AMELIA—Virginia’s flower farms are bursting with color as growers prepare their fresh blooms for a busy season.

From cut flowers and U-pick farms to nurseries and wholesalers, floriculture is thriving in the commonwealth. In 2023, the sector brought in nearly $133 million in cash receipts, ranking it No. 11 among Virginia’s top agricultural commodities and No. 14 in flower-producing states nationwide.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, Virginia is home to 320 cut flower farms—a 74% increase from 2017, demonstrating how demand has blossomed for local flowers.

In Augusta County, Jessica Hall of Harmony Harvest Farm cultivates over 200 flower varieties on 20 acres, including anemones, dahlias, hydrangeas, peonies, ranunculuses and rudbeckias. On a recent episode of Virginia Farm Bureau’s Real Virginia television program, she explained that “Mother’s Day is what we like to call the ‘Super Bowl’ of the flower industry.

“It’s when we have some of our most amazing (flowers), fresh, directly off the farm available.”

Hall typically has about 1,500 plants ready in time for the May holiday, and they sell quickly. In addition to retail and wholesale flowers, Harmony Harvest offers U-pick, floral workshops and farm tours.

While their peonies are among the most popular Mother’s Day flowers, the farm also is known for heirloom mums.

“One of the things … I’m super passionate about is preserving the legacy of one of my favorite crops—the heritage chrysanthemums,” Hall said. “These are true perennial chrysanthemums. Not like the ones we tend to find at the box stores, but the long-lost varieties that look like the football mums that used to adorn our proms and homecoming games.”

In Amelia County, former health coach turned flower farmer Bridget McMillion of Red Handle Farm grows more than 50 varieties, including unique perennials. Most are field grown, and others are hydroponically cultivated indoors to weather Virginia’s unpredictable spring and offer delicate flowers like tulips during off seasons.

McMillion said timing and care are key to healthy, long-lasting blooms.

“People gravitate toward flowers that are fully bloomed, but if I cut at that stage, the customer isn’t going to get a good vase life,” she explained. “Most have to be cut much earlier, in a tighter bud stage.”

Flowers are harvested during cool mornings and evenings and placed in water with plant food to ensure freshness.

And between Mother’s Day and the spring wedding season, McMillion already has a waiting list for orders. In addition to build-your-own bouquet bars and direct-to-consumer sales, she sells to wholesalers and enjoys collaborating with florists and wedding designers.

“I love the way people smile when they see the blooms,” McMillion said. “People never frown when they’re handed flowers!”

Want to learn more about Virginia floriculture? Watch Real Virginia at bit.ly/42J0QGI.

To find locally grown flowers near you, visit the Virginia Grown website at vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown.

Media: Contact Hall at 800-218-8152 or McMillion at redhandlefarm@gmail.com.