First Year Flower Farm: What I'm Learning
I pushed back on the idea of a flower farm for a while. My gardens were growing in size with each passing year. With that growth came more flowers for the pollinators. Every year for about four years, I thought about trying to become a “flower farmer…” only to quickly tell myself that it couldn’t be done on my family's tiny budget, thus ending that idea.
The problem was, I couldn’t escape my love for flowers or the desire to farm. My desire got so big I could no longer shove it off. I had to at least try.
So here I am, at the very beginning of my flower farm journey. Here are the top five things I’ve learned so far when planning a flower farm.
Stick With What You Know, Then Try Something New.
Yes, there are so many different flower varieties out there. Each new color can easily catch your eye. If you’re on a very small budget like me, you’ve got to walk in with a plan. Think through what you know how to grow, what are easiest to grow, and then if you have the budget, try a couple new varieties. Remember, you’re promising flowers. You need to know what you’re growing should work out.
Choose An Avenue For Selling Beforehand.
There are several avenues you could go down for selling flowers. The route you choose will determine how you market, the colors you choose for bouquets, etc. My greatest desire was to meet people in my community, and serve them with the joy that local flowers can bring. I quickly knew retail would be my choice avenue, but even within retail there's choices to make. Flower stands, farmer's markets, and partnering with a local storefront are a few ways you could make money through retail. Some others avenues include wholesale, a u-pick flower farm, or wedding design.
Learn About Bouquet Recipes.
Bouquets are more than just a group of flowers together. Thought is put into each unique bouquet. Several types of flowers are involved like spikes, focals, discs. Then you have what we call “fillers,” like greenery and airy elements. Knowing the amount of each that need to be used in a bouquet to get to a certain price point takes some planning. It is wise to get acquainted with different bouquet recipes and plan out some ideas before you have flowers blooming.
Crunch The Numbers and Stay on Track.
Flowers are enticing. It is so easy to overspend on bulbs, tubers, seeds, etc. If you have a tight budget, start very small. Yes, it is sad to think you may not have Spring blooms in the first growing season, but many summer annuals are cheaper, easier to grow, and can get you on the right track to purchasing bulbs for the following Spring. Keep record of what you spend, and don’t forget to include everything in your budget. Seeds and bulbs are not the only thing you’ll need for the farm. Think through seed trays or soilblocks, harvesting buckets, website, compost, etc. When looking at the overall plan, it makes it easier to narrow down what seeds you’ll need in the first year.
Don’t Forget to Enjoy It.
I love flowers. I love the hard work and the gift of giving the beauty of the farm to others. My budget may be small, I may not be growing everything I wish to grow, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have something unique to offer. Enjoy the process of learning. Be creative, work hard, stay on track, and keep dreaming. I’m excited to see where the flowers will take us!
Paideia: The Backstory
I grew up with a father who could do anything, fix anything, build anything. These were not skills he was “born with.” He began working with his hands, learning to properly build, and do electrical work around the age of seven. By the time I became an adult, I realized there was not a useful skill I could claim. As I spoke to friends my age, I quickly realized many of us did not care to learn skills growing up and some said they were just never taught.
I had never considered what a gift having a life skill could be to us but also those who come after us. The practice of working out what we’re learning not only allows us to get better at that skill, but it gives us a chance to pass down what we learn -successes and failures - to those around us and the next generation.
When my family and I moved to our 4 acre lot, I knew I not only wanted to continue to get better at growing flowers and using medicinal herbs, I wanted the farm to be a place others could hone skills they may desire to have in the homesteading/farming landscape.
Paideia
Paideia is a Greek word that, put simply, means “learning.” This land, our farm, provided us with an opportunity to learn and hand down skills to the next generation. My husband and I wanted to teach our children that working with our hands in whatever capacity is a good skill to have. “Hard work is good work.” And we hoped there would be an opportunity to let others learn new skills too.
After about a year on our farm, I heard a friend of mine talking about her husband’s desire to keep bees. They just did not have the land to do so. Flowers and bees go together in my mind, so I took the opportunity to say I had land he was more than welcome to use. Just two days ago, his bees were brought in.
Community is Necessary
We need each other. There’s so much we can learn in terms of new skills or life lessons from those around us. I would not be able to enter into the flower farming world if it wasn’t for my in-laws, who allowed me to use their land to practice when I had none.
My hope with Paideia Farm is to share my passions with my community and to find ways for others to do the same. I recognize I can only learn and do so much. It is a gift to support others in their endeavors by buying local and talking to them about their loves. It is a gift to give our land to a friend to support a dream. It is a gift to make sure skills are being passed down to the next generation, whether through our farm work or supporting others.