This past August, The Farmer Florist Series traveled to Middletown, R.I. to the beloved Dahlia Shed, for our third and final class of the series “Dahlia Dreaming”. Owned and operated by Amy Rodrigues and her hardworking family, the Dahlia Shed is a speciality cut flower farm known for their insanely gorgeous dahlias!
Amy is the dahlia guru! Her attention to detail, quality, and consistency is like no one else (in my opinion) and so I was honored when Amy agreed to co-host the “Dahlia Dreaming” class this year. I have always loved Amy for her big smile, warm heart and her ability to work hard while being an awesome mother! I was eager to introduce her to our attendees and showcase her amazing farm and her twelve years of growing knowledge!
On August 16th, this past summer, Amy rolled back the large wooden doors of her beautiful barn and together we welcomed a sold out class of dahlia lovers from all over New England! The weather was perfect, the fields were in full bloom, and I was excited to get our minds and our hearts filled by the magic that locally grown flowers gives.
Like our other Farmer Florist classes, we began in the field with our experts, learning all about how to grow and care for this beloved perennial. Amy walked the rows and rows of dahlias, pointing out all 65 varieties and sharing how she grows, cares for, and harvests each one to ensure her customers experience The Dahlia Shed in the most perfect way each and every time. She spoke about what her 10 year journey of growing dahlias has looked like, how her and her family have scaled the farm over the years, and even shared with us where they are headed in the future.
Being amongst all of the beautiful and colorful dahlias, you could feel the huge amount of love, energy, and time that went into growing each one. Listening to how Amy and her family work side by side through every phase of the process brought each of our attendees into her world and helped us all to see the importance of supporting local flower farmers like the Rodrigues family.
Participants were able to ask their burning questions from pest control, to how to maintain weed pressure, to what varieties are the best to invest in. It was such a joy watching everyone be totally captivated by Amy and her huge amount of knowledge and see as each person found a variety that spoke to them!
Following our farm/growing tour, we gathered in the barn for the design portion of the class. Using 100% Dahlia Shed flowers, we designed a lush, summery centerpiece. I spoke to our attendees about what working with locally grown flowers is like, how the farmer to florist relationship works, and what The Local Bouquet’s brand has become over the years because of our sourcing mission and our commitment to sustainability.
The barn was filled with so many yummy ingredients for our attendees to choose from for their own designs including privet, ninebark, rudbeckia, foxglove, lisanthus, zinnias, strawflower, chocolate cosmos and gomphrena. Amy spoiled us by providing dahlias in every shade, shape and size that one could possibly want! We all were like kids in a candy shop, eager to gather the most beautiful flowers and begin our designs right away!
Using foam-free mechanics, attendees were stretched to create designs that were sustainable and of the season! It is always so fun for me to see each attendee start off with the same vessel and flowers as their neighbor, but then create a design that is so personal and unique to who they are. This is one of the reasons why I started the Farmer Florist Series four years ago. I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to not only meet some of New England’s top flower farmers, but also to experience locally grown flowers on a personal level.
I couldn’t be more happy with how not only this class turned out, but how the entire series unfolded this past year. I feel extremely blessed to be able to work with the farmers that I get to and to meet all of the amazing attendees that came to all three of our classes. I am filled with joy and anticipation to celebrate FIVE amazing and wonderful years of the Farmer Florist Series in 2020!
Farm: Dahlia Shed
Photography: Jennifer Jeanne Photography