Joan Stevens
(Bann, Germany) No one was more surprised than I when I started a flower business. Even though I'm a long time gardener and I have a degree in botany, I never expected to fall for cut flowers. As someone who studied and permaculture and taught Environmental science for over a decade, flowers seemed wasteful and indulgent. I was very secure in this opinion until I grew my first dahlia. That flower stopped me in my tracks and my life has never been the same!
I completed the Floret Flower Farming course in 2018 and have been a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and continued my education in flowers ever since. I've studied floral design at LA Flower School and online with Tulipina. I now have a several seasons under my belt with my micro farm and sell flowers to all sorts of customers. Flowers are harbingers of beauty and help people slow down and be present. Who couldn't use a little more of that in their lives?
Mamabotanica Blooms is my attempt to work out how to make small scale growing economically viable. Research suggests that our quality of life depends on the quality of our relationships. Small local businesses depend on relationships to survive. Growing my business means growing my community. I believe that in the future we will be grateful for networks of mutual benefit like those that are derived from economic exchange. Creating economic opportunities based on home-scale businesses is the way to go! I believe it and am working my little slice of land to develop a model that I hope can be applied more broadly.
