Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dana Hicks. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dana , appreciate you joining us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

The idea for this tiny flower farm came out of thin air on a very cold day in January 2019. I was in a pretty rough place emotionally and wasn’t working; as a former high school teacher who loved and lived for my job, I wasn’t doing well home alone, in a new town, with very little support. I had searched my soul high and low for my next move. I desperately was searching for something to bring me joy. I literally said out loud, “I’m going to grow flowers”. I immediately googled “Flower Farmer” and low and behold…it was a thing people actually did as a career.

That January, I bought books and started listening to podcasts, I finally got the courage to tell my husband who was all in and ready to help! That first season we invested very little money into it. We bought a used rototiller, some seeds, tubers, and perennials, and went to work, all by hand. I started selling cut flowers in July at two farmers markets and in a local coffee shop. I had ZERO expectations for how this would go, it was very much a try it and see what sticks type of endeavor. I very quickly learned two things…there was a massive need for and interest in locally grown flowers and I had a serious knack for design. I had always been a gardner and I loved growing, but never thought the design side, especially wedding design, would eventually be the path I traveled.

2019 was a big learning year for me; I learned a ton about what to grow, how to grow it, and improvements to make for the next season. I grew some pretty incredible flowers and sold every stem I grew, which was not nearly enough. I had customers start to ask me to design things I never thought I could do. I enrolled in local floral design classes throughout the winter months and planned for an even better 2020. One of the major challenges that first season was juggling being a farmer, designer, a sales person, the marketing team, the bookkeeper, the cleaning crew… it was a lot for one person.

The early months of 2020 afforded me some time to set some systems and structures in place to help me become a more efficient business person. I was then able to spend more time growing and producing product. We are now almost to the end of year four and we have morphed quite gracefully into a specialty cut flower farm and floral design studio. This tiny flower farm (we are growing on less than a half acre) finally produces enough product to flower for large scale weddings and meet demands of large weekly orders using all our own flowers.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Dana, a farmer florist. I grow specialty cut flowers on a small flower farm in Hudson, MI. We have an incredibly diverse selection of annual and perennial flowers and foliages. We design year round for weddings and events of all sizes and also specialize in seasonal flower subscriptions, holiday flowers, and wreaths. We host monthly summer events for customers and clients to come out and visit the farm and design with our flowers, as well as floral workshops and events at local businesses. As a former teacher, I love hosting creative and fun learning experiences via flowers!

My inspiration for this farm and my design aesthetic as a whole is completely inspired by nature. I am a nature enthusiast and always have been. I think my bouquets and designs are like little gardens in your hand or in your vase. They are very textual, flowing, and have lots of movement. I love color and experimenting with unique natural elements. I’m truly guided by nature; what we grow, what we forage, how we grow and how we design are all in sync with mother nature. We grow totally chemical free; no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or insecticides. We grow using compost and handmade inputs only. When you come visit you will see a large variety of beautiful pollinators (insects, birds, bees, and butterflies!) flitting about our flowers and that is exactly how it is intended.

Something I am most proud about is finally getting to a place in which we are growing 70-100% of the flowers we are using to design our weddings. Nationally, the carbon footprint of imported flowers is detrimental to our environment. When you hire us for your wedding or event, you are definitely contributing to a positive change in the industry. I am here to show people that “farm flowers” are anything but red zinnias and yellow sunflowers. The variety and colors and textures of specialty cut flowers, foliages, grasses, etc. are the most beautiful you’ll ever see. We also grow flowers and colors of flowers especially for your wedding date. My seeds are bought and sown according to the floral needs of my couples and clients. We truly pride ourselves on serving our couples and customers in the most personalized and unique ways and with the freshest and most beautiful flowers.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

This is a great question! As a grower and a designer, it is really interesting to see how people can perceive what I do. It can also be *really* hard as the creator of the product that you create your art with! I grow the flowers and I design the flowers so basically every part of that bouquet or arrangement came from my two hands, nobody else contributed…I think that’s really unique to the creative world.

So, first and foremost….I am a grower at the whim of mother nature and she can be a real tyrant. I have learned some incredible lessons about patience, perseverance, and just letting go of control from growing and farming. It is gut-wrenching sometimes. I had a killing frost Sept. 18th, bugs can come in and destroy a whole crop in days, a hot dry month can do some crazy things to bloom times. and the list goes on forever. So first and foremost people cannot be mad at me in July when the dahlias aren’t blooming yet, because that is the nature of dahlias! Deal with it, sis! People need to learn that the actual nature of my product is largely not controlled by me.

Then there is my design aesthetic; it is not standard or traditional. When you hire me, you get me. I’m not going to design a roundy moundy equally spaced bouquet; that’s not what I do and that’s not what lights me up. If you want a party in your hand or a garden in a vase, I got you! But man, it is REALLY hard when someone tells you your art (your heart!) isn’t what they like. I am not for everyone and that is good and that makes me really happy and I think it means I’m doing something right!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me is probably word of mouth and social media.

I think social media is great (used to be better lol) for getting new content out, for letting your customers see your work and see your personality, and for connecting more frequently with clients who have become friends, or just observers who love my work. It is a really fun and easy way to build truly meaningful relationships. As a wedding vendor, it’s also a great way to connect with other vendors and to be able to share each other’s professional work. Whether a photographer shares my work by sharing her work, or I share the work of a baker who put our flowers on her cake…we are all better together!

For weddings, especially the ones very local to me, I honestly think word of mouth is the most helpful. Good relationships and having happy clients are the most important aspect of this business for me. I service a handful of small communities and being referred by word of mouth will always make me the most happiest. I think social media helps connect with people who found our about me by word of mouth, but nothing beats getting a referral from a happy customer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blackdogmeadowsflowerfarm.com/
• Instagram: @black_dog_meadows
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackdogmeadowsflowerfarm

Image Credits
LO Studio – Lucky Owl Photography April Messer Photography