For some, the idea of packing up a busy life in the city and moving to the countryside to open a flower farm may seem like a far-fetched daydream, but for Chloe, who runs Woodside Lane Flowers, a career crisis became a catalyst for a new life rooted in soil. Chloe was kind enough to invite us to her flower farm in King's Stanley to learn more about the transition from agent to flower farmer, the challenges of running a small business, and how to work alongside nature.

Perched on a hill surrounded by fields, Chloe and her family have worked to transform an overgrown one-acre pastoral field into a flourishing flower farm, growing predominantly from seed whilst battling wind, pests and unpredictable weather. The result is an inspiring space bursting with colour, where Chloe's attention to keeping in harmony with nature shines through.

After eleven years as an agent for artists and illustrators, a change beckoned and Chloe found herself questioning her purpose. "I had a kind of career crisis and was thinking, 'I'm not sure why I'm an agent and I want to do something different,'" she recalls. This moment of doubt led her to explore two new paths: textiles and horticulture through the Royal Horticultural Society. "In the end, the horticulture—I just completely fell in love with it," she explains. "I found it was fascinating."

The transition wasn't immediate. She balanced her new passion with motherhood, studying garden design whilst raising young children. The turning point came during the first COVID lockdown. Whilst her partner was home from work, she discovered a three-acre flower farm in Walthamstow, London Flower Farmer. With outdoor work still permitted, she reached out to Treea who runs London Flower Farmer with a simple question: "Are you looking to employ somebody?"

Three years of learning the trade followed, whilst she grew her own flowers on a charity allotment. "I just grew loads of flowers to practise and gave my friends and neighbours flowers all the time. But that's what planted the seed of an idea of having my own flower farm."

The Reality of Flower Farming

Moving to their current location a year and a half ago, she's discovered that whilst flower farming is deeply rewarding, it's far from the romantic ideal many imagine. "People, when they hear that you're a flower farmer, they say, 'Oh, how nice.' And it is really nice and I love it, but it is really hard work," she says.

Currently managing 35 beds, she's still developing her business whilst juggling growing, marketing, and pricing. With no irrigation system in place, this year's drought presented particular challenges. "I haven't mastered the stresses that the weather presents," she admits. "We're on a really windy site as well, so I'm studying how the wind is affecting the plants and working out what I can put in place to filter the wind and reduce any potential stress or damage to the plants."

Despite these challenges, what drives her daily is something beautifully simple: the wonder of growth itself. "I simply can't ever get over the fact that you can produce these flowers from seed," she says. "Germination continues to blow me away, it's a miracle." This year brought particular satisfaction as perennials she grew from seed the previous year flowered again.

She's increasingly focused on seed saving, recognising both economic and environmental benefits. "You know that plant grew well in your environment, in your soil. Unlike purchasing seed from a company—their seeds have grown in this climate, but not specifically in your field." A walk around Chloe's field shows not only swathes of awaiting stems swaying in the breeze, but also spent heads left to go to seed for future growth.

Building a Local Movement

Although she's proud of growing chemical-free, local flowers, she recognises the possible accessibility challenge for some when faced with the cheap bouquets offered by larger chain shops. "There's an increasing awareness of buying locally grown flowers though and it's satisfying to become someone's go-to bouquet provider once they have discovered that my flower farm is just up the road from where they live. I try to provide an option of smaller bunches for those who can't afford larger ones"

Chloe's arrangements are night and day compared to the plastic-wrapped imported stems available from supermarkets. Care goes into selecting stems which complement each other; there is variety of height, scent, and colour, and despite what you may think about organic flowers, they last just as well, if not better, than their mass-produced alternatives.

Chloe believes homegrown arrangements offer something fundamentally different. "They are much more beautiful and offer something very different to what you can buy in a supermarket. Obviously no chemicals have been used and they're local." She's seeing encouraging signs of changing mindsets, particularly in rural communities where people increasingly seek locally sourced products.

For aspiring growers, her advice is pragmatic: start easy to build confidence. She recommends direct-sown annuals like nigella, poppies and cornflowers, or reliable bulbs like daffodils. "Just start with something relatively easy so that you get the satisfaction of getting some flowers, because it can be quite upsetting when you try to grow and it's not successful."

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, her goals focus on craft over commerce. "I want to be an even better grower and learn through observing how my plants are growing." Her next investments will be practical: rainwater harvesting with drip irrigation, and eventually fencing to protect against wildlife, especially deer who love eating my roses".

"My objective is to grow high quality flowers that are healthy, pesticide-free and last well in a vase or for an event. It's hugely satisfying cutting a bucketful of flowers that you know are of the best possible quality, something that makes me feel very proud."

In a world of imported blooms available year-round, her seasonal, locally grown flowers offer something increasingly rare: authenticity, connection to place, and the irreplaceable beauty of things grown with care. Sometimes the most radical act is simply growing something beautiful, one seed at a time.