Left to right: Amanda Montgomery, Mason Moomaw, Stephanie Webber and Eileen Waugh make up the Richmond Flower Collective. (Photo by Beth Furgurson)
When local flower farmer Amanda Montgomery discovered the New Orleans Flower Collective last summer, she quickly emailed one of the growers to learn more.
“I asked her how it worked,” Montgomery says. “She answered, ‘We get together and drink wine and talk about rain.’ I thought, ‘I can do that.’ ”
So in September 2017, the Richmond Flower Collective made its debut via a “stem bar” at Perk Bon Air with flowers from the four member growers: Montgomery’s Hummingbird Gardens, Eileen Waugh’s Phloxtrot Flower Farm, Mason Moomaw’s Burst and Bloom, and Stephanie Webber’s Blue Eye Flowers.
The stem bars are the most visible of the growers’ collaborations. Each brings a set number of stems, which are displayed in buckets in a local business. Customers then create their own bouquets of locally grown flowers, mixing and matching as they choose.
Montgomery says buying local flowers is like buying local foods: It’s good for the economy and the environment.
“Eighty percent of flowers sold [in the U.S.] are imported from South America,” she says. “We’ve become used to getting two dozen roses year-round for $20; we’re not paying the true cost of that.”
Local flowers, she adds, are fresher and last longer, they reduce the carbon footprint of the purchase, and they often are interesting native varieties not found in florist shops or grocery stores.
Montgomery says competition among the growers, who found one another through social media, isn’t an issue, because each has a specific niche. Her business sells to individuals through subscription and to businesses who want to decorate with fresh, local blooms. Burst and Bloom is focused on dahlias. Blue Eye Flowers sells primarily to florists and offers bouquet subscriptions. Phloxtrot Flower Farm is launching RVA’s first flower truck.
In addition to the stem bars, Montgomery says, the collective members are able to share “challenges and opportunities” with one another.
“One weekend, I needed more white flowers … so I called Stephanie [at Blue Eye Flowers],” Montgomery says. “If I have a question about something not growing properly — about any number of things — I have three people to call in addition to extension agents.”