Niki Irving

Flourish Flower Farm

Niki Irving is the farmer and florist of Flourish Flower Farm in Asheville, NC, where she grows countless varieties of flowers and foliage using sustainable practices. She creates lush, seasonally-inspired arrangements for weddings & special events, hosts classes and workshops on her farm and offers seasonal bouquets at the farm's Farmstand. Niki’s best-selling book Growing Flowers: Everything You Need to Know About Planting, Tending, Harvesting and Arranging Beautiful Blooms was first published in Spring 2021, with a re-edition coming in spring 2025! 

Show Notes

  1. As you grow your business, it’s important to attract customers who appreciate seasonal flowers. This also applies to the vendors you choose to work with.

  2. It’s okay to cut back on the services you offer to better align with your time and priorities.

  3. Niki produces everything from small to full-service weddings, but she only takes on one large wedding per weekend. This allows her to keep her team small, and they work well together.

  4. She only does weddings from April through October—essentially, when her flowers and the surrounding farms are in production.

  5. Flourish Flower Farm has a farm stand that’s been very successful, and they've started accepting electronic payments. They are open Thursday through Saturday to keep things manageable.

  6. Adding shipping has helped diversify their sales, allowing them to sell bunches of flowers without needing to create mixed bouquets.

  7. It's essential to review your profit margins yearly. Analyzing your spending and identifying what serves your business is a key part of staying on track.

  8. Along the way, you might find that options like grocery stores, bouquet subscriptions, farmers' markets, farm stands, workshops, or even elopement packages might not be the right fit for your business. It’s crucial to create an income stream that aligns with your needs.

  9. Visiting wholesalers can give you insights into industry standards, or perhaps show you how your products surpass the quality of what they’re used to.

  10. Customer education is a big part of your business. Show how your flowers are better and last longer. For example, not all flowers ship well, so yours will be superior just because of that.

  11. Niki stresses the value that ASCFG brings to the flower farmer culture and encourages all growers to join.

  12. Finally, work towards making yourself happy with your business.