it’s not freezing we do plant some of the hardier flowers and shrubs. We will concentrate on clearing up from last season:

🌹Covering beds to keep the rain off the bare soil
🌹Tidying sheds and putting away tools

The first of today's tasks was to move as many barrows of manure as I could to the dahlia field - not a very glamorous job. The dahlias left in the ground need to be covered with a big layer of manure/compost/straw to keep them snug during the winter. This will make sure we have a field full of dahlias in July. I managed to move 7 barrowloads before it got dark😃

Then it's back to the computer and crop planning - this is a big task that takes me most of the month. I do all the planning on spreadsheets - customers, sales forecasts, prices, seed sowing schedules, target harvest dates, event dates, weddings, past year's data. It helps me see where there may be flower gaps in any particular week.

#grownnotflown
#buylocal

Together with lots of other flower farms in the UK

Together with lots of other flower farms in the UK and across the world, we're joining in with the #flowerfarmerama 2023 challenge - posting a bit about us and how we run our flower farm, brightening up the dark days of January. We hope to fill our grid with heaps of pictures of flowers and tell you how we decide which flowers to grow, how we grow them - and, most importantly, how you can get them.

DAY 1 - WHO ARE YOU?

We are Nic and Zoe and we run Orchard Farm Flowers in Beckley, East Sussex where we grow seasonal flowers from March to October. The flowers are made into bouquets for you to give as gifts, buckets of flowers to arrange at weddings and events and in bunches to brighten up your home.
We sell to florists and create bridal flowers and farewell tributes for our local community.
We've been growing and selling from our farm for the past 7 years with 'help' from our 2 spaniels and a very loud siamese cat. It won't be long before our season starts up again but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading about it all. #britishflowers #fftf #ryesussex #localflowers

I am worried about the ranunculus I’ve planted o

I am worried about the ranunculus I’ve planted out so far - I’m really not sure whether they’ll survive the cold we had last week, so I’ve decided to plant some more. The first thing to do is to soak the corms overnight in a bucket with a ‘bubble maker’ - i use some bits from an old fish tank with a piece of tubing tied to it - blows air into the water. Very low tech but works well. The next stage is to put the plumped up corms into a bucket, cover it in compost and wait for about a week. They’ll have started sprouting and can be planted out. #ranunculus #roseofspring #marketingforflowerfarmers

Today, 23 December is... Little Christmas Eve I

Today, 23 December is...

Little Christmas Eve

In Denmark, it's the not-so-flashy forerunner of Christmas Eve, an evening of eating rice pudding and drinking sweet, non-alcoholic beer (to be ready for wine on Christmas Eve, of course).
Celebrated in our house in honour of my Danish grandmother - this is one of our celebrations from a few years ago. #JUL #takformad

Original audio by @nichamilton66

🌸Flowers for you, grown by us 🌸 2023 Spring

🌸Flowers for you, grown by us 🌸
2023 Spring Flower subscriptions are available to buy now - either DM me or follow the link in the bio ⬆️#flowersubscription #buylocal #noairmiles #perfectgift

There's a lot of planning involved in running a fl

There's a lot of planning involved in running a flower farm (or any business).
Some of the information we need to work out what to grow next year:

1. Which plants grew well this year; lots of flowers over a long period
2. Which flowers were the most profitable and which actually cost us money to grow!
3. What markets are we going to focus on in 2023 - subscription bunches, weddings, pick your own? How many flowers does this mean?
4. How did 2022 turn out against its plan?

I use spreadsheets to work out these plans, for me its the easiest way of doing it - sales plans, pricing plans, planting plans, seed sowing

What's your best planning tool? Tell me in the comments 👇

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Orchard Farm Flowers, Beckley, Rye, East Sussex, UK. TN31 6RR

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