A Message from the rural botanist flower farm

Welcome. Thank you so much for visiting my website.

I absolutely adore the work I get to do as a flower farmer. Let me tell you a little bit about who I am and how I got here...

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Ever since I was a little girl I remember helping my Mom in our yard with her beautiful blooming flowers. Every year we would fill pots and bare spots in our yard with colorful annuals, while tending the perennials and bringing them back to life after the long cold winters. I learned just how much work gardening was- the weeding, the watering, the fertilizing. Morning, noon and evening there was always something to do and our hands and feet were never clean. I remember leafing through the pages of the Lois Hole perennial and bedding plant books my Mom had- and I still have today!

Fast forward several years and I decided to pursue an environmental science degree from the University of Alberta. I majored in land reclamation. I absolutely loved every part about it. Learning about soil, botany, remediation and reclamation while studying and getting dirty outside!

I then followed a career in the environmental industry for 10 years or so. I performed remediation work on highly contaminated sites, then eventually went to work for an oil and gas company managing the environmental and remediation portion of projects and contaminated sites. It was all very interesting and fulfilling work.

Then life changes as it always seems to do, and I settled down with a family. My spouse and I bought a farm in Sturgeon County and we now have 3 young children. I made the difficult decision to leave my career to focus on homesteading and raising our kids. We try to grow and raise as much of our own food as possible. I am a strong advocate that the closer we are to where our food originates, the better. We have chickens (laying hens year round for eggs and broilers for meat in the spring), and intermittently raise our own pigs, sheep and cattle (on a small scale). We also plant an enormous vegetable garden every spring to fill our freezer and cold room over the winter. My kids are young and busy and I have so enjoyed raising them on a farm.

Despite being busy running a household, a homestead and raising my children, after leaving my job I felt like a part of myself was missing. While I had enjoyed my corporate career, I found it was difficult to be heard and valued and easy to get lost as a small member of a large moving operation. For years I had been researching and dreaming about starting my own business. I knew it would be a lot more work than going to the office everyday and working for someone else, but I also knew the feeling of starting and managing something of my own would be so gratifying. I started thinking about what I could do. I love being active - I enjoy running, yoga, strength training and anything that keeps my body moving. I thought about opening up a fitness studio (fun fact- I am certified to teach Method Matwork Pilates with the Pilates Physical Mind Institute of Canada). Then I thought about how I could do something more with our land. Something that would keep me closer to home. Taking my interests and abilities in mind, I started researching different farm business opportunities, where flower farms kept coming to the forefront. I did a lot of reading and thought that this was something I would actually be able to do. I kept waiting thinking now is not the right time- I'm not ready, I don't have time, this will be too much work, my kids are too young. Finally I realized I probably never will be ready, I never will have time, there will always be excuses and with that attitude I never will start. Thus, I decided to dive in and The Rural Botanist was created. 'Rural' because of our location and 'Botanist' because of my educational background.

Flower farming is a year-long affair even though the end results are seasonal. Every fall I'm busy working behind the scenes - cleaning up the previous year's crop, preparing soil for the beds, planting spring bulbs, researching & buying seeds. I take some time off around Christmas, but always with an eye on the seed catalogues. During wintertime I revisit my business plan, work on this website and focus a little more on social media. I start my first seeds inside as early as January through to April. May is go time! Between hardening off seedlings, preparing my garden beds with mulch and irrigation lines, setting up hoophouses and transplanting my seedlings this is easily the busiest time of the year. Summer is filled with maintenance tasks and finally being able to enjoy and cut my flowers and share them with you. 2023 was my first growing season as a business. This year I hope to implement what I've learned in the past seasons and continue to grow. I have so many ideas and big plans that I can't wait to share with you!

So for now, thank you for your interest in supporting a small, woman owned, local flower delivery business. If you get a chance, please take a look at my excerpt below about the importance of buying local blooms and the difference between what you might get in a florist shop versus a local flower farm. I look forward to working hard, meeting you and providing you with beautiful seasonal blooming flowers to fill your homes!

Angela

What is a seasonal flower farm?

You may be asking yourself ok, so what exactly is a flower farm and what can they offer me? Flower farms as not as widespread in popularity (yet!) as food producing farms. Here in Sturgeon County (growing zone 3) we have a relatively short growing season compared to warmer climates. This means we are only able to offer fresh blooming flowers seasonally (May to September, weather dependent). That doesn't mean that the work is seasonal. Growing flowers in this climate is a year round job. It starts with cleaning up and preparing the garden beds in the fall. Researching and purchasing seeds in December. Starting seedlings indoors under grow lights as early as January and caring for them until they are ready to be transplanted outside after the last frost (typically late May). Direct seeding outside any additional varieties that can be. Then spending the growing season caring for (watering, weeding, fertilizing, pest control, staking, netting, etc.) the flowers. Once they are at the proper stage, I will harvest a mix of flowers and foliage and put together stunning fresh bouquets to deliver to you. I am hoping to dry several varieties over the summer so that I can offer some homemade dried flower products in the off-season- more to come on that!

I will be offering subscription services with the opportunity to pre-purchase bouquets for different times throughout the growing season (see the subscriptions and bouquets page ). I will also be offering individual bouquets upon request.

So you can see just how much work goes into producing these flowers. You will be receiving a fresh, local, quality product that has been tended to with much attention and care. Read on below for the advantages to buying local seasonal flowers.

why buy local seasonal flowers?

FRESHNESS

Your blooms will be as fresh as they can be! They will have been cut only a day before, if not the same day you receive them. Flowers in a store have likely been imported meaning they could have been cut a week or more before you receive them. During transport, the quality and vase life of these blooms declines. With proper care most of our bouquets should last one week, some longer!

VARIETY

Local flower farms produce seasonal blooms – this means different varieties will be available all season long and each bouquet will be unique depending on what is growing at the time. June blooms are vastly different from September blooms. This variety of flowers will likely not be found in a store (they tend to stick to the select few they are guaranteed- lilies, carnations, roses) as they typically do not have access to this seasonal variety. You are purchasing unique quality flowers with a lot of thought and work behind them.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE

Though we are not technically a 'certified organic' farm, I will be using organic fertilizers and pest control methods on my crops. I am growing on my own land near my children, my animals and my food and I have no desire to introduce chemicals into our little ecosystem. I will not be using any of the other wasteful products typically used in the floral industry (floral foam, plastic packaging) to package and prepare bouquets. Our bouquets will be wrapped in recyclable kraft paper. We are a local flower delivery business therefore our transport distance (from our field to your home) will be monumentally shorter than would flights, ships or heavy haulers bringing flowers over from other countries, thereby reducing potential carbon emissions. My local garden will contain a biodiversity of blooming flowers that will help provide habitat for local bees, birds and insects, while also supporting healthy local soil development and quality. Many store bought flowers are dyed (hello neon blue roses…) or dipped in chemicals to make them last longer. Flowers from my farm will never be dyed or altered in any way from their natural state.

SUPPORTING LOCAL

You will be supporting a local small woman owned business! Fuel the local economy by keeping business closer to home and support local farmers! The more support local farmers receive, the better the industry will do- allowing everyone to purchase greater varieties of products grown closer to home.