Organic Flower Business Adds To Orchard

Organic Flower Business Adds To Orchard When Calli Garvin returned to her IT job after 12 weeks of maternity leave in 2021, she decided almost immediately that the corporate world wasn’t her future. She began considering what kind of work she could do to supplement her husband’s income. “Grant works with his parents and brother at Gilchrist Orchard, a family business,” she says. “I had always loved arranging flowers, so I decided to start a floral business for weddings. I reached out to people I knew who were getting married and got some orders.” To fulfill those initial orders, she purchased flowers at the Minneapolis Farmers Market to deliver the wedding arrangements. Not long after, Grant suggested they start growing their own flowers for Calli’s arrangements. Calli says he followed through on the idea by planting their front yard full of cosmos and zinnias. “The following year, wedding bookings grew to 15, and we saw an opportunity for a larger growing area, so Grant tilled more than an acre of ground at the orchard site.” Calli says she and Grant got a real boost during the startup phase of Cal & Lily Flower Farm by attending an online workshop on floral farming and floral design from Floret, a flower grower in Washington state. “We learned so much from that series on what flowers to grow, how to grow them, and also about the flower-arranging part of the business,” she says. Calli strongly believes in growing only organic flowers. “I discovered early from arranging flowers bought from a wholesaler that many wholesale flowers have been treated with chemicals. In my case, those treated flowers caused numbness and irritation to my hands. So I vowed that the flowers grown at Cal & Lily Flower Farm will be chemical-free.” She primarily grows zinnias and cosmos, along with some scabiosa, marigolds, delphiniums and dahlias. Since most of these flowers don’t start blooming until midsummer, Calli is considering adding earlier-blooming tulips and daffodils to extend the season of flowers in bloom. Since one good idea often leads to another, the new flower-growing plot at the orchard site has led to the launch of a “Saturday U-pick” service. Customers can make appointments to cut and arrange their own bouquets. By naming the new service The Flower Farm at Gilchrist, Calli hopes to expand the summer flower experience by adding a coffee bar, other beverages, sweet treats, picnic tables, workshops and maybe even breakfast. “I just love the social opportunities and meeting new people that the beautiful setting of the orchard and flower fields provides,” Calli says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cal & Lily Co., 2628 50th NE, Buffalo, Minn. 55313 (calandlilyco@gmail.com; www.calandlilyfloral.com) or Gilchrist Orchard, 2628 50th N.E., Buffalo, Minn. 55313 (info@gilchristorchard.com; www.gilchristorchard.com).

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