Great video! We have so many books in common. My recommendation would be “ Cut flowers, prepare the ground, sow seed, nurture, harvest, fill your vases” by Celestina Robertson. Clear and concise guide, but very helpful and well written, especially if you’re starting out!
Hello, thanks for watching 😊 That is a good recommendation. I haven’t read her book yet as I think it is a fairly new one. But that’s great it was so clear and well written. I think that might be going on my Christmas list too! Have a great weekend x
Thanks Catherine. I'm not ashamed to admit that I get loads of gardening books from charity shops. I enjoyed seeing what inspired you and hope this will inspire others to give growing flowers a chance 🙂
Thanks Kim, yes you can get some really great books about flowers and gardening in charity shops or local second hand book sales. I have got some about dried flowers, pressing and container gardening there. What I loved I saw recently was a swop shed for gardening books. Put one of your own in and take one out. Have a lovely weekend x
I have just discovered your channel! Where have I been all my life! 😂 Many great tips and advice for a beginner like me. Thank you so much! Subscribed x
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm oh that’d be lovely. Looking forward to them already :) I’ve been binge watching your videos and I find them very informative with clear instructions. Thank you and happy Christmas to you too! x
Great post . I also love Lisa mason Ziegler’s cool flower book and her second book vegetables love flowers. You just reminded me I have the flower patch book and have fished it out for a re-read this evening . Thank you
Hi Lisa, I haven’t read her vegetable loves flowers book so I think that’s one for my Christmas list. I enjoy going back to a book once I haven’t looked at it for a while. there’s always something new to pick up, happy reading! X
Thank you for this post regarding your favourite books. Like you I love Georgie Newberys' books and Erins from Florets. these were a gift for Mother's Day from my daughter that has set me on my journey into flower farming. I also found a book by Milli Proust 'from seed to bloom' very useful I've definitely added some of your recommended books to my Christmas list. I must add that I've also learned a lot from you from your posts and if you do ever get to writing your own book that'll go in my book collection too. Best wishes
Thank you Gina for the recommendation of ‘from seed to bloom’ It’s always great to know what other flower farmers have enjoyed reading. Although there are lots of books out there now about it everyone writes from a different perspective. Thanks so much for watching my channel. It’s great to have you following along. Have a lovely weekend x
What an interesting video Catherine. I’m a huge book lover too and I have almost all of those, with exception of Erin’s Dahlia book, the Charles Dowding book (though I have several others by him), and I don’t yet have the RHS propagation book or the Alan Titchmarsh book or the speciality cut flower book. I so agree about Georgie Newbery’s books. If you like a good novel I thoroughly recommend her “All Desires Known” which I have just reread. It’s so entertaining. (Warning, the language is as colourful as Georgie’s gorgeous flowers!) I also found Louise Curley’s “The Cut Flower Patch” extremely helpful. You’ve probably seen that there’s a new book coming out in March “The Cut Flower Sourcebook” by Rachel Siegfried. It’s rather expensive, but definitely on my wish list. Celestina Roberson’s book is also well worth having and excellent value for money. I hope you do get round to writing your own book one day. I will buy it!
Hi Sally, I love that bit of time after Christmas when things get quieter and the garden is sleeping. It is the one time I can sit down and read some good books. Thanks for recommending Georgie's novel, I had no idea she had written one and I its probably very entertaining! I have the cut flower sourcebook on my Christmas list and am very excited to get a copy of that hopefully when its released next year. So many people have recommended Celestina's book so I am definitely adding that to my Christmas list too. Its been a lovely few days chatting about books with everyone and its making me look forward to those winter days with the fire and a good book x
Thank you, it is one of the bits I love about the winter, the time to be able to sit down with some good books. A few more flower ones are on my wish list for Christmas too.
I have several of the same books on your list, and have put two on hold at the library too! Cool Flowers was my top book for getting my flower farm running. I also took her Flower Farming School online a few years ago, which was invaluable.
That’s really interesting that you got so much out of her online course. I think it would have been fantastic. I like to go back and read up her book again at the end of the summers so I can remember what I am doing for making the most out of those cool flowers which do really well in Scotland.
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Cool flowers do well here too in 7B Georgia, USA. Larkspur, bacheolor's buttons, scabiosa, snapdragons etc. are thriving in my garden now.
Good stuff Catherine 🎉 Excellent discussion on all these books. I've got about half of them - Cool Flowers and Flower Farmers Year are my two favourites. I've just been out picking snaps from my overwintered plants (thanks Lisa!). I've got my first farmers market (in Australia) in three weeks - wish me luck!
Hi Alison, I hope the farmers market goes really well in a few weeks time! It really does work overwintering doesn’t it. That’s great you are getting your first snaps from overwintered plants. What other ones have you successfully overwintered this year? Do you have any different flower farming books I didn’t mention that you have enjoyed? X
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Overwintered well - sweet william, cornflowers, bells of ireland, carnations (spray), larkspur, mignonette (this was a revelation - got the seed from Floret when they were still shipping internationally. It's a really beautiful white spike), rudbeckia, poppies, nigella, bupleurum, dara. Didn't make it: ammi majus. No, no other books ! Thanks re the farmers market!
Feet up - good book = Bliss. Lovely to hear about your journey Catherine some lovely books to look out for I do have Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler I agree it is a lovely book.
Absolutely Susan, nothing better! Especially with some of the weather we have been having recently. Just can’t get out in the garden so a good book it is. I am alternating between gardening ones and Diana Gabaldons latest novel!
Great video I’m going to invest in Charles dowding and some others too! On another note are you able to show us the greenhouse when you cover the plants, my ranunculus and enenomes are doing so well over all, but some leaves are just getting hit by the cold and temp drops Would love to see how you cover all of you plants over winter in the greenhouse to hopefully not loose any for next season 👏😊👌
Hi Susan thanks for watching. Yes that's a good idea for doing a video on covering the plants in the greenhouse when it gets cold. I have had a few questions about getting plants through the winter in the greenhouse so I think for the next few months I will keep doing some videos on what I am doing in there to get the plants through x
I also love reading and will put some of these on my Christmas list, You really should write a book I have already learned so much from you and love how clearly you explain how to do things. I noticed there are hundreds of videos showing how to sow hardy annuals and how to prick them out on youtube but there seems to be no information on how to get them to survive winter in a greenhouse, do I have to still water all the time, should I cover them with fleece , do they need fertilizer, should I bring some into the home etc, sorry I am new to all this and really worry about mine all dying Is there any chance you could do a small video on tips and tricks on this please. xx
Hi Melody, that is a really good idea for a video. I will try and do one on that in the next couple of weeks before Christmas when everyone gets busy and it’s easy to neglect the greenhouse! I hope you enjoy some new flower growing books at Christmas. It’s such a nice time of the year when it is quieter outside with garden work and lovely just to be able to curl up with a good book and be inspired! I would love to sit and write a book one day! At the moment life is such a whirlwind with the girls and all they do but I know it will slow down and that’s when I might find my time! X
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm I grow and collect fuchsias, so I have a ton of books on those and the American western garden book is my go to for everything else. That one is pretty specific to US regions but the information is still good for everyone.
Thank you for sharing your recommendations with us. I am a great fan of Georgie Newbury and eagerly await her RUclips posts, likewise with Charles Dowding. Are you able to share with us the changes you are making to your business if you are reducing the wedding side of your business?
Hi Honore, yes they are both fantastic and have been a huge inspiration to me. I have decided to grow more for local florists now I have stopped the wedding flowers for a while. I was not sure if this would work as I only farm on part of our acre of land and did not know if volume would be a problem. Before when growing for weddings it was more about growing many varieties to make beautiful bouquets rather than many stems of the same type of flower. However I have found some lovely local florists who are happy to have a range of flowers and It worked well this year as I did a little for them and finished the weddings. I would like to run beginner flower growing workshops, continue my stall and some retail bouquets and I am still making my flower jewellery which I sell from my website. Next years videos will all follow along on how it works out! X
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm This sounds as if it will make life a lot easier and more straightforward for you. Selling to local florists is something that Georgie has been extolling this year - reducing air miles etc. I think it is also making florists think differently about the style and type of bouquets they produce if they buy locally. Her latest RUclips post is partly about creating a small business that provides a living but is manageable and still gives you pleasure and time to pursue other interests. Best of luck with the change of tack. It will interesting to see what you grow.
Great video! We have so many books in common. My recommendation would be “ Cut flowers, prepare the ground, sow seed, nurture, harvest, fill your vases” by Celestina Robertson. Clear and concise guide, but very helpful and well written, especially if you’re starting out!
Hello, thanks for watching 😊 That is a good recommendation. I haven’t read her book yet as I think it is a fairly new one. But that’s great it was so clear and well written. I think that might be going on my Christmas list too! Have a great weekend x
I loved hearing your story! If you write a book, I'd be so glad to read it!!
Thanks Jeanne! Maybe one day when life is not quite so crazy with family life I will sit down and write that book! X
Thanks Catherine. I'm not ashamed to admit that I get loads of gardening books from charity shops. I enjoyed seeing what inspired you and hope this will inspire others to give growing flowers a chance 🙂
Thanks Kim, yes you can get some really great books about flowers and gardening in charity shops or local second hand book sales. I have got some about dried flowers, pressing and container gardening there. What I loved I saw recently was a swop shed for gardening books. Put one of your own in and take one out. Have a lovely weekend x
I have just discovered your channel! Where have I been all my life! 😂 Many great tips and advice for a beginner like me. Thank you so much! Subscribed x
Hello 😊 thanks so much for subscribing. I hope you enjoy the videos. More to come in the New Year but for now have a very Merry Christmas 🎄
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm oh that’d be lovely. Looking forward to them already :) I’ve been binge watching your videos and I find them very informative with clear instructions. Thank you and happy Christmas to you too! x
Great post . I also love Lisa mason Ziegler’s cool flower book and her second book vegetables love flowers. You just reminded me I have the flower patch book and have fished it out for a re-read this evening . Thank you
Hi Lisa, I haven’t read her vegetable loves flowers book so I think that’s one for my Christmas list. I enjoy going back to a book once I haven’t looked at it for a while. there’s always something new to pick up, happy reading! X
So helpful thank you 😊
Thanks for watching 😊 I’m glad you found it helpful x
Thank you for this post regarding your favourite books. Like you I love Georgie Newberys' books and Erins from Florets. these were a gift for Mother's Day from my daughter that has set me on my journey into flower farming. I also found a book by Milli Proust 'from seed to bloom' very useful I've definitely added some of your recommended books to my Christmas list. I must add that I've also learned a lot from you from your posts and if you do ever get to writing your own book that'll go in my book collection too. Best wishes
Thank you Gina for the recommendation of ‘from seed to bloom’ It’s always great to know what other flower farmers have enjoyed reading. Although there are lots of books out there now about it everyone writes from a different perspective. Thanks so much for watching my channel. It’s great to have you following along. Have a lovely weekend x
What an interesting video Catherine. I’m a huge book lover too and I have almost all of those, with exception of Erin’s Dahlia book, the Charles Dowding book (though I have several others by him), and I don’t yet have the RHS propagation book or the Alan Titchmarsh book or the speciality cut flower book. I so agree about Georgie Newbery’s books. If you like a good novel I thoroughly recommend her “All Desires Known” which I have just reread. It’s so entertaining. (Warning, the language is as colourful as Georgie’s gorgeous flowers!) I also found Louise Curley’s “The Cut Flower Patch” extremely helpful. You’ve probably seen that there’s a new book coming out in March “The Cut Flower Sourcebook” by Rachel Siegfried. It’s rather expensive, but definitely on my wish list. Celestina Roberson’s book is also well worth having and excellent value for money. I hope you do get round to writing your own book one day. I will buy it!
Hi Sally, I love that bit of time after Christmas when things get quieter and the garden is sleeping. It is the one time I can sit down and read some good books. Thanks for recommending Georgie's novel, I had no idea she had written one and I its probably very entertaining! I have the cut flower sourcebook on my Christmas list and am very excited to get a copy of that hopefully when its released next year. So many people have recommended Celestina's book so I am definitely adding that to my Christmas list too. Its been a lovely few days chatting about books with everyone and its making me look forward to those winter days with the fire and a good book x
Excellent. You shared some books I have not heard of before. I am looking forward to searching some of these out.
Thanks Ruthanne. Have you got a favourite gardening/flower growing book at the moment?
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Floret's books.
Great video! I'm also a huge fan of books and my collection is always being added to...a few of your choices are now on to my wish list 😊
Thank you, it is one of the bits I love about the winter, the time to be able to sit down with some good books. A few more flower ones are on my wish list for Christmas too.
I have several of the same books on your list, and have put two on hold at the library too! Cool Flowers was my top book for getting my flower farm running. I also took her Flower Farming School online a few years ago, which was invaluable.
That’s really interesting that you got so much out of her online course. I think it would have been fantastic. I like to go back and read up her book again at the end of the summers so I can remember what I am doing for making the most out of those cool flowers which do really well in Scotland.
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Cool flowers do well here too in 7B Georgia, USA. Larkspur, bacheolor's buttons, scabiosa, snapdragons etc. are thriving in my garden now.
Good stuff Catherine 🎉 Excellent discussion on all these books. I've got about half of them - Cool Flowers and Flower Farmers Year are my two favourites. I've just been out picking snaps from my overwintered plants (thanks Lisa!). I've got my first farmers market (in Australia) in three weeks - wish me luck!
Hi Alison, I hope the farmers market goes really well in a few weeks time! It really does work overwintering doesn’t it. That’s great you are getting your first snaps from overwintered plants. What other ones have you successfully overwintered this year? Do you have any different flower farming books I didn’t mention that you have enjoyed? X
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm Overwintered well - sweet william, cornflowers, bells of ireland, carnations (spray), larkspur, mignonette (this was a revelation - got the seed from Floret when they were still shipping internationally. It's a really beautiful white spike), rudbeckia, poppies, nigella, bupleurum, dara. Didn't make it: ammi majus. No, no other books ! Thanks re the farmers market!
Feet up - good book = Bliss. Lovely to hear about your journey Catherine some lovely books to look out for I do have Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler I agree it is a lovely book.
Absolutely Susan, nothing better! Especially with some of the weather we have been having recently. Just can’t get out in the garden so a good book it is. I am alternating between gardening ones and Diana Gabaldons latest novel!
Great video
I’m going to invest in Charles dowding and some others too!
On another note are you able to show us the greenhouse when you cover the plants, my ranunculus and enenomes are doing so well over all, but some leaves are just getting hit by the cold and temp drops
Would love to see how you cover all of you plants over winter in the greenhouse to hopefully not loose any for next season 👏😊👌
Hi Susan thanks for watching. Yes that's a good idea for doing a video on covering the plants in the greenhouse when it gets cold. I have had a few questions about getting plants through the winter in the greenhouse so I think for the next few months I will keep doing some videos on what I am doing in there to get the plants through x
I also love reading and will put some of these on my Christmas list, You really should write a book I have already learned so much from you and love how clearly you explain how to do things. I noticed there are hundreds of videos showing how to sow hardy annuals and how to prick them out on youtube but there seems to be no information on how to get them to survive winter in a greenhouse, do I have to still water all the time, should I cover them with fleece , do they need fertilizer, should I bring some into the home etc, sorry I am new to all this and really worry about mine all dying Is there any chance you could do a small video on tips and tricks on this please. xx
Hi Melody, that is a really good idea for a video. I will try and do one on that in the next couple of weeks before Christmas when everyone gets busy and it’s easy to neglect the greenhouse! I hope you enjoy some new flower growing books at Christmas. It’s such a nice time of the year when it is quieter outside with garden work and lovely just to be able to curl up with a good book and be inspired! I would love to sit and write a book one day! At the moment life is such a whirlwind with the girls and all they do but I know it will slow down and that’s when I might find my time! X
Great video! we have different books!
Thanks for watching! Do you have a favourite go to gardening book?
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm I grow and collect fuchsias, so I have a ton of books on those and the American western garden book is my go to for everything else. That one is pretty specific to US regions but the information is still good for everyone.
Thank you for sharing your recommendations with us. I am a great fan of Georgie Newbury and eagerly await her RUclips posts, likewise with Charles Dowding. Are you able to share with us the changes you are making to your business if you are reducing the wedding side of your business?
Hi Honore, yes they are both fantastic and have been a huge inspiration to me. I have decided to grow more for local florists now I have stopped the wedding flowers for a while. I was not sure if this would work as I only farm on part of our acre of land and did not know if volume would be a problem. Before when growing for weddings it was more about growing many varieties to make beautiful bouquets rather than many stems of the same type of flower. However I have found some lovely local florists who are happy to have a range of flowers and It worked well this year as I did a little for them and finished the weddings. I would like to run beginner flower growing workshops, continue my stall and some retail bouquets and I am still making my flower jewellery which I sell
from my website. Next years videos will all follow along on how it works out! X
@@cloudberryflowers-flowerfarm
This sounds as if it will make life a lot easier and more straightforward for you. Selling to local florists is something that Georgie has been extolling this year - reducing air miles etc. I think it is also making florists think differently about the style and type of bouquets they produce if they buy locally. Her latest RUclips post is partly about creating a small business that provides a living but is manageable and still gives you pleasure and time to pursue other interests. Best of luck with the change of tack. It will interesting to see what you grow.