Advantages To Backyard Flower Farming

I confess. I have an obsession with Zillow.  Who’s with me? I love looking at real estate listings – everything from fixer-uppers to ridiculous mega-mansions – but mostly I gaze at properties with lots of land.

When I started flower farming, I spent hours looking for more land. I dreamed of that idyllic Iowa farm with an old red barn and rolling acres. I saw images of the famous flower farmer’s land and wanted what they had.

You see, my flower farm is currently in our suburban Saylor Township (between Des Moines and Ankeny Iowa) yard. The total lot size is ¾ acres with our home and front yard sitting on roughly a ¼ acre, the main growing space another ¼ and a wooded area on the back ¼. 

 

Google maps image [2022]

When I caught the flower-farming bug, I quickly learned that you can grow an abundance of flowers in a small amount of space. That was enough hope to get started.  

But I always wanted more. 

If only I could open up my farm to the public for a U-Pick, and watch smiling people roam the fields, snips in hand, gathering buckets full of blooms, then I would be legit. 

If only I could construct a hoop house to extend the season earlier in the spring and later in the fall, then I would have enough. 

Farms of All Sizes

Over the past two seasons of growing and selling at a local farmers market, I have learned that my little back-yard flower farm can grow more than enough to share with the community. 

I may not be able to offer high-volume on-farm experiences but I still send people away from my booth with plenty of blooms and smiles. 

If someone asks me if I offer “U-picks” I proudly say “No, we are a private farm, but I know of several other farms that are open to the public”. It’s an opportunity for me to support the other talented growers in our area.  

Advantages to small-scale home-based farming

I’ve also learned that there are many advantages to micro-farming at home, ones that positively impact the farmer’s quality of life and the quality of the flowers.  

1. No tractor, no problem - All I need is a wheelbarrow and a wagon to get where I need to go and haul what I need to haul. 
2. No commute - With my farm at my home, I don’t have to spend precious time commuting. I can knock off a few farm tasks whenever I am able - in the morning in my pajamas or late at night before bed. 
3. Water at my fingertips - If mother nature doesn’t provide enough rain, I can easily hand water with a standard sized garden hose or set up drip irrigation for a modest price.
4. Quality over quantity - Much like a teacher is able to give more attention to each student when their class size is smaller, I am able to carefully tend to each variety of flower because I’m not overwhelmed by scale. 
5. Profitability - A smaller farm means lower start-up costs which can make profitability possible sooner. 

Farm Your Yard

Now, instead of obsessing over real estate, I am fixated on all the unused lawns out there. When my husband and I drive around Des Moines, I frequently exclaim, “Look at that flat sunny lawn that would be perfect to grow flowers” or “They could be making money with their yard”.  

And I now try to view my farm size limitations as creative challenges. For example, the back wooded portion of our property, which I once thought of as a useless space, will slowly be transformed into a woodland cutting garden so I can expand our offerings of shade loving flowers - Bleeding Hearts, Lady's Mantle, Solomon's Seal and Hellebores. 

Do I still keep my eyes open for the perfect farmland? Yes. Would I jump on the opportunity if it presented itself? Yes! Have I become more content with where I am? Absolutely. 

The old adage, bloom where you are planted, is true. Wherever you are, if you have sun, soil and seeds, you can grow flowers!