After a year of secrecy, we are thrilled to be able to talk about the Columbia Metropolitan article on local flower farmers! In case you missed it, here is the link: https://columbiametro.com/article/a-blooming-passion/
Photo: Michael Trawick
When Columbia Metro called to tell me that they were writing a story about area flower farmers and wanted to include us, I was thrilled. They needed to come out to take photos in the next week or so. It was March. So many things are not in bloom in March! Of course, I said yes and started getting prepared.
This all happened just days before the Covid lock down. I wondered if they would have to cancel. Fortunately, they did not.
We were in major Tulip season so plenty of those on hand. We had Daffodils, Anemone, Pieris and Hellebore. The Ranunculus was planted but not in bloom. This was the season before we had the hoop house up and the walk-in cooler built, so the Ranunculus would be blooming in April.
As a graduate of Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program, I was able to rent cooler space that year at the Incubator Farm at Sandhills. As grace would have it, Brinton Fox of Boone Fox Farm, was and is a grower at the incubator farm. She was also featured in the article. Clemson was closed for all but essential workers and Brinton and I were able to continue working at the Sandhills site during the lockdown.
Brinton grows beautiful Ranunculus and she already had a hoop house up, so hers were ready! I purchased some Ranunculus from Brinton and they were included in the photo shoot. Grace again, since the photographers would not have been granted access to Clemson to take photos in her growing space during the lockdown.
Farming has many challenges. We work with and around the weather to bring crops to market. Pests and insects can do significant damage and destroy crops. Issues may not be apparent until the crop is supposed to be ready. So, we flower farmers support each other as best we can. We buy from each other before going elsewhere if we need something we didn’t successfully grow. I like to call it “the sisterhood of the flowering plants”.
We got things ready at the farm and waited. I exhaled when Muffie Wells called to confirm their visit.
The day of the photoshoot was so much fun. We got to see other professionals in action. Robert Clark was looking for a cloudy day to take the photos and got it. They took their time finding the shots that they wanted. They asked questions about the flowers and our growing methods. They shot in the field and in our inside workspace, used for making bouquets and bunching flowers. They were genuinely interested. A lovely experience with a group that does so much to raise awareness of the happenings in the Columbia area.