We recently connected with Becky Siskowski and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Becky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

The number of flower growers in the United States has increased in the last five to ten years. There is a movement to make American grown/locally grown flowers more desirable and more accessible to the public. Many people are not aware that approximately 85 percent of the flowers purchased in a grocery store or from a florist have been imported from South America. These flowers are typically grown in greenhouses and have been sprayed with chemicals to keep them pristine (reconsider the flowers you put on your wedding cake). They are harvested and then shipped to their destination thousands of miles away. Your flowers may already be a week old if not more when you finally receive them.

There is a huge difference between locally grown flowers and imported flowers. The most obvious difference is the freshness of the flowers. Most local growers harvest them the day before and let them rest so that they have the longest vase life possible. As I stated earlier, the imported flowers may be a week old if not more. The second difference is the fragrance. Yes, you’ll actually be able to smell the roses, unlike the store bought roses. Those seldom open all the way and have no fragrance. Another difference is the lack of chemicals used to grow the flowers. Not all growers are chemical free. However, a large percentage of local growers practice no spray even if they’re not certified organic. This is good news for restaurants, bakers and the home cook who like to use fresh flowers in their cooking. Environmental impact and climate change are other factors that separate local growers from importers. Decreasing the carbon footprint, using regenerative agriculture practices or no till methods all help to contribute to maintaining good soil health and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And lastly, just buying locally grown or locally produced goods helps support individuals/families and entrepreneurs here in the US. Our flowers may be a little more expensive, but we’re paying our employees what they’re worth and we care about our product.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My love for the country began when I was a child. My Dad used to take us kids to my grandparents’ farm in South Dakota for the summer. They had a huge garden and orchard. We would spend hours picking (and eating) strawberries, peas, apples and tomatoes. As I grew up, my dream of owning my own farm wouldn’t go away. My husband and I moved to Colorado and away from the city in 2012. We purchased our farm and started transforming it into a cut flower farm in 2018. We named Little Seed Flower Farm after our daughter whom we nicknamed Little Seed when she was a baby. She is 17 years old now and yes we still call her Seed.

2023 will be our fifth year of growing flowers!! Wow, I can’t believe how much we’ve grown. Little Seed provides flowers to two flower collectives here in Colorado: Colorado Flower Collective in Arvada and NOCO Flower Community in Ft. Collins. These collectives provide flowers to all the local florists in Colorado. It is exciting to see the florists welcome locally grown flowers. If you’re not sure if your florist uses local blooms, just ask them. More than likely, they will know where to purchase from a local grower. If not, just mention the collectives.

In addition to selling to florists, Little Seed Flower Farm also offers a summer weekly U-Pick at the farm, CSA flower subscriptions (peonies, dahlias, summer subscriptions), a la carte wedding flowers, bulk flowers by the bucket and a new farmstand! Yay! I’m especially excited about the farmstand this year. It will be a self-serve farmstand that will include fresh bouquets with or without a vase/mason jar, fresh eggs from our free range chickens, watermelons, cantaloupes, raspberries and blackberries when in season, flower seedlings for spring planting, potted perennials (hardy hibiscus and maybe some roses this year), farm merchandise and other floral related products.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Great product and the best customer service! There’s a lot of competition in this market. New growers pop up every year. I have to consistently provide top quality flowers for my clients as well as great customer service. I’ve noticed a lot of businesses do not make it a point to promptly return customer’s calls or emails. The customer is left waiting all day if not days for a response. In the floral industry where we’re dealing with a live product, timing is critical. Florists must be able to trust their grower(s). They want fresh, long lasting flowers and a grower who they can rely upon.

Great customer service also requires me to go above and beyond the normal activity. If I don’t have enough flowers to fulfill an order, I will drive to another local farm who has it to pick it up and deliver it to the florist or private client. I will call around to other farms to find out if they have a specific flower that I don’t grow, but that a florist is requesting. For my retail customers, I love to include a few goodies in the U-Pick section for their children, such as cherry tomatoes or pumpkins. In my new farmstand, I will have a seating area outside on the porch where friends can enjoy a refreshment and some time away from their busy lives. It’s the little things I think that matters.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Little Seed Flower Farm started in 2018. At the time, I was working for a large telecomunications company and was starting to get restless. I had been in telecom for fifteen years. One day as I was scrolling through IG, I saw some flower growers showcasing their flowers. It got me thinking that I could grow these flowers also. I have always been good at growing vegetables or flowers without difficulty. I used to spend time at my grandparents’ farm in South Dakota. We would work (play) all day in the garden picking fruits and veggies. Those summertime memories spurred me to make the move to start a flower farm.

I spent one year preparing the land, doing a lot of research and studying up on different flowers. Yes, I did not just jump right into farming! I had no farming experience at all. Playing in your Grandmother’s garden is not equal to owning and working a real farm. I spent countless hours reading books, taking classes online and in person, following lots of IG flower accounts. I spent a lot of money on equipment, tools, seeds, bulbs, supplies, education and structures. I am lucky to have my spouse working a 9-5 job and supporting us while I get the farm to where it needs to be. It’s a lot of hard work, but also very rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LittleSeedFlowerFarm.com
• Instagram: @littleseedflowerfarm
• Facebook: @littleseedflowerfarm

Image Credits
Tyler Paige Photography Shel Francis Creative