Cont.

Watson grows some of the flowers she uses in designs, but outsources many of them from other growers in Wisconsin during the peak growing season. (May-October). She likes to pick stems traditional florists can’t, like beebalm, seed pods, or even hops. Some flowers—like garden roses or hydrangeas—she will order from growers on the west coast. During the winter months, her palette of flowers comes from California, the South, and Canada.

Watson’s farm isn’t set up for visitors and, on a day to day basis, doesn’t usually reflect the best selection. “If it’s a salable bloom it’s already been harvested and is in my cooler or has been sold,” she explained.

Buying blooms from as many as seven different growers gives Watson an even larger selection to work with. Potential clients meet with Watson in her studio to go through a portfolio of creations to find the style they like that fits with the timing of their event.

Flower Farms

Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus, OH has a list of flowers potentially available for each month of the season posted on their website. May and September offer the biggest variety, with the potential for more than 25 different flowers each month from which to choose.

In addition to using their organically-grown flowers for their own wedding design work, Bliss Haven Farms in Noblesville, IN sells by appointment to DIYers, and to local florists.

Buckeye Blooms in Elida, OH is a mother-daughter team of growers-florists known for their lush, non-traditional, organic designs.

Black Dog Flower Farm in southwest Michigan grows a wide variety of flowers and offers floral design work. 9165 Date Road, Baroda, Michigan 49101-9391, phone (269) 465-4870 or e-mail blackdogfarms@hotmail.com.

Whether you are looking for a specific flower not found at a typical florist or would love the idea of picking your own flowers and making your own arrangements, there is a grower out there, hopefully nearby.

Ten Sources and One Great Resource:

1. Black Dog Flower Farm, Baroda, MI
2. Bliss Haven Farms, Noblesville, IN
3. Bridgewater Gardens, Saline, MI offers fresh peonies for pick-up/shipping, info@bridgewatergardens.com
4. Buckeye Blooms, Elida, OH
5. Green Trail Dahlias, Hydrangeas and Specialty Cut Flowers, LaPorte, IN
6. Holmestead Farms, 2102 West Long Lake Rd. Traverse City, MI 49685 (231) 668-7482
7. Old Stone House Flowers, Berrien Springs, MI e-mail oldstonehouseflowers@gmail.com
8. Petals Farm, Huntley, IL
9. Sunny Meadows Flower Farm, Columbus, OH

10. Wood Violet Floral Design, Milwaukee, WI

Slow Flowers, an online directory to American flower farms and florists, shops and studios that source domestic and local flowers.