I got out of the groove there a bit and let the Business in Bloom series slide. Sorry about that. But it’s not for lack of great students to feature! Next up is Natalie Hamill from Roots to River Farm in New Hope, PA. I’m a little envious of her for getting to live in such a scenic place and to have acres of rich river land to farm collaboratively with some other really cool young women! Natalie is fairly new to flower farming, but I can attest to the quality of her blooms already since I got to use some of them this past summer in design work. Girl’s got skillz! And she’s got a natural knack for designing too, one I am sure is going to blossom (yes, total pun with total intention) beautifully over the coming seasons as she settles into her farmer florist business further. Did I mention she’s sweet as wildflower honey? Well, she is!
Let’s Meet Natalie!

Tell us a bit about your business, business model and clientele.
The business is Roots to River Flowers
The website is
http://www.rootstoriverfarm.com
And I am on Instagram @natthamill
*Editor’s note: Natalie has just launched a new business name for the flower side of things called Blossom Hill Flowers. New website coming soon!
What got you into flowers in the first place?
Horticulture is in my blood. Growing up, I would go to Media Pennsylvania to visit my grandmother for a week or two in summer. She was nearly blind for the last ten years of her life, but that did not stop her from gardening. I would help her pick peas and beans that she would pick much faster than I by just feeling her way along the plant. The scientific names of plants just seemed to stick in my head and became a familiar language. I have always wanted to be a flower farmer, but strayed to livestock farming instead, running a small goat dairy for a stint and moving cattle in a grass-fed meat operation. When my husband and I bought our farm in New Hope, Pa, I knew it was time for me to follow my original dream of growing flowers. We ended up leasing a portion of our farm to a good friend of mine where she has started Roots to River Farm, an organic vegetable CSA and market farm. She agreed to let me piggy back on her operation while I figured out producing flowers on a larger scale.
This, my second season, I was growing on a little less than an acre with a 20×70’ high tunnel and shared greenhouse space. It is just me and occasionally my husband on big harvest and planting days. I have a 30 member CSA, a farmers market in Chelsea in Manhattan, florist sales, DIY brides and design work for events. I focused a lot on early spring production this year in the new high tunnel with great success. I had sweet peas coming out my ears, snaps, dianthus, bells of Ireland and lisianthus as well as some fall sown experiments in the field. Spring is such an exciting time, it’s like the flowers are working so hard to bloom that each new flower is such a triumph.
Originally when I started growing flowers I imagined myself just running a production farm. I think that Instagram really made me aware of and interested in exploring all the amazing design work that could be done with the flowers I was growing. The sort of naturalistic floral design and farmer florist movement really inspired my creativity. I had always made my own arrangements, but never realized that people were actually getting paid to design that way!

You attended our Weddings: From Seed to Centerpiece Master Class at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers this past spring. When you signed up, what were you looking to gain by coming to our farm?
When I signed up for the Love ‘n Fresh Weddings Masterclass, I was a wedding novice. I actually had two small weddings booked for the fall and figured I should learn something about pulling the whole thing off first. Jennie’s beautiful natural style and knowledge of plants drew me to her class above others. Designing on her farm with other passionate farmer florists sounded like a dream come true. I hesitated only because it was a huge investment for me in an aspect of the business I was still on the fence about. I had a lot of reservations about the added stress of wedding organization and client negotiation that made me hesitate when booking them.
What did you find most helpful about your time in the class? Were there any surprises?
The first day of class was definitely the most helpful for me. Though maybe not as fun as the design day, learning the business of wedding work was what I really needed! Jennie had so much useful information to pack into our brains as we sat in her cute studio in the air conditioning of course. The next day, was so brutally hot and humid our designs melted in front of our fretting faces. Despite the heat though, Jennie’s upbeat voice guided us through the basics and we hardly noticed the heat.
The one thing that surprised me was Jennie’s candid approach to talking about the challenges of wedding work. Specifically the feeling of giving and giving of energy and time to a wedding client, for not much in return. Besides, the monetary reward and the satisfaction of creating a beautiful work of art for people to enjoy, after that one day the relationship is over. This can be draining after a while and was something for us to consider. She added to that how important it was to have something that replenished that energy, a good balance of life and work.

Can you give us a specific example of something you learned and then implemented into your own business once you went home?
I found Jennie’s advice on making sure you get paid for your work very helpful. This fall I had a bride who had planned to by my DIY buckets of flowers to do her centerpieces herself and I was doing her personal items. At the last minute she panicked and thought she would not have enough time to do the centerpieces herself and asked me to quote a price for them. The week of her wedding happened to be the busiest of the season for me and I knew I would not have the extra time to do it unless I was paid something that made the added stress worth it. Also I knew I did not want to compromise my quality just to get it done. So I quoted her a very reasonable price, but one I knew she would probably think was high and probably not want to pay. In the end she had plenty of time to do her centerpieces and loved her bouquet because I had put so much thought and time into it. Jennie’s advice really helped me to set a boundary for myself and the client I was working with.

How has your business changed over the past several months since the class?
Over the crazy months since the Master Class, I have put a lot of thought into how I want to expand my business. One solid way to prepare for next season was to plant a lot for early next spring. I would really like to focus on the shoulders of the season. The challenge of producing flowers early in the spring and late into the fall really appeals to me. For now I will focus on producing great quality flowers for my CSA and floral design clients while taking on a few weddings. I know that weddings can be a great boon for revenue, but for me, the stress of too many is not worth it. I enjoy the design work, so I will keep doing it in moderation. Jennie’s class was invaluable in making these decisions. A few flower farmers in my area have started a conversation about a wholesale cooperative so I am excited for that as another outlet for product. I really love working with other farmers and designers and having the info from the class also helped just to understand the industry more.

Have you stayed in touch with any other students from the class?
It has been fun to learn about the businesses of women in the Master Class with me as they struggle with the same dilemmas I do. Instagram has been a great way to connect with them as well as the ASCFG conference in October where I connected with a few.
Time for the “big question”! Where do you see your business going from here? A healthy business is always evolving. What’s that process look like for yours?
As the second growing season comes to a close for me, I have a lot to think about for the future of my business. Jennie’s class just gave me a lot of useful advice on planning the next stages even beyond wedding work. She is a great business woman, which I think is so important in farming in general.

SIGN UP FOR THIS YEAR’S MASTER CLASS SERIES HERE.