From field to vase, locally grown flowers can brighten anyone’s day by Wendy O. Dixon
Seaside is well-known for its farm-to-table and Gulf-to-table food menus, with its food vendors specializing in fresh locally sourced foods. Now a new vendor to the Seaside Farmers Market offers fresh-from-the-field flowers that have been farmed and cared for throughout the flower growing process.
Peach Creek Blooms owners and flower growers Serena Robison and Jonathan Douglas made flowers their business when they moved close to their half-acre farm in nearby Point Washington in 2016. The location was ideal, as they could be close to Serena’s mother, Hilda McDonald, who brings Serena and Jonathan iced tea daily as they toil on the farm. “We wanted her to be surrounded by beauty,” Jonathan says of Hilda. “She always says, ‘the best is yet to come,’ and what could be better than a flower farm?”
From preparing the soil and planting the first seeds, to caring daily for each flower and finally cutting and selling them at the Seaside Farmers Market each week, Serena and Jonathan take charge of every step. “It took us three years to get to this point,” Serena says. “This is our learning year, so we’re getting through this summer to see what challenges we have.”
Peach Creek Blooms is a true farm, not a flower garden, Serena emphasizes. “We’re not florists,” she adds. “We’re a first-source flower grower, working on cultivation and farm crop rotation all season.”
While they are not flower designers, Serena and Jonathan enjoy helping their customers find the best flower arrangement for them, encouraging their customers to take part in making a one-of-a-kind flower bouquet with what is in season and available each week. “We set up a flower bar,” Serena says, “and invite them to touch and smell each flower, taking into consideration what theme a person wants. Or we can make a bouquet for people in a hurry.”
Serena Robison and Jonathan Douglas sell fresh-cut flowers at the Seaside Farmers Market each week.
A stark contrast to short-lived supermarket flowers, Peach Creek Blooms flowers are picked and delivered to the farmers market in the freshest condition possible. The list of flowers includes bachelor buttons, bells of Ireland, dahlias, larkspurs, sunflowers and yarrow, among others. “Dahlias, lisianthus and sun flowers are big summertime flowers,” Serena says. “And we’re getting ready for fall with seedlings that will produce beautiful fall colors.”
Jonathan and Serena sell their flowers exclusively at the Seaside Farmers Market. They chose Seaside because of the unique farmers market culture in the town. “What’s great about Seaside is that it’s a lot of fun,” Jonathan says. “It’s got a good spirit about it. We’re happy to be asked to be there.”
Serena adds that the Seaside Farmers Market has a great quality of vendors. “Everything comes from the local area, not imported,” she says. “We feel like we’re very welcomed and are so happy we’re there.”
Whether a customer is looking for a bold table centerpiece or a heavenly scented gift for a loved one, Serena and Jonathan enjoy helping their customers pick the perfect blooms. “Everyone (in Seaside) has a common commitment to quality,” Jonathan adds. “It’s really great to see how people put them together.”
Peach Creek Blooms is at the Seaside Farmers Market each Saturday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.