How it starts! The first path
The move to Frank’s Farm started in earnest on October and was finished on 23rd December. It went to plan, albeit a complete slog and full of mixed emotions! I am never moving again!!
My first job was marking out the site and get some flower beds in. I have used the same weed suppressant to make paths as I used in the previous field, but this time around I’ve made the flower beds up to 24m long. This has given me additional growing space which I desparately needed. The perennial beds needed to be established as fast as possible so that I could dig up all of the perennial plants and re-locate straight onto site.
By the time all of the perennials were in the weather was starting to turn and I noticed that my new field is suffering from being waterlogged at the lower end. This has meant that conditions rapidly became very tough! The lower half of the field, where I’m planning to grow annuals, cannot be laid out until it’s dried out enough. This is a pain because it also means I haven’t been able to cover the area properly to kill off the grass. The spring is going to be crazy busy whilst I try to get back on top of the work!
Another problem with the waterlogging is that the ground is slippy and muddy so all of the infrastructure that has come from my previous field is sitting at the bottom waiting to be moved into place. Again this sets me back a bit in the spring as things like the shed isn’t up yet, the water tanks aren’t in the right place, compost bins not built etc. It will take some time to get everything up and running.
On the plus side, there are some bulbs coming up and some hellebore look like they might want to flower too. I’m looking forward to the spring when I can check on all of the plants I have moved to see what has taken and what didn’t make it. When I see how everything is faring I’ll make a decision about whether I need any more plants to fill the gaps.
One thing I definitely will need are daffodils. I have had to write off my bulbs because they were planted too deeply into the clay of the field to dig out. It was annoying but with everything else to do I had to take a commercial view. I have had a return from most of the bulbs now (i.e. the flowers sold have offset the cost of buying the bulb, the rent etc) and it wasn’t economical to spend the time and energy getting them out of the ground. This year I will buy a lot of bulbs so that in spring 2026 I can launch Pick Your Own daffodils. I can’t wait!
I don’t know how long it will take to be up and running properly, but I am glad that I had a new site to go to. I wasn’t ready to give up on Nature’s Posy as I still have a lot to say about sustainable cut flowers and I still have a lot of flowers that I want to grow.
If you’re interested in seeing how I’m getting on then you’re very welcome to come over and have a look in person if I’m about. This is likely to be in the mornings, Weds – Sun. I hope you’ll enjoy seeing how the field develops from the slightly sorry state it’s currently in into a hive of activity with birds, bees and butterflies all enjoying the new colourful landscape.
Loading up Tough conditions! Perennials in The new teaching garden area A very long bed