Crash Courses and Pivoting
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
This past Tuesday morning, my car was packed, I had coffee in the front seat, and I was fully ready to arrive in Dubois, Wyoming, for my internship at Mae Orchard Blooms. As I began the long drive to Dubois from Nebraska, the quality of my car’s driving seemed to decrease with every hour, and the check engine light popped on as I crossed the Wyoming border. By the time I reached Laramie, I was uncertain of my car’s ability to make the remaining five hours. Several phone calls, auto-center trips, and hours later, it was apparent my vehicle was not fit to complete the drive, and I wouldn’t be able to arrive at my internship until Thursday.
While this sudden change of plans was frustrating, my internship host, Brandie, said something that applies to multiple facets of life: “Things happen and then we just pivot”. While this phrase might seem simple, it’s a reminder of the unpredictability we often face and the flexibility required to adapt, something that will come in handy to remember as I begin to learn about flower farming.
Besides a life lesson, I got a crash course in all things peonies on Friday. I was introduced to the many variety of peonies on the farm, and what each kind brings to the table (literally). This is the time in the season where all it takes is a heat wave for the peonies to bloom, the calm before the storm. Brandie showed me how to process the cut blooms by cutting three leaf sets up from the plant, recording the amount of stems from each variety that was cut, and placing them in water in the cooler. Brandie’s criteria for a good cut flower variety (it varies from the grower and the type of plant) is how easy the variety is to establish in Wyoming’s unpredictable climate, the length of the stem, how long the blooms last in the vase, and how many buds per plants are produced. I also learned how to debud the side buds on peonies. These are essential to remove because they divert the plant’s energy from producing large, main buds on the plants.
Something I would like to challenge is rethinking what I know about plants and growing them. I am studying botany and have several years of informal gardening, landscaping, and floral design experience under my belt. Yet, for all of my head knowledge on the subject, I know little about what it actually takes to start and run a flower farm. Just from the first day and a half, it sounds like flower farming is mostly about finding what works in that climate and for your personal preferences. Things aren’t always conventional or happen the way the textbook or Pinterest board predicts. This redirection has given me a whole new wave of appreciation for the hands-on experience I am getting this summer from Brandie. It is also challenging me to think more about what I would want my future flower operation to look like, in a way that works for me.
Many practical questions relating to Brandie’s operation have been answered. However, I am still curious about the business side of flower farming. How do you get started? How do you do marketing? How do you find out what your clientele wants? My other questions are less practical and more nerdy. What’s the difference between a heritage and a hybridized plant? How have peonies adapted to Wyoming’s turbulent weather? Brandie gave me her “peony bible” (what she affectionately calls her Peony guidebook), that will hopefully answer my latter questions. For the former, I have the rest of the summer to learn from Brandie and other locals what it takes to start my own operation.
Brandie will be gone at a Peony Convention next week, so I will be working with her husband Mel. If it is warm next week and the flowers bloom, I will be using what I learned about processing the peonies to get the cut-flower season going. Besides processing flowers, the second most important lesson was how to pivot when plans change. If I had to guess, having car troubles and delaying an internship won’t be the only obstacle I encounter this summer, especially when working on a flower farm in Wyoming. It’s a good reminder for me to stay flexible when situations call for a quick change.
Submitted by: Emzie Coop
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
