The Story of Flowers from the Farm With Gill Hodgson

#037 - Flower farmer Gill Hodgson shares her small business journey, from setting up Fieldhouse Flowers and starting to grow flowers in her 50s to setting up Flowers from the Farm, a UK association of British flower growers. Having always been a farmer growing crops, she started growing flowers when a friend who was getting married wanted 'flowers from the garden' for her wedding. As the flowers were ready earlier than needed, Gill cut them, put a table at the end of the farm drive and started selling bunches. They sold so well that she decided to grow more flowers the next year and the following year too. Gill started to take her flowers to sell at farmers' markets. On coming to face-to-face with members of the general public and seeing the wonderful reaction that her bouquets provoked, she had a realisation that more people needed to grow flowers. At the time, the farming community was being encouraged to diversify. And she felt that farmers could benefit from growing flowers on their land. So she put together a press release, which as well as being picked up by the farming press was also featured by the Yorkshire Post newspaper. Gill thought that it would make sense to set up a co-operative. So she sought advice from the Humberside Development Authority. And the person she met with recommended that she set up a website. She shares how Flowers from the Farm began, how she sought publicity, how the association grew, the nationwide structure, benefits of membership and celebrating the 10th Anniversary this year with over 1,000 members. One of the highlights of her flower farming career was exhibiting at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2018. And she shares in detail all the planning and logistics behind the creation of the exhibit, together with appearing on the BBC and being interviewed by Mary Berry. Listening to this episode, you'll hear how passionate Gill is about the UK flower growing industry and the supportive community that she's created by founding Flowers from the Farm. At the end of the podcast, you'll discover her practical tips, which I'm sure you'll find very inspiring. Show notes are available on the My Small Business & Me website: https://mysmallbusinessandme.com/episode37