We make no secret of the fact that we forage on our own land for wildflowers to enhance the market bouquets that we sell. Our land includes a 4-acre meadow with a pretty diverse plant stock. Depending on the season, we find flowers, greenery and woodies that add color, volume and interest to our standard offerings.
Two of our favorite finds are yarrow and sedge. Last year yarrow provided striking white highlights in Fourth of July arrangements. Later in the summer, sedge, which looks to us like a cross between an ornamental grass and a pine tree, added character to flower vases comprised of more conventional blooms. And pokeweed and other native plants that we gathered in early fall, when cultivated plants became less productive, supplemented our stock.
Mowing-Free Zones
As flower farmers, we are saddened by how many fields and meadows near our farm are mowed down for convenience with little thought given to the wildflowers destroyed. We don’t forage on other people’s land, but others could.
A word of caution: some wild plants are protected by law and environmental regulations. Others are poisonous or contain Irritants. Check with you local or state authorities before you start gathering. And, of course, always get the landowner’s permission.
