Local Business Spotlight: Floating Feather Farm
Video credit: Marc Young Photography
How did you get the idea or concept for your business?
I have always wanted a garden but never had the space for it. When we moved to Idaho 2.5 we wanted land. We moved into our current property, which is almost 2 acres, in the fall of 2018. Funny, at the time I absolutely didn’t want more than 2 acres and my husband did. Now that I have this business, I wish we had gone with the 5 acres he was proposing! However, I love our property with mature trees and bushes, and I actually use that to my advantage because many of them have beautiful leaves, berries or flowers that are a nice accent to the flower bouquets.
We moved in to the property in the late summer of 2018 and the following spring, I grew my first vegetable garden; everything thrived. In that experience, though I thought I might like gardening a lot, I found that I really loved it. I really enjoyed spending time outdoors in nature, and really enjoyed the satisfaction of growing.
During that growing season, I discovered what are called flower farms, where flowers are grown in a higher density than a backyard, with the idea that they will be cut rather than enjoyed outdoors. While there are largescale global growers that supply flowers year-round, most of the flower farms grow flowers that do not travel well, so are best enjoyed locally. For that reason, you don’t find them in grocery stores. I was fascinated with this concept and fell in love with the flowers. I had also been growing tired of the selection of flowers in the grocery store, and as someone who was purchasing flowers weekly, I thought, why not choose and grow all of the flowers I want? Having been empowered with a successful vegetable garden, I decided to expand in to this cut flower concept. I also love the idea of local businesses, and the idea of supplying my community with beautiful blooms.
I spent hundreds of hours in the winter and early spring researching flowers and how to properly grow and care for each one, and I bought seeds and all the seed starting supplies to grow them. I mapped out the flower area to maximize blooms and fit in as many varieties as possible. Most of the seeds were started in March to April, then transplanted into the garden in May. I have spent most of my free time this past year planning my garden or in the garden.
Similar to growing vegetables, I found that there is such a satisfaction in growing. I have also found that I absolutely love being surrounded by the beauty of flowers.
Even though I did all of this work, I really had only planned to grow the flowers for myself, friends, and coworkers. In the back of my mind, I thought I might be able to turn it into a business at some point, but it wasn’t really the plan for 2020. However, come July, this large test area was producing hundreds of blooms. At one point, I had about 9 arrangements around the house and so many more flowers that were growing. I didn’t want them to go to waste, so though, I had deemed my first year as my “test” year, I decided to fast forward my small business plans on a limited basis for what I had available. The idea for Floating Feather Farm was born.
How do you choose which flowers you want to grow?
I fell in love with the concept of the flower farm when I found out about Floret Farms, who is a definite pioneer in the concept and is wildly successful not only in growing flowers, but also in her books, courses and seeds. I bought her books, and purchased the seeds of flowers I wanted to grow myself. I knew I had to grow things by seed because after some research into the types of flowers I wanted to grow, I found that the less common flower types aren’t available at garden centers. This season, I settled on three color pallets to start – pink, coral, and purple, with greenery-type plants as well, based solely on what colors I love in the summer, which are brights.
Next year, I will definitely expand my color pallet. I am looking forward to more light corals and salmons, as well as more fall-like oranges, and also a brighter mix that includes yellows. I am going to also incorporate a few more types of greenery and other smaller flowers that round out the bouquet.
Which flower is your favorite?
It is hard to say – I love them all! I am definitely smitten with dahlias, they are so beautiful. They are lovely in the photos but even more impressive in person. And there are so many to choose from. I will be growing a lot more of them next year. I also really love the zinnias. They don’t ship well, so you don’t find them at grocers, and for that reason, I like them. They are also very hardy, and are one of the first to grow and last to grow. They come in a variety of colors across the rainbow, so that makes them really fun. Besides the feature flowers, two of my favorite additions have been the amaranth, which are the droopy flowers, and a beautiful fluffy white filler flower called larkspur. I didn’t plant enough of either of those this year. Conceptually, I love light, airy, fluffy, romantic flowers as well as cheerful flowers. I love English gardens, and idyllic romanticism that is evoked.
What’s your favorite part about owning Floating Feather Farm?
The best part is being out in nature, growing and arranging flowers, and bringing beauty to others. I love that satisfaction of growing something from seed. I have also always loved crafting and creating things myself, so I suppose it isn’t a surprise that this would be something I love.
In addition to that side of it, I have also really enjoyed connecting with people. It is wonderful to hear that someone is enjoying this small luxury in their home, much as I have for years. It has also been so nice to hear about people gifting flowers for different celebrations, or bringing them to someone to cheer them up. I have found people to be so nice and so caring, that really brings a smile to my face.
Do you enjoy having your business here in Eagle, Idaho?
I do! I have been living in Eagle for a little over 2 years and I absolutely love the small-town feel of Eagle and love where we live. We are right on the edge of town, so I still feel connected but with some space to roam. I love all of the horses, cows, and small businesses here.
I’ve already seen a lot of posts about your flower farm on social media. Are you surprised at the amount of interest you’ve already had this year?
Yes! It has been wonderful to receive the interest and support. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested, so it has been both surprising and pleasing. This year was definitely a test year for me in every aspect, not only in growing and selling the flowers, but also in posting about them and promoting them.
And actually, the social aspect of it was one aspect I was most excited about. After starting my seeds, the social accounts were the next things I started. At that point, I was looking for a like-minded community to share my love of gardening, and I was also looking to share the beauty of flowers virtually through photos. I wasn’t sure at first if I would have enough content to post, but I soon found myself to be a social over-sharer. I’ve pretty much been sharing 2 photos a day on Instagram. I first set up Instagram, and later added Facebook. While they are pretty similar, I primarily promote the local events only on Facebook.
It was through social that I connected to two local photographers – Leslie Rodriguez Photography and Harp Photography, who took some beautiful photos of my flowers and of me picking and arranging them. It was because of these beautiful photos that I decided to create a webpage this year instead of next year, and I am so pleased with how it turned out.
Do you do wedding bouquets? If not, do you plan to?
I don’t, and would probably need a much larger growing space to supply typical wedding flowers. I do plan to add more white flowers to my mix next year so I wouldn’t discount it.
Do you have any employees or do you do everything on your own?
I’m a one-woman show right now, and I’m not at the point where I am ready to expand beyond that. I’ll have to see how this endeavor grows and go from there.
Do you plan to expand/grow?
I have a lot of ideas for expansion right now, but much is still in flux.
I can definitely say that I will be planting more flowers and a wider variety of flowers and colors. I will also be doing spring bouquets, with new tulips and daffodils that will be planted this fall, so stay tuned for the beginning of the season next year!
I have plans to put in a greenhouse, not only to have a space to grow flowers from seed, but also something that is a cute space.
This year, I have been selling out of my flowers each week, so I was limited in my ability to sell. Next year when I have more blooms, I would definitely like to add some fun flower-arranging classes at the very least. I have some more ideas as well that I will be planning out this winter.