Inspiring Female Farmers From Around the World

Flower farming is demanding work in every aspect. These women have leaped to become cut flower farmers and farmer-florists. They are (co-)running their flourishing flower farms and are the decision-makers of their own lots filled with flowers. With the run-up to International Women’s Day, what better way than to hear it from the women of our industry, like these inspiring female flower farmers?

Empowering Female Farmers to Flower the World

Here are a few of the great female-run flower farms across the globe. All these women are particularly impressive, and they are listed in no particular order. In honor of International Women's Day, let's get to know more about these role models. PS: Happy Women's Day!

1. Gabriela Salazar of La Musa de las Flores

The journey of Mexican floral designer Gabriela Salazar started in her early childhood. With a mom who used to show her how every flower, stem, and petal would transform as the days passed.  She learned to discover that each day, a different sense of movement was revealed from the next. In those early days of her childhood, she would see the flowers' unique beauty in every stem.

"My mom showed me how to see the beauty in flowers at their full bloom, but also as they age, the wilting stage revealing another charming angle."

In Valle de Bravo, Mexico, she runs her business La Musa de las Flores and has a small cut flower garden on 1/3 of an acre of land. When she first started, in 2014, she didn't know anything about growing. Still, the desire to cultivate her own flower garden helped her overcome her fears and find the confidence to grow.

Gabriela about the start of her flower garden:

"I bought seeds and tubers and simply started, learning along the way. It’s been a big learning curve, and alongside the mistakes, I have discovered a whole new way of looking at floristry. By growing my own flowers, I get to witness their life cycle; how they change color, size, texture, what they like and don’t. I can observe the flowers’ relationship with each other, how long they live, and how to take better care."

Learn more about herself and her business in Thursd's Florist Special With Gabriela Salazar of La Musa de las Flores.

2. Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm

Flourish Flower Farm is owned by Niki and William Irving. After years of working in education and outdoor education, Niki finally turned the dream of becoming a farmer-florist into reality. As the daughter of a landscaper and tree farmer, you could say that Niki’s love of plants was inevitable. Niki loves growing, nurturing, and creating beauty. William spent his childhood helping his grandfather tend a giant vegetable garden, and he is the master of the farm-maintenance tasks.

Together, they balance a love of nature, hard work, creating beauty, and spreading joy at the farm. They believe that flowers make the world a more beautiful, enjoyable place and are inspired by the way a fresh bouquet lights up someone’s entire face. Niki loves creating lush, seasonally-inspired arrangements for weddings and special events with their gorgeous farm-fresh flowers, and William is always behind the scenes helping to make it all run smoothly. Flourish Flower Farm is truly their labor of love.

3. Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower

Floret Flower is set in Washington’s beautiful Skagit Valley, with flower farm fields bursting with flowers that reflect the season. Floret Flowers is a family-run farm founded by Erin Benzakein. From fragrant sweet peas in the spring to magnificent dinner plate dahlias in the fall and countless varieties in between, this family celebrates the best of what’s blooming each day.

In 2001, Erin and her husband Chris moved to the farm to pursue a slower, simpler lifestyle where their children could be raised surrounded by nature. Erin states:

"Little did I know that the small backyard cutting garden I planted so many years ago would eventually turn into a thriving teaching farm and full-fledged seed company."

Erin's grandmother affectionately referred to her as her 'little flower girl' during Erin's young years. Each summer visit, she was tasked with crafting bouquets for Erin's bedside table. Despite the simplicity of her creations, she always received effusive praise from her grandmother, treating each bouquet as if it were the most precious gift.

Seeing how a small bouquet had the power to stir such emotion and connect two perfect strangers, in a matter of seconds, was a turning point for her, and she knew then and there that she had found her calling and wanted to devote her life to making other people’s lives more beautiful with flowers.

4. Marlies and Linda of FAM Flower Farm

Marlies Weijers and Linda van der Slot are the driving forces behind FAM Flower Farm, which consists of two Dutch FAMily flower farms located in the flower bulb region, next to Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands. They have been friends since high school, and both married a grower. The idea of FAM Flower Farm started when they both wanted to share more of their beautiful products with the world.

With over 80,000 flower lovers on social media, it became possible to tell their stories while sharing pictures of their fields and beautiful flowers with other flower fans. The flower bulbs and dahlia tubers were now not only sold all over the world, but Marlies and Linda also got in direct contact with their end-users. The bulbs and tubers are a hit amongst their flower fans, and FAM shows how easy it is to plant bulbs and how long you can enjoy the flowers. The ladies keep growing their business, even in these challenging times, and are happy to further improve in the future.

 Marlies and Linda express:

"FAM not only stands for 'family' but also for feminine because we like to give a feminine touch to our photos, stories, and packaging."

5. Holly Chapple of Hope Flower Farm

Holly and Evan Chapple purchased Hope Flower Farm and Winery in 2015, marking an exciting new chapter for Holly Heider Chapple Flowers. After 23 years of successfully running her floral and event design business from her home studio, Holly was looking for a unique way to expand her highly sought-after services, such as teaching and mentoring other floral designers.

The Hope family farmed the estate for many years, and it used to be a working dairy farm. Upon hearing several locals within the Lucketts and Waterford communities refer to the property as 'Hope Farm, ' it seemed only fitting for the Chapples to re-name her accordingly; a name that both honors the family that farmed the land for over 60 years and implies so much potential. The farm's 25 lush acres lay nestled in the heart of rural Northern Virginia, near Leesburg in Loudoun County. With every passing week of the growing season, something fresh and vibrant emerges. Visitors have the option to hand-pick their own flowers or enroll in their floral CSA program.

Throughout the year, guests can revel in the beauty of their favorite flowers during festival weekends such as Tulip Days, Peony Days, and Dahlia Days. These events offer a delightful array of live music, freshly harvested farm flowers, picnics, and the opportunity to savor a glass of wine amidst the blooming fields.

6. Lorelie Merton of Florelie 

Florelie stands as a small specialty cut flower farm located in Bungaree, near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Flowers flourish on roughly one acre of their expansive 20-acre property. Dahlias reign supreme as the primary crop, complemented by various summer annuals that bloom synchronously with them. In addition, a selection of spring-blooming flowers such as peonies, ranunculus, and bearded iris grace their fields, albeit in smaller quantities.

With each passing season, Florelie carefully curates a diverse assortment of flowers, featuring popular colors sought after by both florists and the general public alike.

They take great pleasure in providing Australian gardeners with a reliable and top-notch source of Australian dahlia tubers. Their collection encompasses numerous specialty varieties cultivated from their very own breeding program. For those interested, the availability of their dahlia tubers can be explored through their online shop.

7. Lynsey Taulbee of Muddy Acres Flower Farmer

Muddy Acres Flower Farm has created a blooming flower farm and shares it with everyone in need of some flower inspiration. While the founder of Muddy Acres, Lynsey Taulbee, previously worked a full-time job at the American government, she had a side hustle with designing wedding invitations. After growing the business over a couple of years, she was able to quit her job to create wedding invitations full-time. While moving out of her house in the center of the village to a home situated in the countryside, she started having various farm animals and growing her flowers.

8. Celine Watz of Floral by Nature

Celine and Tristan own their flower farm 'Floral by Nature'. They are inspired by the farm-to-table movement, which fuels their love of cultivation and all things floral. Their mission is to provide the local community with a healthier, more environmentally conscious alternative to mass-produced Australian and imported flowers laden with chemicals. Their blooms are carefully nurtured, grown organically in harmony with nature's design, and free of toxic chemicals and pesticides.

Unlike flowers that travel long distances and accumulate 'flower miles', theirs are sourced locally, minimizing environmental impact and ensuring freshness. Their flowering season runs from mid-October to mid-April, and they produce an abundance of fresh, chemical-free blooms. Deliveries are available between Hartley and Hazelbrook, allowing the community to enjoy nature's bounty.

9. Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers

Founding Common Farm Flowers in 2010, Georgie Newbery was one of the first of the new kind of artisan flower farmer to establish in the UK. You can read about the ethos of Common Farm Flowers here. She is renowned for her expertise as a grower, florist, and business coach.  While she says she’ll always grow flowers for sale, Common Farm Flowers streamlines further every season as Georgie spends more time teaching and mentoring other small businesses to help them identify and work towards their goals. 

Georgie is the author of The Flower Farmer’s Year, Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers, and the first novel in a series to come, the novel called All Desires Known.

10. Jennie Love of Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Having cultivated her first flower patch at the tender age of four, located within her mother's expansive kitchen garden on their fifth-generation family farm in central Pennsylvania, Jennie Love's affinity for floral cultivation blossomed early on. She built a small white picket fence around her patch and strictly prohibited her three older brothers from entering, fearing that their large feet would trample her delicate straw flowers and nasturtiums. From that point forward, her soul was linked to the ebb and flow of the seasons, as well as the gentle nurturing of unfolding petals and leaves.

Ironically, it took a sojourn to the bustling cityscape for her to fully appreciate the profound significance farming held in her heart; an irresistible tether to the land she couldn't ignore. However, by the time her longing to nurture nature became undeniable, she had already laid substantial roots in Philadelphia, roots she was reluctant to uproot. Thus, Love 'n Fresh Flowers emerged – an endeavor as one of the first urban flower farms located within the confines of a metropolitan sprawl in Philadelphia. She discovered that urban flower farming spoke deeply to her spirit, providing her with gratification she had never imagined possible. For her, stewarding five acres of urban green space was far more significant than owning vast expanses in more rural settings.

11. Roz Chandler of Field Gate Flowers

The woman behind the Instagram account Field Gate Flowers is Roz Chandler, an inspiring British flower farmer, florist, and business mentor who transformed a lifelong love of nature into a thriving, sustainable flower business. Based near Milton Keynes in the UK, Chandler founded her five-acre flower farm in 2012, growing seasonal, British flowers using organic and environmentally conscious methods. Before becoming a farmer, she spent more than 30 years working in marketing and sales and even ran her own digital marketing agency, an experience she now uses to help other growers build successful flower businesses.

Today, alongside supplying flowers for weddings and events, she teaches courses, hosts workshops, and mentors aspiring flower farmers, encouraging a new generation to embrace locally grown, sustainable blooms and turn their passion for flowers into meaningful work.

Debrah Prinzing of Slow Flowers

The Slow Flowers Movement is a response to the disconnect between humans and flowers in the modern era. It aspires to reclaim the act of flower growing, recognizing it as a relevant and respected branch of domestic agriculture with farms all over the world. Slow Flowers connects consumers with the source of their flowers, putting a human face on the flower farmer and floral designer behind each bouquet or centerpiece. The value of local, seasonal, and sustainably-grown flowers is heightened when there is transparent origin labeling of all botanicals sold to consumers and professional florists.

It is a privilege to credit such exemplary women in the farm and flower industry. Their magical hands and hard work are the duo that defines their strength and inspiration as women and farmers. Happy International Women's Day!

Feature image by @hopeflowerfarm.