Kristen Primrose — yes, that’s her actual name — is a flower farmer in Alberta’s Cardston County.
“It was an accident,” she says with a laugh.
“I was pregnant and didn’t get my garden in,” she says. “We had all these black oil sunflower seeds we were feeding the chickens and I wondered if they would grow. They just exploded.”
Now owner of Primrose Lane Farm along with her husband, Primrose spends her days surrounded by the heady fragrance of hundreds of flowers.
Those first sunflowers kicked off a remarkable journey, one that is rooted in a powerful sense of personal mission.
“My mom got sick and I took her a bouquet of sunflowers,” says Primrose about those first blooms.
“Flowers mean so much to people.”
With a focus on tulips, daffodils and peonies, Primrose puts together a variety of offerings that bring public engagement to the farm. From monthly flower subscriptions, U-picks, garden parties, flower-arranging and seed-starting workshops, wedding floral services and more, the goal is to share the farm with anyone who wants to come.
“It’s the why behind what we do,” she says. “It kind of grew from being able to share. We want to connect with people, get them to take a break from real life.”
Although visions of fields full of peonies, heavy heads drooping in the summer sun and the air full of bees and birds are alluring, Primrose is well-acquainted with the concerns that gnaw on the minds of many farmers.
“It’s just really physical work,” she says. “And the uncertainty of the weather…. When will things bloom, will they get hailed on? This year, the tulips bloomed three weeks earlier than planned due to the heat wave.”
Although her crop is one that may feature in a bride’s delicate bouquet, getting the flowers to that point is the end of a long, careful and journey full of the daily grunt work that all farming has in common.
“I’m trying to work up more perennials,” she says, noting that their current goal is to go from 800 to 1,000 peony plants.
“But they have to be suitable for cut flowers — stem length, bloom life. Peonies take three to five years. It’s really exciting but it’s a long wait.”
Recent trends in the floral industry have brought more and more brides to the farm.
“There are so many more flowers than what you can find at a florist’s or in a supermarket. People are starting to notice farms like me. Brides are looking to buy more local, just for the variety.
“They are leaning more to the wildflower, hand-tied bouquets, something flowy with movement.”
Prospective flower farmers should do their market research and try to understand the people who live in their area, the people who will build their community and make an immediate impact on their revenue stream, she says. Understanding trends is important but knowing how things grow, what will grow well and keeping some tried-and-true options is critical.
“Narrow down your target market,” says Primrose. “Do you want to wholesale? Do you want to directly deal with the public? People want to do everything and it’s overwhelming. Start small.”
Primrose continues to look for ways to bring people to the farm. She’s excited about the ranunculus corms she over-wintered but in her heart, sunflowers will always be special.
“Mom died Christmas, 2015,” she says.
“I still bring my mom bouquets.”
