HB Flowers were recently featured on the Iowa Farm Bureau, Farm Fresh Blog, along with other local flower farms! The article highlighted reasons to buy local this Valentine's Day season.
To learn more, IFBF reached out to Iowa Farm Bureau members Anna and Shae Pesek of Over the Moon Farms & Flowers in Delaware County, Cassandra Kubik of Pine Hill Farm in Linn County, Jordian Dougherty of Main at Hart in Marshall County and Me, of HB Flowers & Beef in Johnson County. (Article)
It was fun to read what other flower farmers had to say. Overall, we all agree that buying local helps the economy, decreases the carbon footprint, creates a relationship, and provides a unique buying experience.
Buying from a local farmer opens up the opportunity to form a relationship with the farmer and their family. There is transparency for how the product is produced. Flower farming in Iowa might a seasonal business but it allows us to offer unique and native blooms that can't be found at your local grocery store or florist. I fully support our local florists and I think you should too but why not enjoy farm fresh flowers during the summer and fall months! I love being able to add seasonal beauty to your kitchen table.
Another thing we all agreed on, flower farming is a lot more labor intensive than one might believe. It truly is a labor of love. As stated in the article, "it is one of the most labor-intensive types of agriculture there is. While many of the considerations are the same as traditional crops such as preparing soils, dealing with pests and adjusting to Mother Nature, it’s manual work. Seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting—all is done by hand."
One thing to note about flower farming, it is subject to the risks of weather. Blooms might very from visit to visit depending on the time of year. For HB farms, we only guarantee a color palette. This ensures that I can harvest the highest quality of blooms for a specific order.
For me, the goal is to dig even deeper into farm grown flowers as we expand our operation. We currently focus on summer annuals, but the plan is to begin a perennial garden as soon as we live on the farm.
For most, buying from local farmers is not feasible for Valentine's, which is one of the biggest holidays for florists. But many farmers offer subscriptions! CSA stands for community supported agriculture. The purpose of a CSA is to connect farms directly to the consumer through subscriptions. We aren't open for sign up yet, but we do have gift cards available! HB summer subscriptions will launch in time for Mother's Day!
HB gift cards can be used for summer subscriptions, merchandise (also available spring), and custom orders! Visit our website to purchase a gift card!
As always, thank you for reading! I hope you have the best Valentine's Day and thank you for shopping local.
XOXO
Morgan
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