- About Straw Hat Flower Farms -
Our Story
Hi there! My name is Kim Felcher and Straw Hat Flower Farm is my business! Although my career path has taken me through academia and business management, I have always loved growing plants -- and I'm especially addicted to flowers! Now, as a flower farmer, I get to utilize not only my plant science education and business experience, but also my love of flowers and floral design. I get to nerd out over the “sciency” things related to producing high quality flowers and then I get to style those flowers into beautiful bouquets for people to enjoy! Bringing Straw Hat Flower Farm into existence has been a journey, but being able to grow unique, seasonal, quality flowers and share them with others both energizes me and brings me joy. It is my sincere hope that I can spread that same joy to those who receive flowers from my farm!
How It All Began
So, I decided to start a flower farm and, remarkably, the very first stumbling block was coming up with a name. I pondered, doodled and brainstormed on a whiteboard for a LOOOOONG time and finally settled on Calyx Flower Farm. It sounded cool (to my nerdy, plant science self), reminded me of a once favorite perfume and felt elegant and upscale. Ready to move on and get this thing going, I shared the name with friends and was told
that it sounded “nice” but few would know what it meant (or how to pronounce it), that it didn’t tell a story and it that it wouldn’t draw customers in because it would feel “unapproachable”. So, I went back to the literal and proverbial drawing board and became completely, hopelessly, aimlessly stuck.
Stuck is no fun. I began to wonder if starting a flower farm was
a good idea if I couldn’t even problem solve a business name! Then along came a really hot summer day, my very helpful (and business name crushing) friends in our swimming pool and a pitcher of frozen margaritas. We floated, drank and tossed ideas around until we hit upon the perfect name – one that wasn’t “sciencey”, wouldn’t EVER have a perfume named after it, and definitely wasn’t elegant or upscale. It did point to my journey with gardening and flowers, gave a nod to my childhood and carried echoes of generational connectedness. And just like that Straw Hat Flower Farm was born (well, sort of, but check out my blog for that story).
Straw hats go way back for me. My grandpa, a lifelong farmer, lived with us in his last years and his greatest joys were gardening and sitting in the shade with a barn cat in his lap. I can close my eyes and picture him wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat while he slowly hoed his way down the rows in our giant vegetable garden. Years later, my mom (unencumbered by kids and elderly parents) entered her “flower phase” and converted much of our old vegetable garden to her personal flower garden and spent many hours cultivating beautiful blooms.
Yep, you guessed it – wearing a big, floppy, straw hat. When I would take my kids to visit, my daughter would insist on wearing grandma’s
hat to “help” in the garden, which lead to one of my all-time favorite pictures of my sweet little Em. These days, I’m the one starting a “flower phase” as my adult-ish children forge their own lives, my first career is in the rear-view mirror and we’ve sold our family business. Can you picture me tending my flowers in my own straw hat, bringing the story full circle? It would be so poetic if I did but I actually prefer a ball cap or a sun hat that has a hole for my ponytail :) My personal headgear aside, the name of my farm reflects what I want for my business and for my customers – comfort, happy memories, the delight of having beautiful flowers, and the joy of simple pleasures.
Welcome to Straw Hat Flower Farm!
Sustainability Practices
Growing up around and working in commercial agriculture, the “go-to” solution for pest and disease pressure was to throw another chemical at the problem. While I understand that reasoning in large scale production, I choose to steward our land and our business in a healthier, more sustainable manner. We utilize an integrated pest management (IPM) approach which includes building healthy soil, growing seasonally appropriate flowers, attracting natural pest predators (think ladybugs, parasitic wasps etc), maintaining healthy plants that better resist disease and pest pressure and, as a last measure, utilizing targeted, organic (OMRI approved) pest management products. We are doing everything we can to create a healthy, thriving ecosystem around our farm which, in turn, will help us to continue to produce beautiful blooms for the long run.