We recently connected with Dinah Karrys and have shared our conversation below.

Dinah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I grew my first flowers in the spring of 2022. I had been growing vegetables and herbs for a couple of years and learned from another grower that ranunculus grew well here. I loved the idea of growing flowers that I could then cut and bring into my home and also share with friends and family. When that first small bed of ranunculus bloomed, I was elated. I couldn’t believe such beautiful flowers could be grown here in our desert climate. I brought them in my home and shared them with friends who were equally blown away. From then on, I devoured any information I could about growing cut flowers. I added other varieties the following year. It didn’t occur to me that it could be a business until I had some people tell me that they would pay to buy my flowers. It seemed like a pipe dream that I could make money doing something I loved so much but I decided to make an instagram where I could share all of the flowers I grew. I started putting small arrangements and bouquets on my IG page for sale and they sold out very quickly. The response was so validating and gave me the confidence to continue building my business. Last spring, I added even more flower varieties and I’m just getting started!

Selling local flowers has become a passionate endeavor for me. I can grown flowers that many people had no idea could grow here. The flowers I grow often times can’t be found in a grocery store bouquet and their vase life is much longer because I’m getting them to my customers 1-3 days after they’ve been cut. Many people don’t realize that the flowers you find in grocery stores or big box stores have been shipped from a country far, far away and their carbon footprint is high. Not to mention they might be covered in pesticides and grown by workers who are being treated unfairly. My flowers are fresh, local, and you can stick your face into one of my bouquets to smell its fragrance and be sure you won’t be inhaling chemicals.

Dinah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My business is called Friend Of The Flower LLC and I am a flower farmer who grows flowers from my backyard. I have a small space but I’m able to provide flowers to my community through my Instagram page and website (currently under construction). I also have a spring flower subscription service where members receive a fresh bouquet from me from March-May. I offer pickup and delivery and when the weather is nice, I offer bike delivery. I sometimes sell my flowers at local markets and events as well. I also offer consultation services to help you grow the cut flower garden of your dreams. I give advice on where to place garden beds, what time of year to plant, and where to source soil, seeds etc. I also sell to florists who are looking to add local flowers to their arrangements.

I love every step of the process of growing flowers. Starting with creating healthy soil and growing seedlings with the best possible chance of survival. It’s very scientific in the beginning and I’m fascinated with the process of a seed/bulb/corm becoming a plant. It feels like magic every time. Then, once your plant grows and starts producing flowers, another side of me is able to come alive. That’s where I become an artist.I can mix color palettes and different shaped flowers to create arrangements and bouquets. I like to challenge myself to use only what is Arizona grown and in season and this makes my arrangements feel extra special. I also work with a few amazing local artists who create art with them and take beautiful photos. Growing flowers has become an itch I have to scratch, and a fulfilling artistic endeavor.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have 10+ year background in ballet and contemporary dance. I look at my time dancing as a gift but I think it also made me hyper critical of myself and the things I create. While that may have kept me disciplined in dance, it hindered me when I started growing. When I started growing, for some reason, I thought I’d be immediately great at it and I’d have this huge bounty of food and flowers to pick from. This fantasy could not be further from the truth. My first garden beds had puny plants that I watered improperly and everything in it just failed to thrive. I wish I had known that failing was a crucial part of the process. After that, I decided to give myself permission to be bad at gardening and keep doing it anyway. I think social media gives us this idea that everyone has it figured it out. I would see other growers with amazing yields and get down on myself. But now I know you’re not seeing the plants they killed that year or the pests that ate their crops. I’m still failing and learning and killing plants but I’m more ok with it now.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think a lot about the balance of being a mom and doing things for myself that fulfill me. I used to believe that what was most important was that I give everything I have to my family and if there was nothing left for me, so be it. That, in my mind, was being a “good mom”. This left me depressed and unfulfilled and I acted as a martyr in my home. Gardening and growing flowers has invigorated a passion in me that I had not seen in awhile. But it comes at a cost sometimes. Dinner doesn’t always get made, my house is a mess, and my kids have to be more self reliant. I think pivoting to making my needs important and not being self sacrificing has been huge. More important than a clean house is a happy mom and I’m glad my kids will get to see that growing up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://friendoftheflower.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendoftheflower?igsh=MWQwNnBrd3k3Z3lrYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Julia Karrys
Tiffany Tebbs
Kate Lines