I sometimes wonder if Erin Benzakein, the most famous farmer-florist in the nation and possibly the world, had any idea of the impact she would have on locally grown flowers when she founded Floret, her farm in Skagit Valley, Washington. Erin’s blog, her training courses, her books, and, now her sale of seeds, has influenced and enticed many to dive into growing flowers for pleasure or profit or both. When I asked Emma Jackson of Cut Clover Flowers in Clarksburg, Maryland, what prompted her to a career in flowers, she answered: “Honestly? Erin Benzakein. It’s all her fault!”
Notwithstanding Erin’s influence, a love of nature and family heritage each played a part in the birth of Cut Clover Flowers three years ago. Emma told us, “I come by the flower bug honestly. My great grandfather was a farmer florist in the 1930’s. He was given a loan to build greenhouses by the Dupont family and made daily arrangements for their Nemours estate. One of my favorite photos is one where he and my great grandmother are all dressed up and she has two giant Dahlias stuck in the front of her dress!”
One of Emma’s apt descriptions of her life is “farming while momming. This year, Because of the pandemic, my childcare fluctuates-you never know when school will suddenly go virtual or preschool will be cancelled. So I have to be very creative about the ways in which I take care of my family and get my work done.” Emma says she is eager to expand her relationships with new florists and designers, even as she works to meet the needs of the former customers of Melane Hoffman at Hidden Ridge Flowers as Melane scales back.
Emma’s plan is to sell to florists, as well as bouquet subscriptions, and her crop plan includes what she calls “the weirdos” such as Love in a Puff and Jewels of Opar, which she believes designers are craving. “I love interesting foliage and accent plants. We are going to have a lot of different varieties of scented geranium this year. We were also lucky to get Eucalyptus seed, as it was hard to find due to the fires in Australia last year,” she said.
Family tradition is perhaps why Emma finds flowers miraculous. “I’ve always grown things but every year when I put a seed into dirt I think, no way is this going to work. No way is this going to turn into anything. And it’s a miracle every time. I love being outside in the dirt, in the sun. I love my deepening relationship with nature and the changing of the seasons. All of those experiences fill me with gratitude and awe in a way that nothing else can.”
Visit https://www.cutcloverflowers.com/ to find out more about availability, sign up for a bouquet subscription, or their June open farm day.
Thank you so much, Emma, for talking with IFDA.
I’ll be featuring different growers regularly here on the IFDA website. In between, the Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association is a terrific resource for finding flowers in this area: http://www.marylandgrownflowers.com/flowerfarms Travelling to design for a destination wedding? Find local farms all over the nation from the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers here: https://localflowers.org/find-flowers/