Imposter syndrome is real, particularly in flower farming. If you take a look around on Instagram, there’s no shortage of people growing beautiful flowers on large plots of land. If I ever venture into comparison mode, I can feel like my small plot isn’t enough and I find it hard to even call myself a ‘flower farmer’. Maybe it’s because there’s a misconception that you need acres upon acres to grow. I am still learning so much. If you’re thinking about taking a dip into flower farming, don’t let the lack of land stop you. There are so many educational resources out there through YouTube and the internet. The Floret workshop was so incredibly valuable and encouraging. Now onto the lessons.
- Go for it! Even after taking the course, I had so much anxiety over whether anyone would even purchase our flowers. My husband is always the encourager and told me to stop making excuses. I was so emotional pushing the ‘publish’ button on our first bouquet. Guess what? It sold! Of course, he had to say, “Told you so!” Whatever it is that you have in your heart to do, quit hesitating, push doubt to the side, and go for it. You don’t have anything to lose.
- You will make mistakes. I would be remiss if I didn’t share that even though it looks like we grow the most beautiful flowers, I have killed so many plants along the way. Something will go wrong and it isn’t the end of the world. A mistake is only failure if you don’t try again.
- You cannot control nature. You have no control over when anything will bloom. I wish that I could tell the tulips to bloom on Valentine’s Day or any other flower for major holidays. We grow in the elements and that is always a factor for us. We lost a hoop house structure to the wind this year. It was devastating. Control the controllables.
- Something will eat your plants. The pest pressure is real. Sometimes gnats get into seed starting areas, thrips eat your ranunculus, and Japanese beetles eat everything in sight. Rabbits will top off the sunflowers and zinnias. Prepare for it. It is so discouraging when your hard work is so easily destroyed. You will cry. And then you will plant some more.
- Utilize the people around you. Let people help you. There is always so much to be done. Weeding is a never ending project. Cutting flowers and starting new seed is almost always ongoing too. Ask people you trust to help. Don’t allow yourself to get so overwhelmed by all the tasks you see that are yet to be done. Allow people to help you.
- Stay in your lane. Find out what you do best and do that. There are flowers I LOVE to grow and then there are flowers I HATE to harvest. Do what you do best. Find out what works for you in your season of life. If you want to be around your kids in summer, grow flowers in the spring. Just because you see someone else doing it on Instagram doesn’t mean it is for you. I do what I do best and cheer on those around me doing it differently.
- Be willing to change. Be aware that even though something worked for you in the past, it may not work for you next year. One example for us is that we are planting our dahlias later in 2024 than before. It’s an experiment, but one we are hoping pays off for more beautiful plants. The pest pressure and heat have been to much for our dahlias and sales in summer are traditionally low. We hope this will pay off in the fall. Be willing to adapt and change if necessary.
- Ignore the people in the cheap seats. This one is hard. Let me start by saying that other people’s opinions are valuable, BUT you are the expert. You are actually the one on the field playing the game. Everyone has opinions, but it doesn’t make them right and/or helpful. We had a time lapse reel about planting tulips go insanely viral one year. While it was great in some ways, we received the input on how we were “creating a grave” for the tulips. We dug a trench for the tulips. We couldn’t even respond to every comment, but if we had let that get to us we could have thought that what we were doing was incorrect. We have had some wonderful people give us input on strengthening our raised beds. We took that advice. If you need more encouragement, go read Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena”.
- Trust the Journey. When I originally wrote this post, my husband and I were both working other full time jobs and had some other major responsibilities. Life has changed in many ways since then and this is my full time job. I couldn’t see the day coming where this would be my primary focus. Trust your journey. If you are juggling a full plate, do what you can. I think there’s an expectation that businesses have to take off. Sometimes it’s a slow journey. Slow growth means you can take in what is happening and that you don’t get outpaced by the business and burn out quickly.
My thoughts and lessons have changed a little bit in 3 years. I am sure they will again. Thanks for coming along this journey with us.