Just outside of Elk Point, S.D., sits a half-acre that blooms with unique flower varieties. Christy Heckathorn is the founder, farmer and florist behind Fleurish Flower Farm. After being a stay-at-home mom and part-time florist for 20 years, she took the plunge into creating her own flower farm.

“I mainly did weddings during my time as a florist, and I’ve always loved flowers,” she says. “I wanted to try something different, and COVID kind of inspired me to look outside of what I was doing now.”

Hecktahorn signed up for an online workshop on flower farming and jumped in with both feet. “I pretty much submerged myself in anything having to do with growing flowers,” she says. “You know I’m 49 years old, and I basically started a new career halfway through my life, and I think that it’s really important to let my kids see that you’re never too old to start something new.”

Now in its second year, Fleurish Flower Farm offers U-pick nights throughout the summer, full-service wedding florals and buckets of blooms to its customers.

Creating the farm

Heckathorn’s husband farms and runs a seed business, and she converted an old alfalfa field into her flower farm. “I’ve been involved in different aspects of the farm, but with this, I was bound and determined to learn how to do it myself,” she says.

She divided the half-acre alfalfa field into six beds, 44 feet wide by 50 feet long. “I’m able to have six 50-foot rows of flowers in each of those beds,” she says.

After her years of experience as a florist, Heckathorn focuses on everything but your average wedding flowers. “You won’t find any roses growing, it’s not the best environment for them to grow, and there’s so many other options,” she says.

Instead, a walk through the flowerbeds will show flowers such as snapdragons, zinnias, amaranth, chocolate lace flower, bells of Ireland, carnation, phlox and dahlias.

“It’s really hard to pick a favorite,” she says. “I really love all flowers because they’re all different textures, different colors” and different times of bloom. “I love dahlias; they’re a little bit more labor-intensive as you have to dig up all the tubers at the end of the season and then store them to regrow next season.”

Agronomics of flowers

Heckathorn says she uses a no-till method for her farm, with no major agronomic issues in their first season of production. “This year we might make a few changes going into our second season,” she says. “I’m going to be brewing my own compost tea to get some nutrients into the beds. We’re not using any chemicals, so people can feel comfortable with our U-pick events, and that challenges me to think outside the box for handling things differently.”

Her growing season begins in March, where she plants all of her seeds for the year. “For the first couple months, I’m starting thousands of seeds,” she says.

The start of the outdoor growing season begins after the last frost date. “I really focus on the varieties that make me more unique, and what I’m able to offer that others aren’t,” she says. “I choose flowers based on three different things. Growing flowers that are considered cut and come again so that they bloom all season long. I also choose blooms based on color, still keeping a variety of colors, but also keeping in mind what our brides will be interested in. Then we keep our growing zone in mind, and make sure we grow flowers that are going to handle the conditions here.”

Community support

With their location right between Sioux Falls S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, Heckathorn says they receive tremendous community support for their events.

“We set aside nights for a schedule for the U-pick events. After last year, we know that people are wanting to come pick their own, and more people are finding out about the farm.”

During the summer, a typical Sunday and Tuesday night for Heckathorn is spent hosting the farm’s U-pick events. Attendees can purchase their flower container, and then gather the blooms of their choosing to take home.

For the wedding side of her farm, Heckathorn says she mostly works with brides in the surrounding area. “I work with a local retailer for some of the flowers, but it’s really neat to be able to provide brides with my own flowers and give them a really unique final product that she can’t get anywhere else,” she says.

With Heckathorn and her husband both being graduates of South Dakota State University, she has found mentorship through SDSU Extension horticulturalist Christine Lang.

“It’s been so nice to have a personal connection with someone. She’ll email and check in on how things are going, and I’ll maybe have questions to ask her too,” Heckathorn says. “That relationship is so nice — to have someone who knows all the things that are important to a new flower farmer.”

To find out more about attending U-pick events or their other services, check out Fleurish Flower Farm or find them on Instagram at @Fleurishfix.