Our Story
Welcome to Flora - our flower farm and floral design studio located in Southern Oregon. Our purpose and passion is growing exceptional quality cut flowers and flower seeds. We select highly desirable cultivars that are prized by brides and wedding designers; we harvest our cut flowers for peak beauty; we are always on the look-out for unusual and new varieties; and we enjoy the shared creative process of growing a particular flower crop with our clients in mind.
The Country Life
Back in 2008 when I started Flora, my daughter had just been born the year before. After taking a break from work to get her off to a good start, I was itching to get my hands back in the dirt after so much inside time. Prior to her birth, I had been helping to run a small non-profit farm and education center here in Williams, where we grew vegetables, flowers, and herbs for a CSA and hosted farm camps and school visits for children. But I knew that I wanted to narrow my farming focus, and after assisting several friends with their wedding flowers, I felt the beauty and challenge of flowers calling me.
Working from home and on the farm has allowed me to include my daughter in my daily activities. Whether it’s weeding, transplanting, harvesting flowers, or cleaning seeds, it’s a lifestyle that children can easily participate in. Of course, the older she gets, the less keen Hannah is on the early mornings, but both of us are continually inspired by the beauty of what surrounds us here on the farm. There’s dirt under our fingernails, holes in our pants from climbing trees, and vases of flowers everywhere. (Don’t worry, I clean up well when it’s wedding time!) There are also inspiring pictures from flower magazines pinned up, coffee table books of the latest floral designs front and center, many saved photos of design ideas in my Instagram account, and exciting flower varieties dog-eared in all of my favorite seed catalogs.
My mom, who lives next door to the farm with my dad, regularly reminds me when I bring her new flowers, “I always dreamed of you getting fresh bouquets from Pike’s Market when you went to school in Seattle” (imagine the wistful, far-off look). Well, my college student budget didn’t allow me then, but I’m able to live out that dream for both of us now and LOVE being able to share the pleasure of an incredible bloom with others.
I’m the Farmer
Now, over fifteen years into it, I grow over 200 varieties of flowers and foliage on about an acre in Southern Oregon. My harvest season is from January through October. I work closely with brides and event planners, provide market bouquets to retail stores and farmers’ markets in the Applegate and Rogue Valleys, and ship flowers overnight throughout the continental US. I have a friend or two come work a day/week in the field with me and get extra support for big events. Otherwise, it’s just me, occasionally Hannah and my parents, and the good grace of the natural elements that produce beautiful flowers.
