January 4, 2021

When I started my flower farm in 2018, despite the fact that I’d already been professionally growing plants for six years, I felt an inner hesitation to try new things.

The fear of failure sat on my shoulders nearly every moment. It wasn’t fear of embarrassment or making a fool of myself. It was fear of wasted time, energy, money, and the fear that maybe I won’t be successful at growing any of these flowers. It was fear that maybe I’ll suck at my dream, the only plan I had. That I won’t sell anything nor make any money and I’ll have to go back to a workplace with a boss and a schedule and responsibilities I couldn’t care less about. The thought of that suffocated me to my bones.

Three seasons into the flower farm and hundreds of mistakes later, I still have that fear but it’s more of an annoyance than a deep worry. I suppose that with time, experience, mistakes and reflection, everything sorts itself out one way or another.

Above: Richter’s Herbs, our favorite perennial herb/herbs as cut flowers plug supplier!

I still make tons of growing mistakes but I’m getting better. Indoor seed starting, in particular, presents challenges. Each year I try new methods. By now, I’ve narrowed down which flower varieties I prefer to start with soil blocks vs. trays. I’ve slashed varieties from my seed starting list and opt to purchase those in plug form (Lisianthus as one example), as the extra cost for plugs outweighs the nightmare of starting them myself. In my opinion, sometimes just buying plants and successfully growing them is better than failing to successfully grow it time and time again and never have anything to show for it.

Some flowers are easy to grow and some are hard. I heavily lean into the motto, ‘Work Smarter Not Harder.’ Those words have carried me through each arduous growing season and it’s why I’ve come to embrace the kingdom of plants that have brought that motto to fruition: Perennials.

Yes, growing more Perennials is what I’m most excited about for the 2021 flower farming season!

When flower farming is your career and your main goal is to have a profitable business, Annual flowers are where it’s at because many collect a premium price per stem. Annuals are heavy producers through the summer with fabulous blooms, and many Annuals are beyond compare (Dahlias, for example). The difference between Annuals and Perennials though, as obvious as it is, is the amount of work that goes into growing them.

Annuals must be replanted every single year, at different times of the year depending on their frost tolerance and cool temperature preferences. They require the investment of seed starting or buying plugs, they require lots of water, fertile soils (soil amendments that cost money), and succession planting to keep an ongoing harvest. Annuals are more susceptible to diseases, insect damage, sun burning after transplanting, and as such, have been the bane of my fear of failure for the past three years.

Many perennials, on the other hand, only need to be planted once. Perennials grow bigger in size every year, many are drought tolerant (requiring no irrigation), many tolerate any soil type (requiring less inputs although most appreciate soil that has been amended with compost), and perennials chug out more and more blooms every year.

As such, more than half of my flower farm is planted with Perennials. I haven’t done the math, but I would say 2/3 of my farm is Perennial. In 2021, I’ll be adding 800 new Perennial transplants with confidence and pure excitement that they will fill in my rows with lush blooms for years to come with little effort on my part to keep them alive.

Not all Perennials are created equal for cut flowers and not all Perennials will work in every site. You must choose Perennials that are tolerant of your USDA Hardiness Zone (mine is 6b and thus, I am lucky to be able to plant most Perennials). You must also research their sunlight, moisture and fertility requirements to make sure they will work on your property. Many Perennials are sun lovers but there are many that prefer shade. If your property isn’t deer-proof, choose deer resistant varieties. Make sure you choose the right ones for your growing situation - all this information can be found by Googling, but Walters Gardens has good information.

My favorite Perennials I’ve been growing for the past few seasons on my flower farm are: Yarrow, Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Bush, Bee Balm, Autumn Joy Sedum, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Raspberries, Red Hot Pokers and Echinacea.

Perennials I’ve struggled with are: Delphinium (deer eat them), Foxglove (prefer more moisture and part shade), Hydrangea (prefer part shade), Roses (deer - I’ve moved them to my backyard at home with better success), Elderberry (deer), Ninebark (deer), Blackberry Vine (deer) …… goddamn deer!

Related: Will Deer Eat Dahlias?

NEW Perennials I’m planting in Spring 2021 are: Asclepias Incarnata, Eryngium, Heliopsis ‘bleeding hearts,’ Penstemon, Apple Mint, Geum, Lavender ‘grosso’, Veronica, more Butterfly Milkweed, more Butterfly Bush, Strawberry Foxglove (at home, where they get more shade & water), and Lysimachia.

In Fall 2020, I already planted these Perennials for next year: Yarrow ‘summer berries,’ Scabiosa ‘fama white,’ Rudbeckia ‘sahara,’ 120 Peonies and 1,300 perennial bulbs including narcissus, hyacinth, allium, and fritillaria persica.

Now, go plan your flower farm or flower garden for some perennials!

peace, love + plant magic,

Fran Parrish