It doesn’t matter how much your gross sales are if your production costs, people costs, transportation and supplies and utilities eat up 90% of those sales. Would you grow and sell $100,000 worth of flowers if after everything is paid for in terms of inputs and overhead you only net $20,000? And what if you grew and sold $50,000 but were efficient enough to where you still could net $20,000?
Read MoreThe flower farming movement has a problem facing its future - but it’s hopefully one that can potentially be averted by changing the way we think about growth in flower farming
Read MoreIf you’re a small scale flower farmer that’s planning out your flower varieties for spring, look no further! I’m sharing with you today ten of my favorite varieties of flowers that are perfect for the small scale flower farmer.
Read MoreGrowing in a small space is not without its challenges - many of which are constraining factors based on the size of your growing space of course, but it’s also important to know that there are some solutions to the issues and ways you can make your small scale farmer effective.
Read MoreThere’s a resiliency and strength in growing small scale. A challenge in a way - how can we still grow flowers, how can we continue to move forward and continue to create joy and beauty in the world through our growing and designs?
And this is a challenge that I have taken to heart. And a challenge that I would like to extend to you, dear reader.
Read MoreDo you ever have flower farm envy?
I certainly do.
I have envy of those flower farmers that get to actually grow in an agricultural setting.
You know the ones I’m talking about. Big plots in middle of nowhere, with big rolling fields and verdant green pastures surrounding them, with big rows of flowers with accompanying photos of large armloads of blooms.
Read MoreWhen we first started out as flower farmers, we were trying to do it all. Farmer’s markets, selling on consignment at local businesses and coffee shops, subscription services, DIY buckets, full service weddings - you name it, we were doing it.
But after a while, we stopped doing everything, focusing down on the income streams that worked best for us and also were the most profitable for us. We decided instead of trying to do everything and cover every single niche in our locale, we decided to just pick a niche and stick with it.
Read MoreWe grow a lot of zinnias as a small scale flower farmer - they are over 50% of our plantings in the warmer summer months - and I’m actually contemplating moving them to 75% of our plantings. I do have a specific intention with planting so many zinnias which I’ll share with you later, but just know that they have always been a staple on our farm and will continue to be for many reasons.
Read MoreWhen it comes to choosing varieties for a small scale flower farm, there are a plethora of flowers that you can of course grow.
But the question that you may have (as I did) was what are some of the best flower varieties to grow?
Read MoreIf you’re growing on a small scale flower farm, there are going to be advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages don’t mean that it is impossible to be successful, and the advantages don’t mean that you’ll automatically be successful, but it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into when you decide to grow small scale.
Read MoreWhile my advice definitely can help large scale growers, growers who are growing for market bouquets, growers who are doing this as a full-time job, I want to also reach the flower farmers and growers who aren’t the typical flower farmer.
The flower farmers who aren’t working on a grand scale - who are maybe just growing in a small plot, or are growing in their backyard or in an allotment; The flower farmers who are doing this part-time. Whether it’s family, work, medical or physical reasons or just not being confident in doing this as a full-time gig, there are plenty of us who are just growing on a part-time basis;
Read MoreMy desire for our little business was to bring beauty and joy to the people around me in the form of flowers (and bring joy to myself as well). But we had reached a point in which none of those things was happening - the growing and business was a strain, a palpable weight on the mind - and I realized that we needed a change.
Read MoreIt’s not quite finished - it has quite a few more singles than I would like, and the colors aren’t 100% stable as of yet (I’d like to have more golden tones included as well for warmer palettes) but it’s proven for the past two seasons to produce lovely small-scale blooms in ivory, cream, linen, blush, pale lavender, pale peach, apricot, cantaloupe and light gold.
Read MoreHow is it already August? I feel like I was just planning the designs for the summer garden yesterday! And now today I’m looking to plan the garden for next year and am planning on sowing seeds of hardy annuals, biennials and perennials to overwinter and bloom in 2023.
I have been therefore been feeling the need to live more in the moment. I think this is something that we’ve been experiencing personally since the pandemic, and more so with the very unpredictable times (that seem to become much more unpredictable by the month for better or for worse) and I am finding a distinct need to ground myself.
Read MoreAs a flower farmer, we are always thinking about how to sell our flowers. It’s not enough to just grow beautiful flowers, because beautiful flowers that remain unsold are a very expensive hobby - you have to be able to sell your flowers.
This can of course take many forms - directly to the consumer, sold via consignment or a middle party that markets and sells your flowers, or in the form of design work or services. But as a business owner, you need to be able to sell your flowers in order to sustain your business.
And although some people might think of profit or sales as scary or unfamiliar words, they should not be. You should be making a profit off your flowers when you are selling the because that’s the only way you’ll be able to continue to run your business and provide flowers for the world
Read MoreA prairie planting is actually a bit more intentional than most people might initially think, and requires some work and maintenance (sorry to burst your bubble if you thought otherwise) but it’s not a tremendous amount of work in comparison to a more traditional garden.
In other words, I’m here to bust some myths and misconceptions about planting a prairie. Let’s get started…
Read MoreThere’s been a renewed interest in prairies recently. Particularly in replacing lawns and more traditional, manicured gardens in favor of plantings with more plant diversity and often highlighting varieties of plants that were previously passed over in favor of more showy, floriferous varieties.
But why plant a prairie? Is it really as easy as I make it sound? And is it something that I can do? I’ll answer all your backyard prairie questions in the following series of posts!
Read MoreTulips are one of the most beautiful and venerated blooms of spring and for good reason. Coming in a rainbow of colors, they are some of the most spectacular and boldly colored blooms of the entire year and are also one of the first flowers to bloom (along with daffodils).
Although tulips are generally treated as an annual (with the exception of a few varieties) they can be a good spring flower for the flower farmer to grow!
Read MoreI wanted to introduce you to the 10 typical flower farm business models. Although there are some other models out there, most will fall into one of these six categories (with many taking on multiple business models in order to diversify the services and products they offer). And of course there are other models out there that may not have become mainstream enough to take notice, so this may evolve over time as the demand for local flowers continues to grow, but this should be a good start!
Read MoreWhile tulips often get the focus and attention of spring flowers, daffodils should not be forgotten in the spring lineup!
A truly perennial spring-flowering bulb, daffodils are a great addition to any flower farmer especially for early spring sales. Some of the first flowers or plants to bloom in spring, they are as beautiful and graceful as any flower out there.
Here are some tips for working with daffodils and working them into your flower farm business
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