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Friendship Flower Farm has successful first year

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An array of colorful field cuttings are harvested from Friendship Flower Farm's gardens to sell at Guttenberg's Farmers Market. (Photo submitted)

By Caroline Rosacker 

Beautiful flowers enhance our lives in so many ways. A start-up business cultivating a variety of showy blooms can be a challenge, especially during a drought year. 

Holly Dickson, proprietor of Friendship Flower Farm, reports having a very successful first year, despite challenging growing conditions. 

Dickson was born in Middle, Tenn., and raised on a tobacco, beef and hog farm in Lyles (40 miles, as the crow flies, southwest of Nashville). After serving in the Navy, she attended college at the University of Idaho, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Wildlife Resources. She and her husband, Allan, live in Guttenberg with their three daughters, Eleanor, Daisy and Audrey. 

The horticulturist is grateful to be living in Guttenberg among so many experienced growers with fabulous hints and advice. She also appreciates northeast Iowa's fertile soil composition. "The dirt on the farm is a great loam soil that holds moisture well," commented Dickson. "I have had to irrigate out of the creek a couple of times, but I find mulching with leaves or grass clippings to be a far more efficient use of time."

Dickson taps into the natural landscape and accompanying wildlife for inspiration. "The area surrounding my field is native hardwoods with a shrubby thick undergrowth," she noted. "It is home to cardinals, juncos, hummingbirds, sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, and turkeys, all cheering me on from the bleachers. They often motivate me to put in overtime until past dark, then the barred owls chant from the forest asking, 'Who, whoo cooks for you?' Then I realize I’m hungry and have to head home." 

A desire to be closer to Allan's parents prompted the couple's move to the upper Great Plains from the Pacific Northwest. "I really enjoy being outdoors – knowing we were moving to Guttenberg I brainstormed on what I could do with my time," she explained. "When we would visit my husband’s hometown over the years I would observe so many successful crops that grew on a large scale. I wanted to approach the land in a less invasive manner, no till, and without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides."

Dickson, a lifelong admirer of fresh cut flowers, came up with a business plan. "I asked myself, 'What would Martha do?' Dahlia’s popped to mind, always having fresh cut flowers in the house, which led me to remember that my father-in-law had mentioned that I would be able to use a pasture, where he had previously fed cows during the winter, for a garden," said Dickson.

The energetic mother of three appreciates the community's support. "The community has blown me away with kindness and support!" she exclaimed. "Blooming Branches has been very welcoming and supportive, buying our flowers by the stem or bunch and understanding when a crop under performs, which is a reality when first starting out. Divine Current Wellness Center in Guttenberg is another local business that offers our bouquets."

Weekend open-air market shoppers may also be familiar with Dickson's spectacular bouquets. "Farmer’s Market has been another fun outlet for our product," she noted. "The other vendors and regular customers are so supportive and encouraging.  I really can’t say enough about their camaraderie and enthusiasm for the flowers and diversity it brings to the Saturday market."

Dickson has plans to slowly expand her flower gardens one small step at a time. "We put in many peony roots this fall. In the meantime, while those take a few years to get up to production, we’ve added more perennials and beds to accommodate even more tender annuals. This fall we are putting in a couple hundred bulbs and we’ll have ranunculus this spring," she reported. Dickson is thankful for her family's involvement in the business. "This could not be done without the whole family lending a hand; from the ground to grow in, to the loads and loads of compost and wood chips hauled in by my husband and spread out by the children," she said with a smile. "Eleanor is driving now so she will be a delivery driver that will help expand our reach to florists and designers outside of Guttenberg."

Many challenges presented themselves throughout the growing season. First on the list was converting a pasture to a plantable field with little or no tilling. A shorter than average growing season added another hurdle. "We had a hard frost in late May down at the farm that wiped out a three-week old crop of hardy annuals," she said. "I had removed the frost cloth so that was on me. It’s humbling to work on Mother Nature’s schedule but so rewarding when it’s done right, and it’s even better when the family works together," she concluded with gratitude.

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