In rural Iowa, traditional row crop agriculture dominates the landscape. And while most of Cassandra and Jacob Kubik’s 43-acre farm is dedicated to corn and soybeans, a small but productive segment is set aside for growing specialty cut flowers. In 2017, the couple tilled up a small plot and constructed a high tunnel with a grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As Cassandra recalls, “I just started planting. I had no idea what I was doing and went completely off of intuition. The first year was rough. I somehow made a profit, but I decided I needed to invest in education if I were to survive. I took the Floret Online Workshop and my business is off and running.” Using what she learned in the course, Cassandra started selling to florists, landed several large accounts and booked numerous wedding clients. She also has regular customers ordering weekly bouquets. 

Now, I’m just trying to keep up with demand. The seed sowing schedule and marketing module in the Floret Online Workshop was a total game-changer for me. Before I ran on intuition. Now I run on education. Most of all, Floret helped me find my passion, and myself. I found my purpose in life and what I was called to do.

The sweet smell of garden roses always brings back warm childhood memories and reminds Linda Bradley of her grandmother and the flowers that overflowed from her garden. Linda grew up growing flowers and vegetables alongside her father and that experience fostered a lifelong love of gardening and learning. In 2006, Linda completed the Master Gardener program and relished being part of a new community of avid growers. It was also the year when her dear mother passed away. It was during this time that she first began planning a much bigger flower journey. “As I watched my mother fade away from Alzheimer’s, I wanted to find a way to hold her and other family members in my heart.”

So, while still working full time in the technology industry, Linda spent weekends preparing land and growing flowers for friends and family. In 2017, Linda left her job to focus on growing flowers and building a new flower business. In her first season, she sold at a single farmers market. After enrolling in the Floret Online Workshop, she began offering bouquet subscriptions and added a second farmers market. Her subscriptions were a big hit and sold out almost immediately, even after doubling the number she offered from the previous year. She has since added a third farmers market to her schedule and has begun hosting special events, such as bridal showers, that include a flower arranging activity. “The course helped me focus in on what I wanted to do next and it helped me to understand how I could expand without adding significant staff.” 

Growing flowers keeps me connected to my parents and grandparents who have passed and taught me much about gardening. Honoring the memory of my family through this mission gives me great joy. It also connects me with nature and keeps me fit as I share the beauty of fresh flowers in our community.

Brandie Orchard left her corporate finance job in order to spend more time with her two sons. During this time of transition, she realized she also needed to find a “passion project” for herself. 

Brandie began looking into opportunities that she described as “having the potential to bring in some money for the family, while feeding my desire to be close and kind to nature and doing something great for my community that was seasonal and not full time.”

“Flowers checked all of these boxes for me.” 

Brandie’s passion project has turned into a small home-based business growing specialty tulips and other cut flowers alongside her large peony field that is coming into maturity. 

“Peonies are perfect for this wild and beautiful place. This area is home to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park where the landscape can be harsh, extreme and filled with wildlife. Peonies are hardy and one of the few flowers that the wildlife will not normally eat.”

I am both beautifying my land and also responsibly taking care of this awesome earth of ours.

For some, retirement means relaxing. For others, retirement means new adventures, hobbies or even new careers. Karin and Philip Smith are clearly in the latter camp. In 2017, the couple purchased a five acre horse farm in Covington, Louisiana as Philip was winding down from his career as a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and Karin was finishing her career as a real estate broker. 

“We were eager to get out of our ‘subdivison’ style living and get a few horses,” Karin explains. They settled into their country home, brought in the horses and built a greenhouse to grow vegetables. “My loving husband is a bit of a hobby jumper and had moved on to something else just after the completion of our greenhouse.” After several months of it sitting vacant, Karin suggested growing flowers after reading Cut Flower Garden. The couple dove in without looking back. 

“My first year was full of failures, excitement, tears, joy, but most of all learning. I grew entirely too many zinnias and not enough foliage. I declared 2019 was going to be different.”  

2019 has been totally different. After implementing what she learned during the workshop, Karin’s flowers can now be found in cafes, a historic hotel and her weekly deliveries sold out. She has booked five weddings, including one at the iconic St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and opened a new farmstand that has been a huge hit with the community.  

I am selling everything each week, with very little, if any, waste this year. I am swimming in flowers and everything seems so perfect it’s almost eerie. I owe it all to this course for providing me with a jump start that catapulted my flower business to where it is today.