The first question has to be why?
Why do I want to grow flowers for a living ?
Why flowers - why not vegetables which everyone seems to be getting into at the moment.
Because - when it comes down to it - I enjoy growing flowers so much more than I enjoy growing vegetables. That's not totally true I love growing flowers and things that you can eat raw, herbs like fennel and chives, peas - which have nice flowers and which can be eaten straight from the plant peasand berries particularly raspberries and brambles - I love eating raspberries and brambles from the bush. Basically I'm a grazer - forget being a hunter gatherer - I'm a grazer.
I grew up being taken bramble picking every autumn - almost every year with my mam (and granny too earlier I think) and we knew all the best local areas around old clee to pick brambles. And then I used to take the kids brambling around Seaton in Aberdeen - along the Don at Brig of Balgownie was the best palce by far - I loved it and I hope the kids did too - noithing beats eating the berries straight from a bramble bush. And then when you take them home and soak them overnight - and all the worms float out you think of how many worms you must have eaten yourself while picking - and you couldn't care less. Brambling is the highlight of any September - and it's a good few years since I've done it as the kids are now grown (youngest is twenty) and we don't live in Seaton. We haven't looked round for brambles in our new place yet. Have to try this year - although I'm overseas for most of September - that is the other main reason - I work overseas (8 weeks overseas 4 weeks home) and have done for the last 4 years. I kidded myself that everyone wanted the money more than they wanted me around so everyone was happy. Only I know that isn't true from my side at least. the 4 weeks off is great but how can I plant much when I'm away for 8 weeks at a time - I plant seeds and by the time I'm home the seeds have sprouted, grown and died again... I can't grow things, grow a business and work overseas something has to give and I've decided that it is the working overseas. The wee uns only have another couple of years at University so once they are finished and the banks paid off I'll be back to the UK. In the meantime I have 2 years to learn and think and plan and gain some expereience - two years is too long...
The other bery picking experience I have to write about sometime is strawberry picking - your Ma filling her handbag with berrys while you stuff as much down your own throat as you put into the baskets. I love berry picking. If I could make the kind of money I need for this life with just picking berries I think I could be very happy.
Pick your own - that's another possibility - pick your own berries and flowers...
And now I find that I haven't answered the question - why I want to grow flowers - I've answered the question - why I don't want to keep on working overseas. Next post will be why I want to grow flowers for a living - for sure.