The Dirt on Flowers

Dahlias are a “dime a dozen” in parts of Washington—but growers there may also face county inspections before selling tubers. After a trip to meet fellow flower farmers, Lyndsay pushes back on the fear and extra labor surrounding disease prevention, sharing how her farm decides what’s practical at production scale. She and Shannon also compare a new, streamlined fundraiser system with the old-school approach, debate whether a DIY simmer-pot bar is charming or just more work, and offer grounded advice for hiring your first farm support: start with the tasks you need to hand off, then build the role around where you want the business to go.Get your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027Learn more about-Hunter Finn, Independent Farmer Podcast and Mail ClubIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

A spring flower crop can be a costly gamble: thousands of bulbs are only the start if there’s no plan to sell them. In this bonus episode, Lyndsay and Shannon preview DirtCon 2027’s practical sessions on making crops pay. Rebecca Kutzer-Rice of Moonshot Farm will unpack spring crop strategy, Shannon shares why fresh successions—not endless cuts from the same bed—set summer flowers apart, and Lyndsay explains how to choose perennials and woody plants for your market. Jenny Marks brings it all back to the numbers: measuring crop performance so you know what to grow—and what to stop growing.Get your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027Learn more about-Tilth Soil and Ampersand BulbIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

Shelby Wallace started with cedar-fence raised beds and 500 tulip bulbs—and turned an accidental flower-growing hobby into a business built around subscriptions, farmers markets, and workshops while teaching fourth grade. In this Dirt Bag Coffee Chat, Lyndsay and Shannon talk with Shelby about why she’s keeping her farm intentionally small, how a devastating Lisianthus season led her to rethink watering and crop plans, and why tulips are worth growing even when they’re a lot of work. Shelby also shares how family and friends help make the farm possible, how she decides what to say no to, and the patient, consistent marketing that brings customers back year after year.Learn about todays guest Shelby Wallace: Website, Instagram and FacebookGet your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 Learn more about- Barn2Door, Summertime Seed Co, and Homegrown ReachIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

The dahlia dig is finally moving faster—and this year, Shannon’s crew is handling it without her. Lyndsay and Shannon swap notes on what’s making the dig easier, from labeling consistency to numbering pallets so tubers are easier to find later. They also unpack a striking claim circulating online: $40,000 from just 800 square feet of flowers, and why farm income depends on far more than a catchy number. Plus, a coaching conversation with Charlotte Smith sparks a rethink of self-serve flower stands, while Shannon shares a practical trick for repairing a dahlia tuber with painter’s tape.Learn about todays guest Shelby Wallace: Website, Instagram and FacebookGet your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Barn2Door, Summertime Seed Co, and Homegrown ReachIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

A ghost photo, a bride throwing flowers, and a hard-earned goodbye to dry-storing tulips: Lyndsay and Shannon head to the flower-farmer graveyard to bury the crops, habits, and business advice they’ve outgrown. They talk about why big social followings don’t guarantee a profitable farm, how saying no to customers can protect your business, and what changed when they stopped treating long hours as proof of success. Along the way: flower-farming “fantasy” versus the real work, the pressure to compare farms, and the freedom of letting go of full-service weddings—or anything else that no longer fits.Get your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Independent Farmer Podcast, Vitalize Seed Company, and Ampersand Bulb CoIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

A mulch lifter meant for plastic beds unexpectedly helped lift dahlias—and gave these flower farmers a new way to think about getting tubers out of the ground. Lyndsay and Shannon swap notes on what worked, what didn’t, and why borrowing a neighbor’s equipment can be a smart way to test a big investment. They also get into the hidden costs of plastic, drip irrigation and transplanting; the spray-paint trick that keeps dahlia varieties sorted during digging; and the digital field notes that save them from losing hard-won lessons in coffee-stained notebooks. Along the way: fall marketing overload, a rare weekend of real rest, and a weather forecast that could shift tulip plans.Charlotte Smith application link- Profitable Farmer Scholarship - Pre-ApplicationGet your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Independent Farmer Podcast, Vitalize Seed Company, and Ampersand Bulb CoIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

A crop can be beautiful, beloved—and still not earn its place on the farm. Lindsay and Shannon share how a look back at sales changed their growing decisions, including swapping rose lilies for standard lilies. They also unpack why Shannon’s customers couldn’t get enough of gladiolus—even when the first succession flopped—and why adorable Tweety pansies didn’t make the cut. Along the way, they offer a practical way to compare what you planted, harvested, and sold, so next year’s seed orders reflect your customers, your labor, and your actual business needs.Get your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Barn2Door, Vermont Compost Company, and Hunter Finn CreativeIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

Shannon’s farm crew turned Brian’s $88 Amazon ring idea into a real proposal—with local jewelers, input from nearly everyone he knew, and a soccer-game reveal. That’s just one of the season’s stories as Lyndsay and Shannon compare patchy first frosts, wrap up flower-market season, and share what’s next. They also get into a holiday fundraiser rethink that’s already drawing new customers to the greenhouse, why a simple change from “don’t take shirts out” to “please leave shirts in bags” worked, and the realities of building a farm business around family, capacity, and the occasional 1 a.m. bouquet session.Get your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Barn2Door, Vermont Compost Company, and Hunter Finn CreativeIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

Three Porch Farm was on the brink of collapse when the pandemic shut down its farmers markets—then shipping flowers helped save the business and opened up an entirely new model. On The Dirt on Flowers, Mandy and Steve talk with Lyndsay and Shannon about that pivot, why they walked away from weddings and summer crops that looked successful from the outside, and how sales data revealed poppies were their most profitable flower. They also share how Georgia’s heat is reshaping their dahlia plans, the practical trade-offs of farming sustainably, and the hard-won difference between persistence and simply refusing to change.Learn more about todays guest- 3 Porch Farm, Facebook, and InstagramEarly bird tickets available at DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to this episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Heirloom RosesIf you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

An update on the 450-guest wedding called for 23 dahlias in a single centerpiece—and cleanup revealed one very unexpected use for a flower vase. Lyndsay and Shannon swap stories from the event, talk through the exhaustion of an expanded dahlia harvest, and weigh whether to squeeze in one last flower-field sale before frost. They also share practical ways to make a self-serve flower stand more memorable, from kid-friendly scavenger hunts to a QR-code welcome video, and compare their very different approaches to wedding florals—like whether to dye carnations or order pricey orchidGet your early bird tickets for DirtCon 2027 and learn more by listening to episode- EP 299: Inside DirtCon 2027Learn more about- Heirloom Roses If you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now.Did you love today's episode?Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm