Cutivate

Growing knowledge | Creating livelihoods

We help flower growers gain the knowledge and business skills required to develop a sustainable, agroecological enterprise.

Grow your business, your way!

Explore our range of courses to expand your knowledge.

Are you a new entrant to the floriculture industry? Have you been growing flowers as a hobby and are just starting to develop plans to launch a new business? Are you an experienced grower looking for guidance on taking your enterprise to the next level?

At Cultivate, we offer a range of educational courses to suit your needs. We also offer 1-2-1 flower-business coaching and a year-long mentoring program for growers. Whether you want to dip into one specific topic or dive deep into the detail with our Business Masterclass, we offer educational classes for growers at every stage of their business journey.

group coaching: wholesale growers

Our Wholesale Growers Group Coaching course is here to help growers with a strategy for planning and sales, and is specifically targeted towards those who intend to supply wholesale flowers to the floristry trade.

Florists are an incredibly important market for sales for flower growers and currently supply from seasonal UK growers isn’t meeting the growing demand for locally-produced blooms. Cel’s work on her own flower farm is focused on wholesale supply, through direct-to-florist sales and to the commercial wholesale market. In this course she brings her expertise to help other wholesale growers to develop a strategy for sales that puts their business on a firm foundation for profitability.

The Wholesale Growers Group Coaching course takes place over seven in-person sessions via Zoom. In each session we’ll be delving into a specific topic, with business targets to set and planning tasks to explore. Between sessions, participants will have access to a WhatsApp group where the learning and discussion can continue.

COURSE DATES FOR 2026/27

The group coaching course commences on Monday 16th November 2026 at 9.00am; please see below for details of each session date. Sessions 1-5 will take place between 9.00-11.00 GMT; class time for sessions 6 and 7 are during the evening and will take place between 19.00-21.00 BST.

Investment: £395.00 per person

Session 1: Mon 16th November 2026; Routes to market

Determine the size of the market for your flowers; how do you reach prospective customers?

Session 2: Mon 7th December 2026; Product development

Understanding customer demand and its impact on variety selection; planning your crop production.

Session 3: Mon 4th January 2027; Sales targets and crop profitability

Sales projections and analysis of crop profitability - steps to ensuring financial sustainability for wholesale growers.

Session 4: Mon 5th February 2027; Enterprise Budgets and Pricing

Learn how to run an Enterprise Budget for your crop that accounts for all of your costs; price for wholesale sales with confidence.

Session 5: Mon 1st March 2027; Selling strategy

Selling your floral product; grading and quality standards, and terms and conditions of business.

Session 6: Tues 29th June 2027; Mid-season check in

Session 7: Tues 5th Oct 2027; End-of-season follow up

FAQs

Is the Wholesale Growers Group Coaching course for me?

Are you a grower with a business model to supply flowers to the wholesale trade? Are you exploring the option of developing your business for wholesale sales? Whether you’re interested in supplying direct-to-florist, through wholesale hubs or directly to commercial wholesale, this coaching group will help to facilitate strategic planning for production and sales into the wholesale floristry market.

What are the course dates and times?

Session 1: Mon 16th November 2026, 9.00-11.00 GMT; Routes to market

Session 2: Mon 7th December 2026, 9.00-11.00 GMT; Product development

Session 3: Mon 4th January 2027, 9.00-11.00 GMT; Sales targets and crop profitability

Session 4: Mon 5th February 2027, 9.00-1..00 GMT; Enterprise Budgets and Pricing

Session 5: Mon 1st March 2027, 9.00-11.00 GMT; Selling strategy

Session 6: Tues 29th June 2027, 19.00-21.00 BST; Mid-season check in

Session 7: Tues 5th Oct 2027, 19.00-21.00 BST; End-of-season follow up

Can I pay in instalments?

Yes, you can pay in two instalments; £200 due at booking and £195 balance due 1st Feb 2027.

What happens if I can’t attend every session?

The group coaching classes will be recorded and a copy of each sent to every participant. We do ask that you make every effort to attend each Zoom session in person as everyone’s experience is valuable in a group coaching setting. You will of course receive all of the course templates to use and continue to have access to the WhatsApp group, so any questions you may have can also be asked between sessions in the group chat.

What will I receive on the course?

Every participant has access to seven in-person Zoom sessions with Cel across the season. In addition, you will receive a digital course document with templates for each of the topical tasks, and access to the WhatsApp group for participants to use for ongoing discussion between sessions.

group coaching: flower growers

Our Flower Growers Group Coaching course has been developed especially for those who are new growers or those in the early stages of their business development.

Launching any kind of business can be a daunting task and small-scale flower growers face so many challenges! With an increasing demand for locally-grown flowers we need more people producing blooms for local customers. This coaching group aims to help less experienced growers to understand the market for cut flowers and how to develop a business model that fulfils your financial aims, and how to consistently produce blooms for sale throughout the growing season.

The Flower Growers Group Coaching course takes place over six in-person teaching sessions via Zoom through the winter season, and six monthly evening check-in sessions once the growing season commences. In each of the winter sessions we’ll be exploring a specific topic and there will be planning tasks for each participant to work on in order to help build a strategy for sales for the season. Every participant will also have access to a WhatsApp group where you can ask any questions that may arise in between each coaching session.

COURSE DATES FOR 2027

The Flower Growers Group Coaching course commences on Monday 11th January 2027; please see below for details of each session date.

Investment: £395.00 per person

Session 1: Mon 11th January 2027 - Finding your WHY; assessing your business values and understanding why developing brand affinity is a basis for successful marketing communication.

Session 2: Mon 25th January 2027 - Markets and marketing; What does your business sell? Where will you sell your product? Who are your customers and how will you reach them?

Session 3: Mon 8th February 2027 - Financial planning and pricing; earnings, turnover, pricing and sales targets - get ready for sales with financial goals and a strategy!

Session 4: Mon 22nd February 2027 - Grow the flowers! - variety selection, cutting and conditioning, succession sowing and making sure you have enough flowers to sell through the season.

Session 5: Mon 8th March 2027 - Get ready to SELL; it’s not pretty, but we need to look at the practical tasks of business administration; order processes, T&Cs, and customer services.

Session 6: Mon 22nd March - Basic record keeping for busy growers; Why should growers keep records? What type of data should be collected? How can data help to improve production efficiency and profitability?

The group will meet on every 2nd Tuesday evening from May-Oct 2027 (19.00-20.30 BST) for a 90min monthly check-in session through the growing season. The focus of these sessions is to assess and respond to challenges within the growing season, as well as to look at specific topics such as autumn succession planning for example. Dates for the check-in sessions are as follows:

Tuesday 11th May

Tuesday 8th June

Tuesday 13th July

Tuesday 10th August

Tuesday 14th September

Tuesday 12th October

FAQs

Is the Flower Growers Group Coaching course for me?

If you are just starting your flower-growing business or have been growing for a few years but would like to be more strategic with sales and crop production, this group is for you!

Can I pay in instalments?

Yes, you can pay in two instalments; £200 due at booking and the balance of £195 due on 1st March 2027.

What happens if I can’t attend every session?

The group coaching classes will be recorded and a copy of each session sent to every participant. We do ask that you make every effort to attend each Zoom session in person as everyone’s experience is valuable in a group coaching setting. You will of course receive all of the course templates to use and continue to have access to the WhatsApp group, so any questions you may have can also be asked between sessions in the group chat.

What will I receive on the course?

Every participant has access to twelve in-person Zoom sessions with Cel through the 2027 season. In addition, you will receive a digital course documents and templates for each of the teaching sessions, and access to the WhatsApp group for participants to use for ongoing discussion between sessions.

introduction to flower farming

Would you like to turn your passion for growing cut flowers into a business?

Our Introduction to Flower Farming workshop provides an insight into the the business of growing flowers for profit on a small scale, bio-intensive farm. This workshop takes place in person on the flower farm in North Norfolk where I share my processes for business planning, site design for efficiency and productivity, and how I grow high-quality flowers for sale throughout the growing season.

This workshop gives new entrant growers - or those who are just starting to explore the possibility of flower farming - an opportunity to see how a small scale flower farm actually operates.

The morning session is focused on discussion about how to develop a business growing cut flowers, and I share both my experience and insights into the flower industry. We cover a number of topics including developing a market for sales, market demand, different types of customers and their requirements, scale and financial viability, managing work/life balance.

The afternoon session is spent on the flower field looking at all aspects of cut flower production; site set up, variety selection, crop maintenance, maximising profitability, cultivation techniques, cutting and conditioning and preparing flowers for sale, pricing stems. You’ll get to see the selection of varieties that we produce for sale and learn exactly how we go about generating the income required for the business to function.

Please note that this is not a ‘grow-your-own’ course, but a workshop dedicated to those who want to run a viable business growing and selling cut flowers.

If you are interested in turning your passion for flowers into a business, come and join us for a day on flower farm! It’s your chance to see how our operation works in practice, and to ask me all of the questions you may have about creating a livelihood growing and selling cut flowers.

COURSE DATES FOR 2027

SATURDAY 12TH JUNE 10.00AM - 4.00PM

SATURDAY 14TH AUGUST 10.00AM-4.00PM

INVESTMENT: £200.00 PER PERSON

Please note that I am unable to take attendees for this business workshop who live or work within 10 miles of the flower farm in Aylmerton.

1-2-1 consultationS

In addition to group workshops, I also offer a 1-2-1 consultation service for growers who have specific enquiries relating to their own businesses. Whether you are interested in business planning or variety selection or growing techniques, I can share my experience to help you make targeted decisions for your own flower growing operation.

I originally trained as a garden designer and I have over 20 years experience in site planning and design, project management and horticulture. Consultations were an essential part of my design work, and I’ve found that it’s a skill that’s equally transferable to flower farming!

I offer consultations via Zoom which can be arranged for a mutually convenient time either during the day or early evening to fit in with your schedule. Sessions run for 90 minutes and will be recorded and sent for you to review again at your leisure.

The cost of a consultation is £120. Sessions can be booked via the web shop; I will then contact you directly to send you a link for our meeting.

flower farming mentoring program

The Flower Farmer Mentoring Program is a mentorship scheme that takes place across one calendar year. It provides the most value for growers who are looking to develop an existing business rather than a complete beginner. With a timescale covering a whole growing season this allows for careful planning, development and analysis in order to move your flower farming business forwards.

The program runs over five 90-minute Zoom sessions spaced over a twelve month period starting and ending Nov/Dec, as well as additional support via WhatsApp. Whether you require guidance for business planning or crop cultivation techniques, we’ll identify and address the specific requirements for your flower farming business. The goal is to see a real progression in your aims for your business across the year, with mentorship providing support throughout the season.

Mentorship places will only be available on limited release in the autumn shortly before the program commencement date. The price for mentoring program is £495 for the year. Payment in instalments is available.

Please contact me directly if you would like to be added to the waitlist for the Mentoring Program. I only take on a very limited number of mentoring requests each year.