Claire, Plantpassion
Keeping it local
The best plants to grow in your plot are those that will grow well in your plot. We all know the saying "Right plant, right place" but actually when it comes to growing for market, you really need to take this into account
So, find your local growers :
Look round local gardens, - what is growing strongly? what is in more than one garden?.
Find your local gardening society - many of them are closing down, but the knowledge that is present at these societies from gardeners with many years of knowledge is invaluable to you, to grow things that do well in your area. They often have plant sales in spring where you can get bargains if you know what to look out for.
Find your local Nafas / Flower arranging group - yes their style of flower arranging may be more formal than is ideal for your flowers, but they will have fantastic knowledge about the foliage that grows well locally that can be used in flower arranging. I've even got several of my local ladies who are now getting older, and can't use everything in their garden. An invitation to prune/ take cuttings is a fantastic way of building your business in terms of knowledge and plants.
Find your local nurseries, especially specialist plant nurseries - don't assume that they will advertise on the internet. Many nurserymen and women know their plants, but don't know how to market themselves - ask the groups above where they get their plants from.
Note: from our collective experience, garden centre chains are not the best place to find plants, unless they are locally run. They will have central office buying departments which won't take into account your growing conditions, and with few exceptions, you will have as much or more knowledge as the staff.
Our favourite local suppliers are
Claire - Surrey - Spring Reach Nursery - great for Hydrangeas, Hellebores and Roses.
Paula - Scottish borders - Macplants - specialist perennial nursery
Carol - Cheshire - Morreys Nursery - old fashioned grower who propagate their own field grown plants. CK Jones roses, specialist rose grower, retail only, importer for Weekes roses.
Collaborations and using bulk buys
Do you have other growers near to you in your area?
Bulk buys are a fantastic way of getting varieties that you might not otherwise reach a minimum order of. They are also used to get single coloured varieties, and they are a way of sharing costs of transport. Meeting up to sort out shares of a bulk buy is also important for networking, and can be a fun shared activity.
Here in the UK, the best source of bulk buys is Flowers from the Farm. This fantastic organisation has many members both nationally and locally in their areas, willing to do the extra work to organise a bulk buy to ensure that they themselves can get hold of varieties that otherwise wouldn't be available. Roses, Ranunculus, Anemones, Dianthus Greentrick, Paeonies, Chrysanthemums are just some of the things that members have grouped together on.
Buying power is important. So if several or many growers can get together, then they have a lot more say to encourage suppliers to work with them.
Who do we recommend?
When buying for your business, the criteria to consider are:
Good prices,
Specialist information,
Clear timescales for ordering and delivery,
Reliable customer service.
We've used the following UK suppliers and have found that they are good on at least 3 of the 4 categories
Moles seeds - Excellent wholesale seed supplier. They took advice from members of FFTF and started stocking a wider range of individual colours for cut flowers seeds, not all in their catalogue, but available on the website. Order online for a small discount, and before the end of November for a small discount. Seeds arrive very promptly unless ordered in peak season (January)
Chiltern seeds - Specialist seed supplier. Great for unusual different varieties, often at year 1 or 2 of the trend timeline. Check website for number of seeds likely to be in the pack.
J Parkers Wholesale - Large wholesale bulb and perennial supplier, especially good prices for Tulips, Alliums and Dahlias. Order promptly at the beginning of each season for best quality stock. Not the best place for ahead of the curve varieties, but great for standard stock lines for bulbs, perennials and bare root plants at good prices. Chase them if orders or late, or varieties turn out incorrectly, they always refund or replace.
Owls Acre Sweet Peas - Supplies winter/spring flowering varieties of sweet pea seeds, in reasonable quantities. Sells out quickly, so get orders in in August.
Johnson's Sweet peas - Philip Johnson has been my go-to sweet pea information source for the last 5 years. His varieties are highly scented and long stemmed for the show bench, so are great for cut flowers. Germination rates have always been excellent.
Seiont Nurseries - Welsh perennial plant, fern and heuchera supplier, I used Seiont nurseries before I was a cut flower grower for some landscaping jobs, but they have been great at supplying me with liner and plug shrubs and perennials at good prices.
Whetmans pinks - The Uk source for Galilee Anemones, and Israeli ranunculus as well as their own Carnations and Pinks.
Kings Seeds - Good wholesale seed supplier including for sweet peas.
Howard nurseries - For perennials, very good quality, supplier for RHS Wisley.
Chrysanthemums Direct - large range of Chrysanthemums sent as cuttings.
Kolster - imported plants, but specialist cut flower varieties. (Only available to small growers through FFTF bulk buy)
Getting the best deals
We could call this activity - How to shop for plants for your business.
Now most people reading this will have shopped for plants for lots of their adult lives, so may (like me) consider themselves plant-aholics, or seed-aholics.
BUT you are now shopping for your business, not your garden, so here are some absolute necessities to think about before you order:
Have you filled in your 5 year plan? - do you know who is likely to be buying these flower stems when they've grown?
Have you got space for them? - Prefereably that means a bed already cleared or earmarked for them to go into when they arrive
Have you researched the actual variety that you want? What if the supplier doesn't have it, will you accept an alternative? - As a landscaper or gardener this may be acceptable. As a flower farmer, will it have the same colour shade? the same length stem? flower at the same time of year?
If shopping at a wholesale nursery, have you got your list? you're unlikely to get someone to advise you, so have you done all your research about heights and sizes in advance?
What is your budget? Have you stuck to it. - Actually you don't want to spend less than budget, because if you've worked out that you need £4000 worth of Tulips, if you only buy £3000, you will be cutting out a quarter of your sales.
What's your contingency plan? If you see something new and unusual that you think could be a huge trend and your ideal customer will love, under what conditions can you buy?
Our top tips:
Buy Wholesale not retail when you can.
If you don't meet minimum orders then club together with other local growers, or take a risk and buy extra yourself and then sell on.
Share with other growers to help on delivery charges.
Ask if you need something that they don't appear to offer - delivery in a box?/ Collect from a local nursery or wholesaler they supply?
Don't be intimidated by wholesale nurseries, they're not used to flower growers, just landscapers, but they want to do business.
Bear in mind wholesalers will expect you to know what you want, and won't have time to advise you.
Swap cuttings and seeds with other growers to increase your numbers