Well obviously the answer is: really hard. Post over.
Just kidding. But thankfully, unlike most things in my life, I went into the setting up of Fern Hill with my eyes wide open and realistic expectations of the level of work involved. The investment required, both physical and financial, into a system that is ultimately dependent on things I can't control like weather and possible soil diseases is absolutely terrifying. And so far we've only dug one bed, sown a few hardy annuals and ordered Spring bulbs so there is a LONG way to go.
It's an odd kind of thrill though. In today's world where we carry so many tasks and duties in our mental rucksacks and are constantly assessed on our success by bosses, social media followers, family from a different generation, landlords; it's actually quite refreshing to do your absolute best at something but know that your actions alone cannot determine the final outcome. Some of you are probably reading this and thinking what on earth are you talking about, that isn't refreshing it's anxiety-inducing! To some people absolutely it is. But for someone who spends a lot of their time fearing what they can't control, the requirement to actually give in to the uncertainty and accept a point where you have to step back is a helpful and necessary challenge.
Returning to the actual process, we are currently working at battle with the rapidly descending colder temperatures to get autumn sowing done at an adequate rate and dig as many beds as possible ready for the Spring. Within the next month the Narcissi, Hyacinths, Bluebells and Alliums will be in the ground and hopefully we will have lots of developed seedlings of a good selection of hardy annuals ready for overwintering. The end goal when the patch has been worked to full capacity is to have in the region of 150m2 of growing space to fit in as many florals, shrubs, ornamental grasses and herbs as possible. We want to make sure we can provide flowers for all the subscriptions and weddings that come our way!
Current progress!
Now, I'm going to state one of those cliches that is really annoyingly accurate: working outdoors with your hands in the soil and the fresh air on your face is one of the best medicines for your brain. For a few hours the noise of life is absorbed by the earth and all that your senses focus on is feeling the angle that the fork pierces the ground or watching the tiny seeds find their place among the soil. I'm no psychotherapist or neuroscientist but how I like to explain it is that when you reduce your mental focus to basic physical tasks, that really play a small part in the vastness of the natural environment, your brain finds some space. This means that the ongoing worries and pains take up less room and, for a little while at least, don't fill up your brain's total capacity.
Fern Hill is therefore a business enterprise but also a personal therapy space. The patch is named both literally as a component of my business Fern Florist and the fact that it stands on slanted ground, but also it is named after the Dylan Thomas poem. I studied English Literature at university and never has a poem had such an evocative and emotional impact on me as 'Fern Hill'. I saw a verse of the poem written on the wall of a sweet little shop and immediately looked it up to read the full version while my partner read over my shoulder. We both experienced the sense of satisfaction and celebration of life and nature as Thomas reminisces of a youth spent staying at the house of some relatives. My favourite line 'And as I was green and carefree' speaks to my earlier thoughts about nature's impact on your mental health, reminding you of when you were a child and spent hours playing outdoors with no worries whatsoever. I think this might be a new business motto - I want all my floral designs and work to look and feel 'green and carefree'.
Our little patch, though an uphill struggle of battling the natural elements and finding time inside our already busy lives is going to lead to a lot of 'green and carefree' joy - for me definitely, and hopefully for our future customers as well as my flower farming colleagues and experts Jen and Stu. The end of this post is reserved for a humongous thank you to these two wonderful people for all their guidance and support in the establishment of Fern Hill.
For those of you who fancy following along the journey of a micro flower farm growing from a patch of lawn into a floriferous haven you can find us on Instagram - @fernhillpatch
It's going to be a long journey but my favourite one that I have embarked upon so far.
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