In growing her own plants to use in her business, she could control how the blossoms were grown — including what kind of pest control she used. Pairing up with her daughter, Karly, she created a growing operation to raise her own flowers from seeds to blooms. The half-acre Verbena Flower Farm is the name of their business venture.
Read the entire Commercial Appeal article at http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/dec/06/mother-daughter-flower-farmers-share-slow-to/.
Karen explains that using flowers that have been grown locally — instead of commercial blossoms grown in South America and Asia and shipped to the United States — is part of a movement to encourage buying goods and services locally. Doing so helps stimulate the economies of small communities as well as ensure quality in the flowers — not just quantity.
Growing at Verbena Flower Farm hasn’t been all sunny, though. Mother and daughter struggled with timing their planting and growing so that they had all the blooms they needed at the right time. They also had trouble growing several popular flowers, including dahlias, and had to battle pests and molds.
The Plarisans are excited to continue to offer their bouquets and flower arrangements to like-minded customers.
Interested in making your own floral arrangements, bouquets, centerpieces, wreaths, and more? Consider signing up for a floral arrangement class today to start exploring the art and practice. Turn your interest into a passion with expert guidance and training.