Farmermaid Flowers offers a beautiful array of specialty cut flowers and floral arrangements, such as dahlias. All of their field crops are grown off Highway 41, between Morro bay and Atascadero, while the greenhouse crops are grown in Los Osos. Farmermaid Flowers grows flowers unique to the Central Coast in clean water and healthy soil that's rich in biodiversity, meaning the flowers are never sprayed with any pesticides or toxic chemicals. Depending on availability, their flowers can be found at Baywood and Temepleton Farmers Markets and grocery stores such as Lassens, California Fresh, Spencers, Caliwala, Gather, and Avila Valley Barn. Additioanlly, home delivery is available through Harvestly.co and large orders are available for pick-up at their studio in SLO.
For more information about their lovely flower arrangements, you can contact them directly via Facebook, Instagram, or email at info@farmermaid.com
The Farmermaid, Courtney, says that prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the majority of her business was through the wedding industry, such as wholesale to wedding florists, or through her own floral design services. But as a result of the pandemic, sales to wedding florists have dropped 90% and about 85% of the couples that had booked Farmermaid Flowers for their weddings have canceled or postponed to 2021, resulting in a huge loss of revenue from those outlets. Because spring flowers are planted in the fall, the high-end specialty flowers grown for 2020's spring weddings were mostly sold at farmer's markets or grocery stores for a fraction of their value, as a result of the lack of demand from the wedding industry.
Luckily, Courtney says Farmers Market sales have been up which has allowed her business to stay afloat financially. She adds, "On the emotional level, it's also been so encouraging to see how much these flowers mean to people, especially in these challenging times, and that has been just enough to keep me going."
The Farmermaid says she loves making boutonnieres, bridesmaid bouquets and large arrangements for wedding ceremonies and other special occasions. Farmermaid Flowers puts care and passion into everything they do for Courtney says, "I love when someone asks me to make something special for someone that they love, especially when it's a surprise because then I really get to work my magic. They say that 'you can't push water through a pipe, without the pipe getting wet on the way,' and I think that's true with flowers, when they are used as a means to communicate the love that one person has for another, and when I'm the one that is trusted to make that vision come to life, I definitely feel a little of the magic rub off on me. It makes the crazy hours and the hard work all feel worthwhile."
During challenging times like these, support farmers like Courtney and cheer yourself or someone you love up with a fresh flower bouquet from Farmermaid Flowers.