Today was hot! Almost 100 degrees. But that didn’t stop 3o flower enthusiasts (farmers, gardeners, florists and more) from coming to Southern Maryland to tour four beautiful flower farms!
The tour started at Ben Stolzfus’ Mechanicsville farm. Ben and his family are growing a wide variety of cut flowers including sunflowers, asters, zinnias, coxcomb and more. Ben was enthusiastic about flower growing and was excited to both share with and learn from all of the growers that had come to see his farm.
Our next stop was Elvin Weaver’s beautiful farm. I first met Elvin a few years ago at a growers meeting he attended with his friend and neighbor Kathy York of Scarborough Farm. As Mennonites, Ben and Elvin manage the work of their farm with out electricity and without modern technology. Don’t think that this slows them down though. Elvin has three acres under production with cut flowers and they are just gorgeous!
Leon Carrier of Plant Masters looks on as Elvin and his wife answer questions about the farm.
After visiting the Weavers, we traveled a half mile down the road to the Loveville Produce Auction.
The Loveville Produce Auction was like nothing I had ever seen before. Farmers pull their mostly horse-drawn, flat bed trucks into the open air auction center where bidders are waiting to bid on truck loads of local produce. From thousands of pounds of melons to flats of locally grown cut flower bouquets, there is something here for everyone.
After the Auction, we headed to Sutter Post Farm, owned by Judy and John Mast. Sutter Post Farm was…incredible. Row upon row of beautiful flowers as far as the eye can see. The coxcomb and zinnias seemed to go on forever!
Our last stop on the tour was Scarborough Farm owned by my dear friend Kathy York. Years ago, when we were contemplating starting LoCoFlo, Marina and I visited Kathy at her home. We toured her farm, envied her studio, and were inspired by her designs and creativity. It was great visiting her again.
It always feels hard to get away for a whole day during wedding season. There is always so much to do. I’m so glad I made time today to spend time visiting, touring and learning from the host farmers. I also had a great time catching up with many of our current growers include the Carriers from Plant Masters, Dave from Farmhouse Flowers, Pam and Jen Pahl from Pahl’s Farm, Rick from Seaberry Farm and Beth from Belvedere Farm.
To see some more photos from today’s tour, check out our flickr site.
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