We bought a new farm!! We are so thrilled to announce we are expanding! Our new farm is in Ventura County, CA where we began our rose farming journey six years ago. Having more land, an improved climate for roses, better proximity to a major airport and 12,000 square feet of flower processing and shipping space will allow us to grow our farm in all the ways we hope. This move is truly for our clients to make their experience with our garden roses an even better one!
We have always strived to be as transparent as possible with you about the challenges of outdoor farming and shipping perishables. After three years of devastating weather where we dealt with extreme heat in the summer and abrupt season ending hard frosts, we decided to cut our losses and move to a more mild climate where our roses will grow for ten months of the year, versus six months. Being so far from a major airport hub was also a huge logistical challenge everyday. We didn’t have the support of our shipping carrier in the area we were farming, so that led us to move within driving distance of Los Angeles International Airport to ensure our roses are expedited. We have an amazing new shipping carrier that’s already going over and beyond for us, so we’re feeling very confident about this year!
Our plans and goals for our 2021 season are enormous! We are growing more garden roses than ever on what might be the most magical property for roses. This season we will continue to grow and harvest our roses at the farm you all know and love in Santa Barbara County while we plant a stunning crop of roses at our new farm. We will move our established roses from Santa Barbara to our new farm next winter. Our production will double and I cannot wait to see the bounty of roses each and everyday.
Selling our farm was bittersweet and such a hard decision because we truly love the property so much. We put so much into the farm and knowing it wasn’t right for our business was a hard reality to accept. When we decided to sell the farm, we wanted it to go to a family that would bring it up to date and preserve its beauty. We couldn’t have lucked out more because a talented, creative family will be calling it home. We can’t wait to see what Geri Hirsch (@gerihirsch) does to make the property her family’s perfect, countryside retreat. She has two little girls and everything feels so right about her girls growing up there. Geri will be making gorgeous, modern updates and we can’t wait to see it all! Be sure to follow Geri to see the transformation. She has great vision and exquisite taste!
Our new farm is a traditional Georgian equestrian estate that will be home to garden roses planted in horse paddocks with boxwoods, topiaries and herbs. Overflowing English rose gardens! Our home needs cosmetic renovations and we are so excited to get started on that process! The traditional architecture of our home is perfect for my grandmillenial style. We are turning our 26-stall horse barn into a state-of-the-art flower processing, cold storage and shipping location for our roses. And, I’m envisioning a small animal sanctuary for rescued miniature horses, miniature donkeys, babydoll sheep and goats for Seraphina. First though, thousands of new roses are arriving in a few weeks and the paddocks need to be prepped for planting!
One of the things most important to us when deciding to move was helping our employees relocate to our new farm. We are nothing without the men and women who love and care for our roses. You will see the same familiar faces you all know and some new ones that are excited to learn from our amazing team!
We hope you will follow along as we create our own picturesque garden rose heaven. If you’ve been following us for awhile you know we’re not afraid of hard work and taking on big projects. It’s going to be a beautiful season of roses and settling into our forever farm!
