We were lucky to catch up with Kari Mulderink recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kari, we appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The pure joy of flowers was the inspiration for starting my business, Blackberry Ridge Flower Farm. Flowers have always made me happy…. and while working for an organic vegetable farmer I asked the question, “If I grew flowers do you think anyone would buy them?”  With the encouragement of my farmer friend I started small the first year… growing just a few rows of flowers and arranging them in recycled tin cans while still working part time at the vegetable farm.

Guess what? People did buy them and I was hooked!   I decided to scale up the next season to a full-fledged business. So that autumn I invested in an online flower farming course, cleared some more land in my backyard, bought some seeds and prepared to dive into first year flower entrepreneurship.

Spring of 2021 was my first year of full-time flower farming. I began with 17 flower subscription customers and also sent flowers to the farmer’s market. Honestly the first year was tough….my unconditioned body ached, I felt overwhelmed with all the farming tasks and the business aspects of starting a website, advertising, etc. all the time and basically worried if I would have enough flowers to fulfill my commitments the entire season. I did survive the first season and spent the winter of 2022 recuperating and re-evaluating how to make the next season better.

The 2022 season has been SO much better in every way. I expanded my flower subscriptions and continued farmer’s market flowers, but the most exciting development of the season is that I opened my farm for u-pick flower opportunities, workshops, and even hosted private garden parties for small groups. Interacting with guests on the farm has brought so much joy both to those who visited the farm and experienced the flowers in the garden and to myself! I love hosting, sharing the garden and my passion for flowers with people and witnessing first hand the difference the beauty of flowers makes to my guests.

When I first had the goal and desire to invite folks to the garden, I wondered whether anyone would want to come and again the answer was a resounding~ YES! Opening the garden to groups has given folks in my community the unique opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of picking flowers, disconnecting from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and connecting with nature, themselves, and other people!

Slow and simple pleasures such as flowers bring so much joy to people…one small step at a time… following my dream of sharing the joy of flowers with others…I have been led to this job that I love… a flower farmer for my community. I am so grateful for this work!

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

Sure!  My name is Kari Mulderink and through my business Blackberry Ridge Flower Farm I get  to share the beauty and love of flowers with my community. Before I began, I was barely a gardener and now 3 seasons later I am growing 1/3 of an acre of flowers.

I take pride that most of our flowers are started from seed each season and tended to with organic, low-till farming practices so there is no worry of harmful pesticides which is better for people and the environment.

We also offer on the farm experiences for guests in the form of u-pick flower opportunities, floral workshops, and hosting small private garden parties. These on-site flower opportunities bring guests so much joy as they experience the flowers in the beautiful setting of the garden!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As I have already shared, I was barely a gardener three years ago and the same could be said of being an entrepreneur. I once said that I didn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in my body! So I have really had to do my research and study good business and marketing practices to have the confidence and knowledge of how to start a small business.

My research began with the online flower farming course I took from Lisa Mason Ziegler at The Gardener’s Workshop. The first lessons were on the steps to starting a flower business. Her course has been invaluable to giving me a good business foundation. I continue to learn from her by following her on social media and listening to her podcasts, “Field and Garden” and “Seed Talk.”

There are many other podcasts that I am faithful to listen to and learn from~
* “My Digital Farmer” with Corinna Bench
* “Online Marketing Made Easy” with Amy Porterfield
* “The Dirt on Flowers”

You- Tube videos are another invaluable source for my education process.
* Northlawn Flower Farm
*Two Sister’s Flower Farm
* Pepper Harrow Flower Farm

In addition to immersing myself in the podcasts and videos above and reading books, I have joined a professional organization~ ASCFG (Association for Specialty Cut Flower Growers). They have a quarterly magazine, a yearly conference, private FB group, and extensive website for supporting flower entrepreneurs.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

My business began with the advantage of having a vegetable farmer friend who also was willing to offer my flowers to her existing customers. That was such a helpful step to getting my business started, but I have been continuing to expand both my offerings and my customer base this season.

The best source of new clients for me this season has been social media and word of mouth. When I began offering on farm u-pick flower opportunities, I searched out local community FB groups to advertise in. After getting just a handful of local followers, folks began to purchase tickets to come pick flowers. Of course my goal was to ensure that they had the BEST experience at the farm, to follow up with a thank you email, and offer the opportunity to ask for a Google Review. Many of them did leave a review and they also shared pictures on their social media which led to more local followers and more customers. It really was a snowball! My best advice is~ Don’t despise small beginnings!  At first I only had a handful of customers and toward the end of the season the u-pick flower tickets were selling out. In my experience providing a good product with excellent customer service pays off in the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blackberryridgeflowerfarm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackberryridgeflowerfarm/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100049433413062

Image Credits
First picture of me was taken by Mantey Studios. Others were my own photos.