7 Great Reasons to Start a Flower Farm
Thinking of starting a flower farm?
Great! Because there has never been a better time to do so, and it’s also never been easier.
Now you may have already started your flower farm and are doing just fine - hats off to you. But there are also some of us (me!) that needed a justification or reason to start a flower farm. After all, it can be quite the laborious and complicated venture. Or perhaps we wanted to ensure that we’re doing the right thing and that we’re aligned towards a certain reason or goal for our flower farm.
Today I’d like to share a few great reasons that other flower farmers (of all different backgrounds and situations and scale) have shared with me over the years for starting a flower farm. You might identify with quite a few of these (I certainly do!)
1) To make growing plants (and flowers) into a business
Now of course you know that growing flowers can become a business. Whether that’s growing the flowers to sell to wholesalers, in mixed bouquets and arrangements to be sold directly to retail customers or as a full service wedding, this is one of the main reasons people start a flower farm - to have a successful business growing and selling flowers.
Although flower farming is hard, unpredictable and (let’s truly be honest here) there are plenty of ways to make money that are far more predictable and make more sense, it can be great for the reasons mentioned as well as some other reasons too including more flexibility with work hours, being able to work with your kids or being able to work in something that is different from the usual 9-5 occupation.
If you’re someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit (and you know if you are) then flower farming is a great way to put that entrepreneurial spirit to work.
2) To bring local flowers to your community
Although a lot of major cities now have multiple growers, there are still quite a few that may not have local flowers. Especially in more rural areas, people may have few flower choices available.
When we first started out six years ago, there were no options as far as local flowers. The only Cafe au Lait I would have seen would have only been in photos. We snatched up some tubers from an online supplier and started growing them - and everyone around us got to experience them at the same time either as a customer or as a fellow designer.
That’s the beauty of being a flower farmer - you’re able to bring something very special and very amazing to your community. Flowers that some people may have never seen before, colors and textures and forms that may have only been thought of in dreams or seen in photographs to the point where people may ask you “Are these even real?”
More importantly, having local flowers available to your community and the people around you is important. You can start having the discussion regarding locally grown flowers, offering different varieties than what they’re used to and the concept that local flowers can be beautiful and amazing and can be real.
3) To grow rare and unique flowers for floral design
If you live in San Francisco and New York City you have a wide array of flower varieties available at any time of the year. But for those of us who don’t live in an area that has a large flower market and the options are usually the varieties available at the grocery store or the wholesaler a couple hours away, there’s less variety and less options available.
That’s one reason why we started growing flowers - all of the amazing and gorgeous and rare flowers that we had only seen on social media would never have been present in our hands had we not sought out the seeds, plants, tubers, bulbs and corms ourselves.
And truly, unless we grow our flowers ourselves we would probably never see them again. We’re on a mission to ensure that people know about all the beautiful varieties of flowers we’re growing and to love them just as much as we do.
4) To cultivate beauty
It’s not a secret that flowers are mostly about beauty. Yes, there’s scent, yes there’s some medicinal and edible utility, but flowers are mostly grown and appreciated for their visual appearance.
There’s something about cultivating and nurturing that beauty that changes something in yourself. Something great and gentle and kind when you’re able to see a sunflower just starting to lift its first petals off its face, a dahlia bud that is just starting to unfurl, a glittering and brilliant zinnia in all its bold and glorious glory.
We can put our energy and efforts and thoughts towards a lot of things in this world, much of which may not bring us quite the peace and joy that growing flowers might. I like to think that I’m putting my efforts and love and energy towards something positive, something beautiful, something good - and growing flowers is something that I am more than happy to be putting my life’s work towards.
5) To connect with nature
I once heard that gardening isn’t really about the gardening, it’s about the process of gardening. It’s kind of like how I complained to my dad when I was a kid that I didn’t like going fishing because we didn’t catch anything - after which my father laughed and patiently explained that it wasn’t really about catching the fish and more about the time spent outdoors and enjoying yourself.
In the same way, growing flowers was a way for me to connect with nature. Being outside and hearing the doves cooing, see the wind blowing and the slight change in temperature as the day changed from midday to afternoon. The way that the scent of the clover I crushed walking through a pathway is funneled down the row by the breeze, the way that the dahlia that has caught my eye is catching the light.
Before I started growing flowers I had no idea what the weather was, the amount of snow we would get, the quality of daylight in April or the time of year in which the monsoon rains usually arrived. Because growing flowers requires you to be in touch with the weather and nature, it just helps you to feel more grounded, more aware of everything that is going on, ad there is a certain experience that you can’t get from anything else as a result.
6) To create habitat and food sources for wildlife
Did you know that many creatures rely on flowers for food, shelter, breeding and even courtship? We’re all aware of butterflies and bees, but each plant is a veritable world for the organisms that live on its surface and structure. Tiny crab spiders and wheel bugs that stalk the aphids that live in the flowers and underneath leaves, the pillbugs and centipedes that scurry around the base of the plants and even the nematodes and fungi that live and flourish in the roots of the plant.
This is in addition to the larger creatures like the frogs that nestle into the base of leaves, the birds that hang from tall stems of zinnias and sunflowers (as well as feed from their seedheads in nature) and even the smaller feathered and furry creatures that utilize the plants as shelter and habitat.
You are creating a wonderful and wild world for all these organisms to flourish and grow by growing flowers (and in many cases providing a food source and environment they will seldom find anywhere else in either ornamental or vegetable gardens) and increasing the biodiversity of the immediate area. You may be surprised as to the wildlife you start seeing as a result!
7) Because you just love flowers
And lastly (and most importantly) the number one reason to start a flower farm is because you love flowers. You love seeing them, smelling them, working with them into designs and just being in their presence, and you can feel a special connection with them that you don’t feel with anything else.
There’s a reason why flowers are important enough to include in significant events in our lives - weddings, funerals, birthdays, graduations, retirements, anniversaries and celebrations of life and love - and that is because they never fail to evoke emotions in people and bring joy and wonder.
I hope that you found this useful
There are truly many different reasons for starting a flower farm, and these are just a few. There are lots of great reasons for getting into this whole flower-growing-thing, and as long as you are able to articulate why you’re starting a flower farm (and are a flower farmer) that’s all you need.
Similar to creating a vision for your flower farm, these reasons or purposes are a great way of making sure your business and farm decisions are aligned with your end goal. By keeping your end and purpose in mind, you’ll have a much easier time with the whole venture.
If you’re wanting to read more about becoming a flower farmer or are starting out, I wanted to provide you with a couple more posts that will be very helpful for you!