Brian Minter: Small farms offer up a wonderful outdoor experience

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There’s an exciting new trend happening in small farm agri-tourism. Innovative flower farms are garnering a lot of attention because of their massive colour displays and the opportunities they give us to purchase a wide range of fresh cut flowers. There is quite a demand for this kind of outdoor experience.

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Jesse Wegenst is one of the early adopters of this new concept. He, along with his family, started the Cultus Lake Flower Farm.

Wegenst had no gardening experience. He had been working with the homeless in winter, helping to provide them with shelter. He also wanted to do something to benefit the broader community and his family. Two years ago, although realizing he was very inexperienced, he decided to plant a mass of colourful flowers on their land in Yarrow.

Wegenst gutted an indoor closet and purchased overhead lighting and heat mats for starting seeds in February. He loved zinnias, as well as achillea (yarrow) and other colourful, long-blooming perennials and tall annuals. He started them all from seed. He soon learned about the trials and tribulations of timing, but each year his skills improved. At the end of the bulb season, he visited a wholesaler to purchase leftover dahlia tubers for a later summer show.

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He also quickly became aware of all the hard work and many challenges of outdoor growing. After flagging down a local farmer on his tractor to have him cultivate their land, Wegenst and his family planted, weeded, watered and cared for a wide range of flowering plants and in the process created a beautiful, eclectic display garden that first year.

Now in their third season, the Wegenst family continues to put in a tremendous amount of effort to create a gorgeous show with more emphasis on dahlias and sunflowers to provide lasting summer colour. For Wegenst, it’s a dream come to life. Their U-pick fresh cut flower business opened to the public on July 17, and their hours of operation are daily from 11 a.m. until dusk. They are located at 4215 Wilson Road in Yarrow.

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There’s another special flower farm. This one, Five Acres Flowers, is located in Bradner. Looking to use their land in a unique way and trying to be inclusive of her young family, Amanda McAllister did a great deal of research on how to create a successful flower farm. She consulted with the folks who operate Floret Farms, a small flower farm operation in the Skagit Valley, and they were happy to share their knowledge on how to run a successful flower farm on two acres or less.

Currently in her third season, McAllister is growing over 2,000 dahlias on less than one acre of their five-acre site. With high intensity colour as her goal, she approached flower farming in a different way. She created a workshop concept where she can inspire and teach folks about the creative use, design and display of cut flowers. It’s a two-hour experience, after which attendees can wander and enjoy the colour of the farm and take home a beautiful bouquet.

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McAllister has a vision of where she wants her farm to be in five years. Having a close connection to nature and to her community and having her family involved, are all very important to her. During the pandemic, when her musician husband could not perform in public, she was delighted to have his help. They sell dahlia tubers in early spring at their roadside stand on Haverman Road in Bradner, and they now have beautiful bouquets of dahlias for sale. Their workshops are very popular and are available by appointment through their website fiveacres.ca. McAllister also has amazing videos on their website.

Another novel approach to the flower farm concept has been created by Nick Warmerdam, whose daughter, Alexis, ran the highly successful Abbotsford Tulip Festival. At the same location on Sumas Flats, east of Abbotsford, adjacent to Highway #1, (39171 No. 4 Road) Warmerdam is operating a large-scale U-pick flower farm which he is planning to run from spring into fall.

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This past spring, he grew thousands of colourful tulips for folks to enjoy and to take home as bouquets. This summer he is growing all types of sunflowers that are also available for purchase. Warmerdam is excited by his vision of growing a continuous supply of cut flowers, from tulips in spring to one acre of hydrangeas in fall.

Hydrangeas are becoming the ‘go to’ flower for both fresh cuts and drieds. Currently, he has 80 varieties of peonies planted that will be ready for picking next spring.

Following the peonies, there will be one acre of special roses for cutting in early summer. Sunflower crops will be grown concurrently with the roses. Starting with two acres of lavender, he will expand production to four acres. An ever-popular perennial, lavender can be picked as ‘cuts’, dried for sachets and potpourri or used for culinary purposes.

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In terms of U-pick flower farms, this scale is quite remarkable. Warmerdam’s operation is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and he is encouraging folks to purchase their ‘cuts’ online to minimize congestion, especially on busy weekends. Their website is lakelandflowers.ca.

I’ve written before about the annual spring tulip and summer sunflower festivals in Chilliwack. For information about the upcoming sunflower festival, check chilliwacksunflowerfest.ca. I’ve also encouraged folks to visit the lavender fields at Tuscan Farms in Abbotsford. After July 25, they are closed to the public but are available for weddings and private photo sessions. Check tuscanfarmgardens.com for more details.

All these farms offer a wonderful outdoor experience, from the pure enjoyment of so much colour and fragrance to picking and purchasing your favourite flowers or attending a fun workshop. They’ll be a highlight of your summer.