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Ep.34: Blackburn Gardens: Building A Successful Flower Farm By Focusing On What You Really Enjoy
2k Plays5 months ago
Have you ever thought about not having to do everything, but instead focusing on what you truly enjoy? Join today’s conversation with Laura Ward from Blackburn Gardens as she shares her journey from dreaming about dirt and flowers as a child to creating a local garden haven. Hear how Laura transitioned from a vegetable CSA model to a successful You-Pick flower farm, finding joy in sharing her space with others and drying flowers for beautiful arrangements.
Laura's dedication to growing beauty and community spirit is truly special, as she nurtures her lifelong passion for gardening into a thriving oasis. From her bustling roadside flower cart to the magical three-fourth acre farm where she meets neighbors and shares blooms for every occasion, Laura's journey is a testament to following one's passion and finding success in doing what brings you joy. Learn about the unique challenges and rewards of running an urban flower farm, and how Laura's love for flowers has transformed into a flourishing business that continues to bloom.
Tune in to hear more about Laura’s favorite flowers to dry, her upcoming workshops, and the magic that happens at Blackburn Gardens.
Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2024/08/20/ep-34-blackburn-gardens/
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- 00:05:30 - Transition from Vegetable CSA to Flower Farming
- 00:10:48 - Setting up a Roadside Flower Cart
- 00:16:12 - Shifting Business Model to You-Pick Flower Farm
- 00:21:19 - Building Awareness for You-Pick Flower Farm
- 00:28:26 - Drying Shed Setup and Drying Process
- 00:32:04 - Love for Drying Flowers and Dried Flower Sales
- 00:36:15 - Favorite Flowers for Drying
- 00:40:02 - Drying Strawflower and Other Flowers
- 00:47:10 - Selling Dried Flowers and Workshops
Learn More About Blackburn Gardens:
- Website: https://blackburngardens.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackburn.gardens/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackburngardens
- Workshops: https://blackburngardens.com/workshops/
3 Types Of People Are Replacing Their Income With A Digital Course… Are You One Of Them?
Take the quiz: https://bit.ly/3typesofpeoplereplacingincomewithadigitalcourse
Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/thefloweringfarmhousenewsletter
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Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse. I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
00:00:32
Speaker
The backyard bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice. All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
00:00:56
Speaker
Hey there, flower friends.
From Passion to Digital Courses
00:00:58
Speaker
Before we dive into today's episode of the Backyard Bouquet, I want to share something exciting with you. Have you ever thought about creating your own digital course? I'm talking about taking something you already know and love.
00:01:12
Speaker
whether it's gardening, flower arranging, or any other passion, and turning it into a course you can sell again and again. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Well, I've got just the thing to help you find out if you're ready to dive into the world of digital courses. My mentor, Amy Porterfield, has created a quick two minute quiz that'll tell you exactly that. It's called three types of people are replacing their income with a digital course. Are you one of them?
00:01:42
Speaker
Amy has been helping people just like you and me create successful digital courses for over 15 years. She's identified three categories of people who can easily transform their knowledge into a profitable course. The best part, you don't need to be an expert. I took the quiz myself and was amazed at how spot on it was. It even gives you a few steps to get started if you find out you've got that course creating potential.
00:02:09
Speaker
And let me tell you, turning my love for flowers into something that can help others and bring in extra income has been a game changer. So if you're curious about whether you've got what it takes to create a digital course, head over to the show notes and click on the link to take the quiz. It's quick, it's free, and who knows, it might just be the first step towards something big. Now let's get back to today's episode.
Meet Laura Ward: A Flower Farmer's Journey
00:02:34
Speaker
Today, we are thrilled to welcome Laura Ward from Blackburn Gardens, a charming micro-urban flower farm nestled right on the cusp of Old Town Mount Vernon, Washington, and the fertile lands of the Skagit Valley. Known locally for its hearty flower starts, cozy U-pick experiences, and beloved annual dried flower sale, Blackburn Gardens has woven itself into the fabric of the community, becoming a cherished part of Mount Vernon's traditions.
00:03:03
Speaker
Laura, the heart behind Blackburn Gardens, has nurtured her lifelong passion for gardening into this thriving little oasis. From her bustling roadside flower cart to the magical three-fourth acre farm where she meets neighbors and shares blooms for every occasion, Laura's dedication to growing beauty and community spirit is something truly special. Laura, it's so wonderful to have you with us today. We're excited to learn about the magic that happens at Blackburn Gardens.
00:03:33
Speaker
Thank you so much. Yeah, thanks for being here. So your journey from dreaming about dirt and flowers as a child to creating a local garden haven is really inspiring. Can you share more about what it's like to bring that dream to life and be able to connect with your community?
00:03:52
Speaker
Well, it's not something that I ever imagined that I would be able to do. My love of farming and dirt and the outdoors started when I was a child. I grew up on a typical suburban tiny plot. um My parents were not really outdoorsy people.
00:04:10
Speaker
But my best friend and lived on a farm, and I spent a lot of time playing with her on her farm. And I got to see what it was like to have a garden and farm animals. And she and I hatched a plan that one day we would live on a farmhouse um on top of a mountain together, and it would just be this perfect you know life with animals and land. And then you know we grew up, and she's not doing that. and ah I didn't think I ever would. I went to college and didn't even imagine doing flower farming, but just kind of stumbled upon it.
00:04:49
Speaker
So it's been very um rewarding to see the community respond. We live in an area that is really ah supportive of small businesses. And when I first put a few things out by the side of the road, I was shocked that anybody actually wanted it. It was it was truly shocking and it just kind of snowballed from there.
00:05:11
Speaker
So our property has quite a few fruit trees. And um when we first moved here nine years ago, I I kind of obsessively tried to preserve all of it. I picked all the apples and all the raspberries and all the cherries and ah even the walnuts. um And it was just way too much to manage myself. And so that combined with the flowers that I happened to have blooming, which was just a tiny, compared to what I do now, you know, it was just tiny, tiny, tiny stuff.
00:05:44
Speaker
um That's what I first put out beside the road. I like to say that when I first um voiced this idea to my husband, um I had been kind of thinking about it in the back of my mind, but I'm a very a reserved person. I am introverted. I am not a risk taker at all. So ah when I mentioned it to him, he's just the opposite. He's very extroverted and confident. um He loved the idea and he's also a designer. So he
00:06:16
Speaker
really fast, designed me a logo and a website. and and Then I was like, oh no, now I have to do it. That's amazing. um it was It was pretty pretty crazy um and very scary for me at the beginning. so That was nine years ago. You had this seed planted as a child from your best friend's family that you never knew would actually start to grow all of these years later.
00:06:42
Speaker
were you working in the garden industry prior to finding this house? No, no. um I actually majored in counseling. I got my undergraduate and my master's degree in counseling.
00:06:54
Speaker
And um I did counseling while I was working through those programs. um But then I had children, and you know life just happened. So I didn't ever use my degree formally once I was married with kids. I homeschooled my kids for seven years. um And ah this actually really worked very well. um This is year six for my business now.
00:07:21
Speaker
So my kids were quite little when I started, um but it fits really well with the homeschool lifestyle and, you know, small children and medium sized children, they just fit right in. And it's really a beautiful lifestyle to get to share with a family. It sounds like it's so your children, how old are they now? um My oldest is a son and he's 14. I have a daughter who's 12 and another son who's nine.
00:07:45
Speaker
That's awesome. So they get to experience growing up on the farm very much like you probably did next door. Well, was your friend next door to you or just in the same town? She was across town. Yeah. Okay. So you would go to her house and you just saw the magic of a farm. Was it a flower farm or what type of farm was it? No, um I would say it was a hobby farm. So um they just, they had chickens and horses and rabbits and then um her mom had a large vegetable garden that she would coax me and my friend to help in and we'd dig potatoes and things like that. Oh, how fun. And that was in the Skagit Valley as well? No, that was in Ohio. I grew up in Ohio. Okay. So you moved across the country. What brought you to Washington?
00:08:34
Speaker
Well, my husband and I actually met at a university in South Carolina. And that's where we lived for the first portion of our marriage. And then he got an unexpected job offer out here ah with a company up in Bellingham. So it was just a really great time. It just was a really exciting opportunity for us to take at that time. And we we did it. My kids were really little, but we made it across the country. And we are so glad we did. We just really, really love it here.
00:09:04
Speaker
So you moved across the country and you found your current farm right away? We did. we actually ah Because we were completely unfamiliar with the area, we moved in mid-August of 2015.
00:09:19
Speaker
And um we rented an Airbnb for two months and so that we could do some house hunting. And um I believe and the very the very first house that I actually just liked was this one. Our realtor didn't even show it to us because the square footage was like 100 square feet below the limit, the the minimum that we had asked for. But we happened to drive past it one day just my husband and I and saw for sale sign and we
00:09:53
Speaker
and We could tell it was vacant. So we got out and we just looked in the backyard and as soon as I saw the land, um I told him, this is the house. I hadn't even seen the inside yet, but I just knew. So we had a realtor show it to us and that was that. That is so amazing. So how much acreage do you have? It is just under an acre, about three quarters of an acre. Okay, so you have three quarters of an acre and how much of your property is dedicated to farming?
00:10:22
Speaker
um I would say most of it, other than um our house and our outbuildings. there you know I've left some grass for the kids to play in, but a lot of it is being put to use.
Transitioning to You-Pick Flowers
00:10:35
Speaker
That's awesome. So you truly are a micro urban flower farm, is that correct? That's correct. We are technically within the city limits, just barely. We are right on the line. So yeah.
00:10:48
Speaker
And so you have a roadside flower cart. Is that in your neighborhood or are you in a neighborhood or describe the setting if someone wants to come buy flowers from you? How are they going to get to your property? Well, we it's really it's just the perfect scenario. We are located right at the end of the main street through um the historic portion of our town. So that's first street. You just drive straight down first street until you're past all the businesses and then some old houses start appearing. And then um it's really where it intersects with the the last road within the city limits. That's Blackburn Road and that's where the name for my business comes from. We're right on the corner there. And it's a fairly busy intersection, um which makes the flower cart work really well.
00:11:37
Speaker
That is awesome. So your farm is named after the street it's on. Yes. Okay. And it sounds like you must have great traffic and visibility for your farm. Yes, we do. So you started, you moved in nine years ago, but you started your flower farm six years ago. Yes. After moving into your property, what made you just decide to jump into flowers?
00:12:03
Speaker
You know, um we had moved across the country and that was very expensive to do. um Our home, our property here had this very large field. So we have a large field behind our house that was completely empty. And when I saw that, I knew that it needed to be a garden of some sort.
00:12:23
Speaker
A lot of the landscaping around our home at the time was fairly empty. It was nicely done, but not much blooming. and um I just bought some packets of seeds and started them. and I really had very little experience of actually growing things. I had dabbled in it. um throughout high school, but this was my first chance to really do something significant. So I started Lupin and a few other things and they really took off. And after a couple of years, those had matured enough that they were really producing abundantly in my landscaping.
00:13:00
Speaker
and That is when I decided to try selling some of those flowers. I believe I also happened to have a few sunflowers and zinnias blooming as well that very first year.
00:13:11
Speaker
um so ah yeah it really just became At the beginning, it was vegetables with sunflowers. and I even had a CSA where I had a lot of neighbors who would buy vegetable boxes from me. and I would always include a little bundle of flowers with their vegetables. and Over time, I realized it was the flowers that I really loved. I came to despise washing vegetables.
00:13:39
Speaker
you know I spent so much time washing lettuce and I thought, but flowers are so beautiful and I don't have to wash them, so let's do flowers instead. and I believe it was maybe two years in where I didn't grow any more vegetables at all. and ah i'm I'm really glad I made that decision. So you started out with the intention of having a vegetable CSA with flowers as like a little side all a la carte bonus. Yes.
00:14:09
Speaker
Oh my goodness. And then you fell in love with the flowers or the simplicity of them compared to the vegetables.
00:14:18
Speaker
That is really neat. um How did your CSA respond to you switching from vegetables to flowers? Were they disappointed? Were they happy? ah They seemed to be very happy. And at that point I had a lot of um just daily, what's the word I want?
00:14:38
Speaker
I had a lot of traffic at my cart at that time. It was not the flower card that I have now. It was just a little rusty. Well, I started with a little rusty tea cart that had come with me from South Carolina. And then I graduated to a recycled electric spool, which came from a business right around the corner from my house. They just left them out at the curb and I took one and I painted it.
00:14:58
Speaker
and I put an umbrella in it. And that was my second um roadside stand. um But people really were right away very interested in whatever I put out there, whether it was vegetables or fruit or flowers. That's so neat that you were able to make that transition over. So when you decided that you were going to primarily focus on flowers, did you stick with the CSA or did you decide to expand your flower business from there?
00:15:27
Speaker
I did try to replicate the CSA idea with just flowers, subscription, you know, bouquets. And I did do that for a couple of years. I kept that fairly small um because I didn't know, well, at the time I just was not very confident in what I was doing, which is, you know, to be expected. I was afraid to commit and have people sign up when I didn't see how much I had available.
00:15:53
Speaker
um Now, at the the size and the amount that I am growing, I wouldn't be worried about that, but I've actually found that I don't have time um or the need for a subscription bouquet service. ah there There's enough going on otherwise that I don't need to do that.
00:16:12
Speaker
Okay, so you still have your roadside stand though so people can still come get flowers so your model shifted from a CSA To what does your model look like now? Well, I always tell people ah People who are interested in doing what I'm doing. um I Had to learn the hard way that I you don't have to do everything that you can do with your flower business I just assumed oh I have to go to the farmers market and I have to take on weddings and all of those sorts of things. So I did do um farmer's market in our town. We have a lovely farmer's market. I did that for several years and I did
00:16:54
Speaker
discover that it just was not the way that I wanted to be spending my time with a young family on the weekends. um It was on Saturdays and that meant for me, I had to spend all day on Friday harvesting every stem and ah bundling and preparing you know for that. So it was two full days emitted to the farmer's market. And when I told my husband that I was really thinking that I just wanted to drop that, but I was concerned about loss of income. He really encouraged me. He's been such a support and so wise through all of this. He just said, you know, do what you want and what makes you happy. And it's okay if there's an adjustment period. But what we found was instead of
00:17:39
Speaker
going to the farmers market, I decided, what is it that i what is it that I really enjoy? And that is sharing my space with people. And I decided to open it for YouPick. So I had dabbled in YouPick while doing farmers markets, but once I dropped farmers markets completely,
00:17:59
Speaker
I transitioned to regular UPIC hours at least twice a week throughout the blooming months. And that has just been so fantastic. There was no difficulty switching over to that as far as income. It evened out immediately. And I found it's it's so much easier.
00:18:21
Speaker
the the labor is eliminated and the joy is multiplied because people are craving the experience of getting to be in in the setting. um And that's really, really special to share that.
00:18:39
Speaker
I really like a couple things that you said there. First of all, I want to acknowledge how great it is that your husband is on board and supportive of what you're doing because I think that's really important when you're doing something like this and starting a new business. Having that support of your partner makes a big difference because it can be a little risky to start a flower business or to take a leap and do something new in the business, whether it's flowers or something else.
00:19:04
Speaker
um But there's two things that you said that really stood out to me. First, you said, you don't have to do everything. I think there's this misconception. People see all these pictures online. It's like, oh, I've got to grow those cosmos. I have to grow those marigolds. I have to grow that amaranth. I have to grow the dahlias. And all of a sudden, you're in over your head. yeah And you said that you asked yourself, what is it that I really enjoy? And you discovered that that was the you pick.
00:19:34
Speaker
I think there's something really beautiful in that, that you are following what you're passionate about and growing what brings you joy versus feeling like you have to, you have this mindset that you get to do something. So can we talk about your UPIC? I would love to know more like how it's set up, how it's ah it's on your home and you have only three-fourths of an acre.
00:19:57
Speaker
How do you manage having people on your property? Give us the details. Those are good questions. Well, um it has been ah not always straightforward. um I feel like as I have been open for UPIC for more time, that is years, um word of mouth has made it, people are more aware, and so I have Quite a few people, especially this year, and that do show up unannounced despite clear signage and on my website as well. It's clear that it's by appointment only. So that has been interesting to navigate. um My husband just put up a sign for me a few weeks ago at the end of our driveway to help communicate that it's private property.
00:20:43
Speaker
um And within 48 hours of putting that sign up, someone still came right in. ah So it's kind of funny. And yes, you know you you have to be okay with some of that happening. um But in general, it's been it's been great. I don't have a public restroom. That's probably the trickiest thing. So I just have to let people know there is no public restroom available. And we are very close to one. um It's just one mile down the road on our river walk.
00:21:12
Speaker
So I can just direct people there and it's not been a problem. um But yeah. So um I like that you mentioned awareness. How did you initially build that awareness that you had switched from a CSA model to a UPIC? I mean, that's a big change.
00:21:33
Speaker
It is. I think that um it really did just come down to what do I want to be doing with my time. um and i It doesn't make sense to me to to do something that is soul sucking. I wouldn't say vegetable or soul sucking. That's going a little far. but um Yeah, i I guess pursuing what fits with your family lifestyle and with your own even personality. um I have found that I'm not a sales person at all. ah So being in a setting where I'm trying to sell stuff.
00:22:14
Speaker
ah is stressful for me and whereas being in my home it's a safe environment I feel really calm and relaxed here and then I can i can share that with people and I'm not um feeling out of place. How did you get the word out though that you were now all of a sudden a you pick flower farm? Did you do advertising? Did you announce on social media? Did you just put up a sign and people showed up? How did you get people to know that you are now a you pick flower farm?
00:22:44
Speaker
I have an awesome husband who's a really gifted graphic designer. And so I have all those services for free. And I know that's not typical for people. But he made me a really beautiful website. And so it's very clear on there. um And we he made sure that Google search worked well so that it appears when people are looking for Yupit Flower Farms in the Skagit Valley. And I always try to ask people when they find me, how did they find me? And that helps me to know um what's working and the website really seems to be the main thing that's drawing people. I do also have a large A-frame sign out on the corner in front of our house. Again it's a busy intersection and so people drive past a lot. We're also right next to two schools and so during the school year the traffic is you know at certain times of day there are a lot of people that end up actually just kind of stopped on the road in front of our house during car line
00:23:39
Speaker
And that presents its own challenges where I have people watching me while I'm doing everything. Yes, I get it. But um it's it really has worked well as far as visibility. So I did also one one year, I want to say two years ago, we printed some yard signs and I stuck a few up around town.
00:23:59
Speaker
ah I don't know that those were very helpful. I didn't have anyone tell me they came because of that. I do think most of it is through um my website and then um social media connections.
00:24:12
Speaker
Okay. Those are great. Thank you. I love that you mentioned the search and engine optimization because that is key for people that are searching online. If, if you're not visible, they're not going to be able to find you. So you mentioned that you are open by appointment only. Do you allow one person at a time or do you allow groups in? How do you handle that appointment only situation for you pick?
00:24:38
Speaker
I allow as many people to come as want to, as long as I know that I have the quantity to meet the demand. um I am open typically twice a week on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. And I have my website set up so that people can sign up um and they prepay to come. So I know if anyone is coming on a particular night or morning.
00:25:00
Speaker
and I can plan accordingly and if I have no one sign up for that night then I have the night off and I close it off you know on my I used to shop up I through my website and I mark it as closed out and I go do something else um but I have had that I also have people come for private you pick session so if they need a time that's outside of those two standard you pick times each week. um I always am willing to accommodate if it works. So I recently had a couple of bridal parties come on different days where they wanted to pick their bridal bouquet flowers and they brought lots of people with them, relatives from all over the country and friends that flew in for their wedding. And that was really fun. Just really special to share in those ah special events in their lives.
00:25:51
Speaker
That's really neat. so I think it's really great what you said that years are appointment only so you can plan and you know ahead of time if there's going to be people there. so You're not wasting your time because as a mom of three, you're busy outside of the farm too. yeah so You get to know in advance if customers are going to show up or not. It's not a matter of, um I wonder if someone will be here today.
00:26:14
Speaker
Either I'm on, I've got clients coming, or I have the night off, which is a really great mindset and way of doing business. So you mentioned that people prepay to come to your U-pick. When they prepay, what does that get them? Does that give them entrance to your farm? Does that give them a set number of flowers? Do they get shears, a bucket to use? Can you tell us what that looks like? Sure. um Currently, I moved to a by the stem model, which is working really well. Previously, I had done it by the bucket.
00:26:46
Speaker
um I charged a flat rate to fill a bucket that I provided for them to use while here and then they would just it for size control and then they would take the stems home in their own container. um But I found most people were very respectful and didn't try to cram too much into the bucket.
00:27:05
Speaker
I did have people occasionally take advantage. So I switched to standard $1 stem and I didn't know how that would go. I wondered if people would be um less inclined to buy as many. um My previous buckets were they would hold around 40 stems.
00:27:27
Speaker
um And so now it's a dollar a stem and so I just have tiers that people can pay 10 stems, 20 stems, 50 stems, or any combination to get the number that they want. And um I'm finding that like 99% are choosing 50 stems. Wow. Aginally less, but usually 50 or more.
00:27:49
Speaker
So that's worked out very well. It's been very interesting to observe. You're always having to observe what works and what doesn't work and then adjust accordingly, but that's been working. So when they're on your website, they're going to choose, I'm going to pick 20 stems or I'm going to pick 50 stems at the moment. What happens if they get to your property and they pick 50 stems and they say, oh, I want more than that. Do they have an option to add more than? Yeah, they do.
00:28:17
Speaker
So you're present during the you pick? I am, yes. Okay. And do you provide them with shears or snips and a bucket at the time? I do. Yeah. So, um, they, I encourage them to bring a bucket, um, for themselves. I have a lot of people that forget. So, um, I provide a bucket if they need it and water, and then I have snips for them to use while here. So I don't send them home with anything other than the flowers that they cut.
00:28:44
Speaker
Okay. And so when they get to your property, I am not a you cut. Um, I'm primarily grow dahlias these days and my, I'm not where I can have my farm open to the public at this time. So this is a whole new world for me. And I love learning about different ways that people can successfully run their farm. So that's why I'm asking a bunch of these questions so that I can gain a better understanding. And I know a lot of our listeners are also interested in how can they run a successful you pick farm.
00:29:12
Speaker
ah One thing that always frightens me is the thought of people coming into my garden or my flowers and cutting a dahlia too short or damaging a plant. Do you provide any education before they get started on cutting? Yes and no.
00:29:28
Speaker
um i Generally, but it a lot of people will ask, and then I'll tell them. I find that people almost never do anything that's actually damaging. In fact, the only time I had somebody actually be destructive was a child that happened to be a friend of my youngest at the time. This was years ago. And they were running through the garden together, just popping heads off of flowers.
00:29:51
Speaker
So it was my own son, you know, who was contributing to the problem. um But most people actually just cut them a little too short. So I encourage people to cut long stems. And I haven't found that anyone has caused a problem, you know, the occasional Dahlia that's cut too short, it's not going to stunt the plant or cause, you know, problems because I'm coming through, I'm cutting so many stems constantly. um The plants are are well maintained.
00:30:19
Speaker
Got it. So when they're not there with the you pick, you go out in afterwards, maybe the day after, and you're going through and tidying up and deadheading and pinching where they need to be pinched.
00:30:32
Speaker
So I actually really almost never have to deadhead. I would say the only thing I deadhead is cosmos because you know it goes bananas. But um I am moving a lot of stems enough that i I'm using what I cut. And so i I'm cutting pretty much everything that's blooming. There have been times um in the past where I would have orders and I would fill the orders in the morning and cut literally everything that was in bloom. Everything that was mature enough to cut, I cut it.
00:31:01
Speaker
It's sold and I would have another round of orders. People would come to my cart or message me. wanting more flowers. And I would think, well, I just cut everything that was cuttable this morning. I'll walk outside and see what has bloomed in the last couple of hours. And then I would scrape together or something. um I now grow enough quantity that it's not that close anymore. But yeah, ah what I don't actually sell fresh gets dried.
00:31:33
Speaker
That's amazing. I don't know the source, so don't quote me here. But I remember once reading, and this was a few years ago, that on average flower farmers have about a 70% waste of excess flowers that don't get used. I don't know if that's true or not, and I can't remember the source, but that's always stuck in my mind of That's a lot of flowers going to waste and how can we use them? Which leads us into you just mentioned, you're whatever you don't sell, you're cutting and drying.
The Art and Profit of Drying Flowers
00:32:02
Speaker
yeah so Dried flowers are a big part of your business. They are. and That also happened rather unexpectedly just as a way of not having waste. If I had something that was not used fresh, I experimented with drying it.
00:32:16
Speaker
And I fell in love with making reeds in the fall, and that was a great way to extend my income into the winter months. And I found that I never had enough dried product to do ah to meet the demand. And I also just loved drying flowers so much.
00:32:35
Speaker
so um My drying shed is actually a very old rickety shed that has been here, I don't know how many years. It was ancient when we got the property nine years ago.
00:32:48
Speaker
And it was actually just an overflow junk spot really for um landscape fabric and tea posts and random yard toys and all sorts of stuff that I was also um trying to use to hang those few bundles you know from the rafters. And um it was becoming very frustrating to me to have to work around all the mess. and so Two years ago, I decided I got to just make this only for flowers, for dried flowers. So um my husband and I cleaned it all out and we had a friend um who has a painting company. He was able to to spray the interior white, which was a dramatic improvement. It had just been very old plywood. um And it just brightened it up immensely, made it feel so much cleaner and ready to
00:33:40
Speaker
start something new in there. So ah yeah, I started filling it up and it was so pretty once once all the mess was out of there and the walls were white. It was so beautiful and I would share photos and people were just absolutely mesmerized with this little room that I had and they they wanted to come see it so badly. And so I hatched a new plan where I thought, what if?
00:34:06
Speaker
I opened this as a little store just for like a night or two and just, you know, would anybody come? I didn't think anyone would come just like I didn't think anyone would buy those first few flower bouquets I stuck out by the road. But um I had a huge turnout and um I sold I think I was left with like five little bundles of flowers by the end of that first growing season. but It was all dried flowers. All dried, yeah. i mean So many dried flowers. and I have since realized that I i love drying flowers. i feel
00:34:48
Speaker
I feel like it completes the life cycle of a flower to start it from seed and nurture it and watch it grow and bloom and harvest those blooms. And then to just sell them fresh, I actually feel a little bit of sadness. Like I haven't finished with them yet. So drying them feels like the the final step for me. And then I'm ready. I'm ready to send them off. And I feel better about it because I know they're going to last for a really long time.
00:35:15
Speaker
So ah we actually turned, um we needed to do some repairs on this shed because it was so dilapidated. um The roof was not going to make it much longer. And so we took the roof off this last spring and decided at the same time, since we're going to be putting a new roof on, we might as well make it a little bit bigger. So um it is now ah put back together and filling right up. And um I'm looking forward to opening it up again this fall for people.
00:35:48
Speaker
we will have to include a photo in the show notes if you could send me one of the dried flowers so everyone that's listening can see. I get the pleasure of seeing them behind you as we're chatting here. um It looks amazing. Oh my goodness, the space is huge. So for those listening, can you tell us what kind of flowers are you drying?
00:36:14
Speaker
i I would say that my favorite flower that I grow is straw flower. And of course I'm drying a lot of it. It's so wonderful dried. I also dry status. I dry a lot of texture. So I grow auric and a couple of different colors that dries beautifully. Crest dries so well. It makes a really great foundation for a reef.
00:36:38
Speaker
um I have mountain mint and sea holly and a lot of amaranth that is always really popular. People love dried amaranth. I'm sure I'm leaving things out. I've tried lots of different stuff. I should just look at my ceiling right now since I'm in my drying shed. Amobium is another really great one last year. That's the little white flowers, right? That are kind of related to straw flower? They're like little mini straw flowers. Yes, I love those.
00:37:06
Speaker
Last year, I grew ah probably about 20 feet, um a 20-foot row of Amobium, because I had only trialed them the previous year, had a small amount, and I loved them so much. I told myself, I must have more. So I went a little little overboard, and I grew 20 feet, 20 by 4, and I I was just almost sick of a moment because they are so generous. They just bloom and bloom and bloom and you cut them and they just almost immediately will bloom again. So I cut thousands of stems and dried them all and
00:37:45
Speaker
ah there was none left at the end of that year. They all sold. So that is a really, really fantastic one. I've experimented with other things like snapdragons. If I have any leftover that don't sell fresh, I dry them and they're great. You know, they look really good.
00:38:03
Speaker
um I've tried paper daisies this year for the first time and I will be growing a lot more of them next year. They're fantastic. Dry larkspur is another really great one. It holds its colors so well. So there's a lot that you can do. I know some people dry dahlias. I don't need to do that. I have um enough need for them fresh that I don't end up with having them leftover to dry.
00:38:29
Speaker
Ever since I saw Hannah's book, Designing with Dried Flowers, I've just been amazed at all the different things you can try and how beautiful they are. And like you said, that everlasting beauty of being able to preserve them. So do you dry your flowers in your shed?
00:38:48
Speaker
Yes, almost everything that I dry is just simply by being hung in our shed. It gets quite warm in here because there are two south facing windows, but ah it doesn't get very bright at all. So it's relatively dark and quite warm. And here in Washington state, the humidity level is quite low. So it's it really is the perfect setting to dry flowers. I never deal with mold or anything like that.
00:39:17
Speaker
That's amazing. So when you dry them, are you harvesting them into water? and putting them in a cooler and then hanging them to dry, or are you just harvesting them and straight going from there to hanging them in the storage room? um A little bit of both. I would say it used to be if they weren't sold fresh, so they would have been harvested and put into water, um maybe sat around a little too long to sell, and so then I hung them to dry. um But nowadays, um there are there are whole weeks where I'm just mostly harvesting straight to my drying sheds.
00:39:51
Speaker
Great, and I've got a question for you. It's a selfish question about straw flower. Can you dry straw flower after they've started to blow open their centers? Will they still hold up drying? So I i have been able to. um I feel like there's a window and once they are completely blown open, I don't dry them. But I find if I if i cut them when they're um halfway open, even three quarters of the way um unfurled,
00:40:19
Speaker
um They will continue to open, but they have not yet turn they're not going to turn into the fluff you know that will happen. But if they have gone completely open before harvesting, then they don't hold well dry. But I think they're beautiful like that. So if I miss any, you know if there're I'm not around and they bloom too much for drying, ah people love straw flower. And straw flower in mixed book haze, um people people really go crazy for them.
00:40:48
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, that's great because I have forgotten about my straw flower for the last few weeks as I've been trying to get all the dahlias staked and tied up before our winds come back here in the gorge. And I noticed this morning, I'm like, my straw flower are beyond what I would normally sell them to the florists, but they're about three fourths of the way open. They're not fully blown open. So now tonight I've got to go out and harvest them. Cause I'm glad you gave me that little bit of encouragement that I can still dry them at this point.
00:41:17
Speaker
I mean, I have dried straw flower in my office here as we're chatting. I don't think you can see it from here, but it's two or three years old and it still looks great. A little bit brittle to touch, but it still looks pretty good. and Yes, they're special.
00:41:33
Speaker
So what is your favorite flower to dry? It is straw flower. Death straw flower? Yes. Last year, i my straw flower did not do incredibly well. And um that was because I had had surgery the previous fall. um So this would have been almost um two years ago now.
00:41:55
Speaker
um And in the fall is when I typically will put compost down on my field after everything is done. And then I cover it all with a tarp to help with um we'd so weed seeds you know to kill them all off so they don't germinate. um And because I'd just had surgery, I wasn't able to do the normal stuff myself. So I had my kids do a lot of it. And at that time, um I also decided to eliminate one entire row.
00:42:22
Speaker
um To make my pathways a little bit wider since I was now doing more you pick when it was just me I didn't care that I had to turn sideways to fit through Rose but having people come I realized I need a little more space and so I decided to just eliminate one row entirely and which meant I had to shift over um where I actually planted. One of the rows was um moved over significantly so that it was now on top of what used to be an aisle. And um my kids were the ones that did that though. They shifted everything for me and they laid mulch down in the new aisles.
00:42:58
Speaker
And then I covered it all with the tarp and I didn't think about it that whole winter. I recovered from my surgery and I was so excited to start planting and I had my straw flower seedlings ready to go in the ground. I pulled the tarp back and planted them all. And as I was pushing them into the ground, I discovered mulch, like, you know, there was a layer of compost.
00:43:20
Speaker
And then there was old mulch from my previous year's isle underneath that row. And I thought, oh no, there's not enough nutrition here for the strong flower. It was like half of the row was good soil and half of it had been previous isle.
00:43:35
Speaker
And that was the year that the straw flower did not perform very well. and I was so sad because I i didn't have hardly any left um to dry. So this year I kind of went bananas with the straw flower and they are just going crazy as a result. I have a lot of straw flower and now I feel like I have just the right amount.
00:44:00
Speaker
I have enough to enjoy fresh and plenty to dry and so I'm very happy. That's awesome. When you dry the straw flower, do you remove the greenery, the little leaves around the flower? I do not. I only strip them, um I would say, two-thirds of the way down. OK. That actually just helps with airflow as they're drying. But we don't remove any of the greens that are up close to the heads. And i I've never even noticed them. Once they're dried, they just kind of disappear, um maybe even just fall off.
00:44:35
Speaker
so Okay, that's great to know because I probably over complicate it. And I like will sit there and I'll strip off all the little leaves. I'm like, this is a really time consuming process. No, that's not fun. No, okay. Well, now I'm learning so much. So I'm glad to be talking with you today and learning this because now I want to go dry my straw flower that's out there. I try that and status is my favorite thing to try. Yes.
00:44:58
Speaker
I first learned about drawing status. So I'm in my sixth year of flower farming and I'll never forget, I'm pretty sure it was Heather at Petal Pink Flower Farm shared a video. She did a rainbow wreath of dried status. Oh my goodness. That was when I first discovered there were more colors of status. And ever since I've been growing so much status and I i love drawing status, it dries so easily. It really does, yes.
00:45:27
Speaker
Another one that I really love is amaranth. And i I love the tassels of the longer amaranth varieties. I don't have as much of it this year, but um i'm I'm missing it and I'll make sure to have more next year. But amaranth just does so well, um even just by itself um or in dried arrangements or in reeds. I have never tried drying amaranth. Can you do all varieties of amaranth?
00:45:53
Speaker
I have. I haven't had any problems with it. Yeah. It is a little bit tricky if you let it go too far before harvesting it, then it drops a lot of seed, um which is just messy. But in general, it does really well.
00:46:06
Speaker
What about silosha? Because when I've tried drying silosha, it drops a ton of seed. Does that mean that I'm letting it go too far or that's just the nature of silosha? I don't really know. I have not been able to grow silosha very well here. I have grown it several times and been very unimpressed. And I think that's just because we are just not hot enough here. Silosha needs a lot of heat.
00:46:27
Speaker
and um i I just don't have that and I don't have a tunnel in which to grow those heat loving things. So, Solosia just doesn't make enough of an impact for me to dedicate any space to it, sadly, because it's so beautiful.
00:46:44
Speaker
So beautiful. We've had so many days the last few summers in the nineties and hundreds that that's probably why my slosha is loving it. It's a little late this year cause I got it in the ground late, but it's starting to grow very quickly as we're heating back up. ah Yeah. So you sell your dried flowers at the end of the season. Is that correct? Yes. Cause you open up just once for dried flower sales.
00:47:10
Speaker
Right. um It ended up being twice that I actually opened my drying shed for a couple of hours just on a Saturday evening. um And that first Saturday evening, um i I wanted to limit the number of people that could come because it's not a very big space and especially at that time it was not. So um there were a number of people that Missed out because I had limited the number so I opened it again. So it was for two nights and I had a little bit left over after that that I took to a market um like ah a two-day Christmas market in although it was very early December.
00:47:45
Speaker
And um that was it. So I sell them as bunches. I wrap them in brown paper and I also make wreaths. But I would say that the straight bunches are what sell the best. I don't make mixed bunches of dried flowers. I personally don't care for that. I like them to be just one variety together. I think that's just so beautiful.
00:48:07
Speaker
Okay. So that's good to know. So you're not trying to make a dried bouquet of adding a, okay. Oh, that's so good to know. Again, I hope for complicate things because I'm so used to in the mindset of making CSA bouquets and putting things together. And I agree, um, for myself personally, you can see I've got a few dried flowers behind me. I have, what do I have? I have bunny tails. Have you ever dried bunny tails?
00:48:32
Speaker
I have not grown bunny tails, but I think they are adorable. and They're one of my favorites to put in wreaths and then Nigella pods. I love Nigella, yes. And Poppy pods. And then I have the Aurac. Oh, I also, it's on the ground where unfortunately our listeners
Engaging the Community with Workshops
00:48:48
Speaker
can't see. One of these days I'll start recording these in video, um but I have Cress.
00:48:55
Speaker
which yeah I almost don't even have to, the orac and cress, I don't even have to harvest and dry it. It literally yeah dries on the stem here because we're so hot and dry in the summertime. But it does turn golden. If you dry it in your shed, does it retain the color? No, it turns golden. Yeah. Okay. Which I think is so beautiful. Okay.
00:49:17
Speaker
Am I correct? You also have a couple workshops with your dried flowers? I do. Yes. ah That's the, this is the first year that I'm, I'm doing a workshop, um, where I'm just going to teach people how I dry. I get a lot of questions about the whole drying process, which is why I decided maybe I should just have a little class. So that's what we'll be doing. Yeah. I'll show people my drying room and.
00:49:40
Speaker
um at what stage to harvest. um Although, honestly, I am not super picky um about when you know to harvest something for drying other than straw flower being too far open. Most things are quite forgiving in the drying process. But um I'll also show them. I have a very simple, small commercial wreath clamp that I have had for a few years. It's really made my life a lot easier.
00:50:09
Speaker
um And people are always really curious about how to use one of those and whether it helps to see one. I wish I could have seen one before buying one. um i I would have gotten one much sooner if I had seen how it worked. So I'll share that with them and um yeah, it's gonna be fun. Is that in person or online? That is in person. An in person workshop and that is at your farm at Blackburn Gardens, correct? Yeah, that's coming up this month.
00:50:39
Speaker
And what are the dates of your workshop? So this weekend, actually, I will be having a an in-person workshop all about dried flowers where you can come and I will show you my drying shed and we will harvest flowers together. I'll teach you what to harvest and when you're supposed to harvest it, how I hang things to dry, as well as other methods that I use for drying things that um need different methods and um I will share my wreath clamp with you and it'll be a great time. I would love to have you join me.
00:51:14
Speaker
That sounds really fun. I wish I could drive up to the Skagit Valley this coming weekend. So for those of you that are listening right now, ah this episode is airing on Tuesday, say August 20th. So your workshop is on August 24th. Is that correct? Yes, that is. And if someone is interested in joining, do they need a ticket? Do they just show up? How do they sign up?
00:51:38
Speaker
You can sign up on my website. It's helpful for me to know ahead of time um so I can have things all ready for you. But ah yeah, on my website, there's a link to sign up for that workshop. Perfect. And we will include a link in today's show notes. So if you go visit the show notes, you can sign up there. And then you also have a couple dates set for your drying shed open house. Is that correct? Yes. So that'll be on Saturday, September 14th. I believe from four or four 30, you'll need to double check on my website um through seven o'clock in the evening.
00:52:11
Speaker
and again on the 28th of September. And um that is something that we do ask that you register for. um There's no cost to register. You just need to let me know that you're coming and that's available on my website. That is because it's not a big space and I just want to make sure that I can accommodate everybody. So I believe the 14th is already filled up, um but there's plenty of room for the 28th. That's amazing. Congratulations. Yeah, it's been pretty exciting to see the interest.
00:52:41
Speaker
That's amazing. So, wow, we have talked about a lot today, Laura. We've talked about your roadside flower cart. We've talked about your three-fourths acre farm and your ucut and drying flowers. Is there anything that I haven't asked you today that you would like to share with our listeners?
00:53:02
Speaker
Well, I would encourage you, if you are starting out flower farming, um you're probably wondering how do you find the the niche that you want to really focus on. And I just want to encourage you, as I said earlier, to focus on the things that you really enjoy and um that fit your lifestyle.
00:53:23
Speaker
and even your personality and that's okay um if that means that you turn some things down. I found over the years that saying no to opportunities was not at all restricting on where my business went. It really helped to um allow me to expand in the areas where I'm actually really gifted um and where people want the things that I have to offer.
00:53:48
Speaker
That is wonderful advice. Laura, thank you so much for sharing so much wisdom with us today. For those who would like to follow along on your journey or learn more about you or sign up for your workshops, how can they find you?
00:54:04
Speaker
Well, I'm on Instagram as Blackburn Gardens. I'm also on Facebook. And I also have a website. It's just blackburngardens dot.com. And at the bottom of my homepage on the website, there is a spot where you can sign up for an email list.
00:54:20
Speaker
I don't use it very much. I actually was just chatting myself about that today, thinking I really need to actually send out an email, you know, instead of just once a year. So um I will be sending an email out in the next couple of weeks to my email subscribers, but I promise I will not overwhelm your inbox. Perfect. Thank you. It's so hard this time of year to keep up with the emails. There's so much I want to share with my listeners too, yeah or audience, and you think,
00:54:46
Speaker
okay I'm going to do that email today, and then something happens, and you're like, I'll do it tomorrow, and then I'll sit in it. The summer's almost over. so um Well, we'll look forward to joining your email list and following along on your journey. Laura, it's been such an honor and a privilege to get to chat with you. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us and your knowledge. I've learned so much about drying flowers. I'm excited to go cut my straw flower after this.
00:55:13
Speaker
I would love to keep the door open for future conversations with you, and we'd love to have you back on the podcast. Well, thank you so much. It's really been a joy and an honor. Thank you. You have a wonderful day and we'll talk again soon. Okay. Bye-bye.
00:55:30
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared
Closing Thoughts: Support Local Flower Farmers
00:55:40
Speaker
today. Whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer, you're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us.
00:55:51
Speaker
If you'd like to stay connected and continue this blossoming journey with local flowers, don't forget to subscribe to the Backyard Bouquet podcast. I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave us a review of this episode. And finally, please share this episode with your garden friends. Until next time, keep growing, keep blooming, and remember that every bouquet starts right here in the backyard.