Business Is Blooming for Tennessee Cut Flower Farms
In partnership with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Present someone with flowers and you’re sure to get a smile, a thanks and maybe even tears of joy. Delivering delight via dahlias, sweet peas or zinnias brings cut flower growers the same happiness as their customers. Meet a few of the flower farmers who are growing this segment of Tennessee agriculture.
Southern Flora Farms
Every Saturday from March to November, Will and Kristin Nickels spread joy at the Franklin Farmers Market with the flowers they’ve grown in their 1-acre garden in Manchester, Will’s hometown. Their business, Southern Flora Farms, offers seasonal, unique and heirloom blooms grown with no chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
“It’s a market garden style of small-scale farming,” Kristin says.
From more than 100 garden beds measuring 50 feet long but only 30 inches wide, their offerings range from heirloom chrysanthemums to tulips. Mixed bouquets, their specialty, are sold primarily at farmers markets. Local grocery stores, weddings and special events round out the customer mix.
See more: Lorenzen Family Farm Offers U-Pick Tulips in Dayton, Tennessee
“Cut flowers grown locally is a conscious choice for many consumers,” says Kristin, who partly attributes their success to the ‘buy local’ philosophy.
“The act of giving flowers is special,” Kristin says. “Whenever you can find flowers that are grown with care and respect for the environment and the community, it means that much more. It is our honor to be able to offer that.”
Flat Top Mountain Farm
Terry and Diane Hughes raised commercial produce for more than 40 years on their East Tennessee farm. As they neared retirement, their daughter, Tera Byard, says a changing market forced the decision to either substantially increase production or exit commercial produce entirely. Diane had been intrigued with U-pick flowers for years but hadn’t had the time to pursue the idea.
“None of us had ever grown a zinnia in our lives before,” Byard laughs. “But we wanted to give people a unique experience.”
The family now grows U-pick sunflowers and zinnias on Flat Top Mountain Farm in Soddy-Daisy.
Commercial photographers utilizing the fields for their sessions help bring new visitors to the farm, which also hosts field trips and special events. A pumpkin patch and corn maze extend the agritourism season into late fall.
It’s the flowers, however, that bring the most satisfaction to customers and the family.
“People want to have an experience and create memories, and we’re just thankful to be a part of that,” Byard says.
Cold Creek Flower Farm
When Amber and Mark Saldana considered their next chapter of life following Amber’s retirement from the U.S. Air Force, they knew homesteading would be at the core.
“We considered what we could do for the community that would also spread joy,” Amber says of their plans to settle in Lauderdale County where she grew up.
They landed on flowers and honey. Mark, who’s also a veteran, manages honeybee hives at their Ripley homestead and on area farms. Amber grows annuals and perennials.
See more: Agritourism Is Booming in Greene County, Tennessee
“I didn’t start out with a green thumb, so I sought advice from the UT Research Gardens in Jackson,” Amber says. “When you move every couple of years in the military, you don’t set down roots.”
Cold Creek Flower Farm focuses on easy-to-grow, showy blooms like pollenless sunflowers and zinnias, offering mixed bouquets via a subscription service. Amber also sells to local florists, concentrating on hard-to-source flowers such as dahlias.
“We wanted to provide a local option, something that benefited the community that wasn’t already being done, and to do something that would make people smile,” Amber says. “When you hand someone flowers and see the look on their face, there’s nothing like it.”
