Fact-checked by If it feels to you like everyone is suddenly a flower farmer, you’re not alone. A simple scroll through Instagram shows stemfluencers frolicking in flower fields or hawking their harvest from photogenic flower trucks, but is a career in cut flowers as rosy at it seems? We asked a variety of professional growers from all over the country—some former Wall Streeters, others hobbyists-turner-entrepreneurs—to share the ups and downs of having Mother Nature as a business partner and offer essential advice for anyone considering cultivating blooms for pleasure or profit.
If you do pursue a career in petals, take heart that you’re in good company, as flower farming community is (quite fittingly) a nurturing one. Says Dee Hall of Mermaid City Flowers in Norwalk, Virginia: “Find your people and ask for help. Flower farmers are a supportive bunch and we want each other to do well.”
The All-In Family
Grace Lam & Co.
Fivefork Farms, Upton, Massachusetts
Grace Lam’s life with flowers began early (though not tenderly) in her mother’s Massachusetts garden. “I remember breaking her dahlias while kicking balls around the yard, then taping up the plants in hopes of her not noticing,” she says.
Still, when Grace left a job on Wall Street in 2012, it was flowers and family that inspired a return to her roots. Soon after, Grace, along with mom Helen, dad Daniel, and siblings Lyh-Ping, Lyh-Rhen, Lyh-Hsin, and Joyce, purchased 38 acres in the Blackstone River Valley of Massachusetts that would become Fivefork Farms. The property, which draws its name from the five kids, is now one of the Boston area’s most esteemed growers of sustainable blooms. They each play a role: Grace and Lyh- Hsin run day-to-day operations, Joyce oversees finances, Lyh-Rhen works on branding and marketing, and Lyh-Ping takes point on networking and finding new business partners. Daniel (“He’s everyone’s favorite,” says Grace) makes deliveries and directs traffic on market days.
The all-together-now mindset has helped Fivefork weather the changing Northeastern climate and grow a robust flower subscription service connecting customers to blooms that aren’t often available in grocery stores (think butterfly ranunculus and parrot tulips). “Our biggest fights are about the farm,” Grace says of working with family. “But at the end of the day, everyone just wants what’s best for it.”
Helen Norman Peter Elmore of Star Bright Farm
The Next Generation Grower
Peter Elmore
Star Bright Farm, White Hall, Maryland
Peter Elmore was just two years old when he and his father, Mark, took an evening walk in the hills of the 19th-century Maryland farm their family had just purchased. As they gazed upward and recited a familiar nursery rhyme, inspiration struck: Their home’s new name would be “Star Bright.”
Thirty years later, Peter is still inspiring the future of Star Bright Farm, now as head farmer. After studying regenerative agriculture at the University of Vermont, he returned home in 2017 to implement what he’d learned. “Perennial plants are a cornerstone, as they’re less disruptive to the environment,” he says. To that end, the farm features an acre of lavender fields, complemented by five acres of perennial herbs and flowers. “We also have fruit trees and bushes, which add another level to the landscape.” Star Bright’s business has also added layers. There’s now The Barn Market, run by Peter’s mother, Helen, where organic products made from the farm’s herbs are sold and workshops and events are held. “We’re building a diverse and resilient farm,” says Peter. “One that will build upon itself for years to come.”
RYLea FOEHL Flower farmer Deanna Kitchen
The Altruist
Deanna Kitchen
Twig & Vine Flower Farm, Conway, Washington
In 2017, Deanna Kitchen was looking to foster intergenerational connections for both herself and her three young sons in their Skagit Valley community. So she loaded a few buckets of homegrown dahlias into a Radio Flyer “with a broken handle and a really squeaky wheel,” and she and the boys headed to a nearby long-term care facility to hand out blooms to residents. The gesture brought joy to its recipients, and sparked an “aha” moment for Deanna. “We could only go so far with our little red wagon,” she thought. “But what if we invited others to join us?”
The idea sparked the Growing Kindness Project, the nonprofit she formed in 2020. Through the organization, Deanna provides more than 3,600 gardeners with educational resources, online forums, and dahlia tubers pulled from her own soil (and also donated by other flower farmers). Participants all have the same mission: to encourage connection and kindness by sharing free, freshly cut blooms with those who could use a little extra beauty in their lives. While her own flower farm, Twig & Vine, has admittedly taken a back seat to growing the movement—the farm now primarily functions as a home for in-person Growing Kindness workshops—Deanna remains as energized as ever by the cause. “Flowers are food for the soul,” she says. “They’re not a necessity, and that’s what makes them special.”
Kate Thompson Dee Hall of Mermaid City Flowers
The Community Builder
Dee Hall
Mermaid City Flowers, Norfolk, Virginia
Like many businesses, Dee Hall’s began by spotting a hole in the market. “I wanted locally sourced flowers for my wedding and couldn’t find any,” she says. A lifelong gardening enthusiast (her grandmother grew flowers on St. Lucia, and Dee was raised across the street from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City), she planted her own scabiosa and dahlias in the front yard of her Norfolk, Virginia, home. “My neighborhood is really friendly, and soon the person across the street offered me growing space,” she says. More offers followed and, in 2020, Dee launched Mermaid City Flowers, which now includes four sustainable gardens totaling an acre around the neighborhood. In addition to growing blooms for her bouquet subscription service, Dee cultivates native plants and pollinator-friendly flowers.
Dee is also busy sowing the seeds of community. In 2021, she formed the Tidewater Flower Collective to pool regional growers’ resources and also founded Black Flower Farmers, a group that includes members around the world. “When we work together and support each other, everyone grows,” she says.
Johnny C.Y. Lam Flower farmer Melanie Harrington of Dahlia May Flower Farm
The Four Seasons Farmer
Melanie Harrington
Dahlia May Flower Farm, Trenton, Ontario
Eleven years ago, Melanie Harrington was unloading yet another box of carnations shipped from South America at the flower shop where she worked when inspiration struck. “I wanted to start my own business and I wanted to grow something locally,” she says.
She began by planting zinnias on the same Ontario farm she’d been raised. “My parents grew vegetables and a few flowers,” says Melanie. “I loved going to the farmstand with my dad when I was a kid, standing on a milk crate and arranging flowers in tins on our pickup tailgate.” In 2014, she began Dahlia May, and the following winter she studied flower farming.
“My idea was to supply Ontario-grown flowers 12 months of the year,” she says. The farm now features four acres of mixed blooms and a green-house where the seasons yield stems like tulips, daffodils, peonies, strawflower, and, of course, dahlias. There are also nine acres of sunflowers, which Melanie cultivates for the seeds.
Flowers are sold at the farmstand seven days a week, where visitors can browse single stems and ready-made bouquets. Dahlia May also offers a flower subscription and floral design services. “I’m happy I’ve been able to continue what my parents started,” says Melanie. “It’s long hours, but when I’m watching the sunset over the flower harvest, the work feels rewarding.”
Michael Persico Flower farmer Alyssa Ward
The Multi-Hyphenate
Alyssa Ward
Ward’s Farm, Salem, New Jersey
It was dinnerplate dahlias that first hooked Alyssa Ward on flowers. She spotted them during a visit to Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens. “I fell in love,” she says. “I went right home and [my husband] planted some.”
She and her husband, Allen, were already growing vegetables for their roadside stand, but they soon noticed it was the blooms customers gravitated toward. So, in 2018 when they moved to a new home with more than 11 acres in Salem, New Jersey, they reestablished Ward’s Farm with a focus on organic cut flowers, despite both juggling 9-to-5 gigs, too. “Farming is way more than a side hustle, but we find the time,” says Alyssa. “Plus, the learnings we have from our jobs in areas like customer service help our business.” They opened the farm for pick-your-own visits and, buoyed by their popularity, dreamed up more reasons for shoppers to come, from photo shoots to BYOB date nights to picnic days. They evolve what they grow, planting new blooms as demand changes. Flexibility is key, and so is taking time to soak in successes. Says Alyssa: “We love seeing our guests appreciate the hard work we do.”
Books for Budding Farmers
English farmer Georgie Newbery's beloved guide includes essential advice on growing, displaying, and selling flowers.
Lisa Mason Ziegler of educational website The Gardener's Workshop shares steps for creating and maintaining a cutting garden.
B-Side Farm's Lennie Larkin gets into the nitty-gritty details of building a profitable and efficient cut-flower business.
Stephanie Gibson Lepore is the Copy/Research Editor of Country Living. She enjoys writing about a range of topics and making sure the facts are accurate. When she's not checking out the latest Instagram post from Merriam-Webster, you can find her hunting home decor at an antiques shop, reading WWII fiction in a sunny spot, cheering (loudly) for her football team, or planning her daughter's next birthday party (themes forever!).
