I am a self taught grower and florist (I studied architecture and worked in that area before escaping back to West Cork). My flower field is small – less than one acre including 2 polytunnels – and almost all of the work is done by hand. The flowers I sell are not certified organic but I follow a lot of organic growing and permaculture principles such as building a healthy soil and feeding plants with comfrey, nettle and seaweed. The only weedkiller I use is vinegar but mainly I deal with weeds by hoeing, hand weeding and mulching.

People often ask what kind of flowers I grow. How long is a piece of string? And how’s your Latin? Some of the more poetic ones are Love-in-a-mist (Nigella) Love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus) and Granny’s Bonnet (Aquilegia). I haven’t grown Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate (Persicaria Orientale) yet but I hope to try!