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Meet Carroll and Richard Candler of Wildcraft Flowers in Sharpsburg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carroll and Richard Candler.

Carroll and Richard, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We started Wildcraft Flowers after moving back to where Richard grew up. We knew we wanted to start a farm together, build a house, and have a homestead, but we weren’t exactly sure what kind of farm we wanted and what would be successful in the area. That same year we attended seven friends’ weddings where we often got recruited to help arrange flowers. That got us thinking about the floral industry and led us to research the idea of growing flowers. We quickly realized that there was a huge slow flower movement going on, promoting a shift in the floral industry towards locally sourced, sustainably grown flowers. We discovered the amazing network of flower farmers all over the country, and the exploding interest in locally grown flowers among consumers and florists, and felt like we could have a successful business. We felt like growing flowers was a perfect fit for us, being gardeners, nature enthusiasts, and creatives. We both have a background in organic agriculture and horticulture, and have a passion for studying botany and native plants, so it was easy to extend our personal interests and skills towards a starting a flower farm. We are so excited by the immediate support we have gotten from our customers, especially the florists in the area. We started small, and are excited for our plans to expand over the next few years. We love the fulfillment of running our own business and the challenge that farming is. We have learned so much, and there is still so much to learn. We love that about growing flowers, there is so much to know and it’s a constant learning process.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Luckily, the road has been pretty smooth. My biggest fear was that we would not be able to sell what we could grow, that there would not be interest among local florists for locally grown product, but it has been quite the opposite. We can sell pretty much everything we can grow and we have more florists and retail outlets set up for next season. We have certainly made mistakes as we learn. There is so much specific information to know about each of the dozens of varieties of flowers we grow, how to germinate the seed, the temperature requirements, weather protection, seasonal timing, and post-harvest treatments. It has been fun to learn all of this, but also difficult. Sometimes we don’t get it all just right, but then we know better for the next season. Our process is constantly improving as we build infrastructure, improve our land and soils, and as we experiment with flower varieties and ways to sell our flowers. The biggest challenge has been managing our time and tasks to make sure everything that needs to happen gets done on time.

Wildcraft Flowers – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We grow cut-flowers for local consumers and florists. We are a source for flowers that are guaranteed to be fresher than most flowers in the industry, which are typically shipped from overseas and California, and several days old by the time the customer receives them. We use organic farming principles to grow our flowers, so we do not use harmful chemicals, we focus on improving our land fertility, on promoting a healthy ecosystem, and being responsible with our water use. We use solar panels to help mitigate our carbon footprint. We are conscious of how farming affects our ecosystem and go out of our way to encourage and create habitat for our pollinators and native insects. We take care to avoid harming these insects in our pest management practices, and are also planting native wildflowers and grasses in uncultivated areas of the farm as habitat and food sources.

We grow a variety of cut-flowers, from well-known varieties popular among florists, to lesser known specialty flowers. We love being able to provide uncommon and unique flowers. We are especially excited to be experimenting with native perennials that make excellent cut-flowers, but also function as pollinator plants and help us preserve native plants. There is a lot of interest in sustainably and locally grown food, and flowers are really an extension of this movement. We saw a need in the area for a local flower farm, as there are very few sources for truly fresh, sustainably grown flowers.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as being able to live happily, healthily, financially comfortable, and in line with my ethics. We want to run a business that is environmentally conscious, creative, and personal. We want to challenge the mainstream culture of mass-production and monotony. A successful business to me is one that is self-sustaining and functions smoothly, but also one that challenges us mentally, keeps us physically active, allows us to work outdoors, be our own bosses, and contributes something unique to the community.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Shauna Veasey Photography

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3 Comments

  1. Margot Ducloz

    January 28, 2018 at 2:21 pm

    Great article; Congratulations and continued success!
    Margot (Kelly) Lee Ducloz

  2. Suzanne Ullrich

    January 29, 2018 at 1:20 am

    How charming! Must say I’m a bit jealous! Best of luck with all of your future endeavors!

  3. Nancy Embry

    February 14, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    Congratulations Carroll and Richard on your growing business and the creative, sustainable model you are building!

    So happy for you,

    Nancy Webb Embry

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