Local Blooms: Young NoVA Native Launches Flower Farm, Bouquet Business

VIENNA, VA – A new small business wants to bring some bloom to neighbors in the Vienna area.

Red Canoe Flower Farms is approaching the end of its first summer, and founder Paige Hall, 22, spoke with Patch about what she's providing to the community, how she hopes to expand and the learning curve of launching a new business.

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Hall has been planting and harvesting with her business in mind since last year, and she launched Red Canoe Flower Farms in June. She's been selling cut flowers and arrangements at the EatLoco farmer's market in Arlington, Cafe de Vienna and Adeler Jewelers in Falls Church, as well as offering porch pick-up bouquets in Vienna and Falls Church. She's also held pop-up stands at Cafe de Vienna and Katie's Coffee, with more announced regularly on her social media sites.

Hall currently has a summer field of zinnias, celosia, cosmos, sunflowers, snapdragons, dahlias, feverfew and chamomile, she says, which she uses in bouquets and floral designs for sale at her farmers markets and pop-ups. She's steadily building her supply of blooms and learning as she goes, she says.

"The growing and selling side has been a real learning curve, and I've gotten a much better handle on it as the summer's gone on," she told Patch over email. "This summer has essentially been my soft launch, introducing myself, sharing the process, ups and downs included."

Hall has been documenting her experiences as a new business owner on her Instagram account, which highlights successes as well as troubles, like this spring's heat and heavy rain, how popsicle sticks can let gardeners down and battles with beetles.

As the cut-flowers business grows, she plans to plant and harvest more varieties and expand into bouquet subscriptions, selling flower seeds and doing wedding floral design. She also envisions welcoming people to her Waterford plot, hosting self-pick days, bouquet workshops and other events. Hall's farm plot is on her grandparents' land in Waterford. "It's such a beautiful space, and I'd love to share that with people," she says.

Hall's love of flowers was planted by her family. "I grew up gardening with my dad and my grandma, and always loved it," she said. But running a farm business is a far cry from gardening. Hall says it was a book that gave her the blueprint she needed.

One day at college, she stumbled upon the book, "Small Farm Big Dreams," by Jennifer and Adam O'Neal of Pepper Harrow Flower Farm. "That was the moment I thought, hmm, maybe I could actually do this," Hall says.

She also has some small business role models very close to home: her family owns Adeler Jewelers in Great Falls. "My mom, aunt and grandfather have been an invaluable resource on the business side of things," Hall says. Her own background is in science, so having their advice and experience has been both helpful and inspiring.

She says she was nervous about going into business at first, but she's building one step at a time. "Having grown up here and built a lot of connections through swim coaching, plus the momentum of people wanting to buy local and support small businesses, made this area feel like a great fit," Hall says.

Now, she's open to growing in many directions. "I'm excited to keep learning about the people in this area, what they're looking for, and how I can help with their floral needs."