Ella King began selling her homegrown flowers at the Owensboro Regional Farmer’ Market in 1999 under the name of Kings Country Gardens. She has served as a mentor to many others in the industry — most notably Beck Bridges with Pink Poppy, who opened her booth at the market this spring.
After 22 years in the field — which can be quite demanding — King has decided to slow down with her production and spend more time with her grandkids. She’s excited to pass the “flower bucket” to Bridges and Pink Poppy because she knows there will always be a demand from customers at the market.
“I can’t give it up because I enjoy it so much — I just can’t do the volume of work that’s required anymore. The weather is tough and I’m just going to do and grow enough to make me happy,” King said. “I’m happy (Bridges) is there and I want her to succeed — there’s enough business for everybody.”
King’s love for flowers stems from her grandmother, a Greenville native who always grew her flowers to use for special occasions. King’s ultimate inspiration to develop the hobby came after a visit to Texas when she was searching for flowers to put by her grandparents’ graves.
“When I pulled up in front of the florist, there was a gentleman a block away selling flowers out of a bucket. When I saw him setting there — something clicked,” King said. “I always had flowers that I just cut and gave away. I went down the street and talked to him for 45 minutes — he answered every question I had.”
King started small, only visiting the market three to four times per year until she retired from her full-time position at the Green River District Health Department. Organizers at the market were skeptical because no one had ever attempted to sell flowers before, but her success only grew from there.
“I had a Ford Taurus, a card table, and an umbrella — I sold $25 worth that first day and I was in,” she said. “I was doing cartwheels because I thought if my grandmother could see me making money selling flowers, she would be so happy.”
Bridges’ desire to enter the flower business stems from her lifetime love for flowers and her infatuation with Pinterest.
“I’ve always loved flowers and grown them for myself. I started giving them to family and friends … I did a couple of weddings for my nieces as a gift and it really grew from there,” Bridges said. “I read an article about small micro-farms and it caught my interest.”
Micro-farms seek to get the maximum amount of production out of a small place which means there is a constant cycle of cutting what is available at the time and planting for the future. Bridges operates a 4,000-square-foot plot and focuses on “cut” flowers that are suited for life in a vase.
She planted her first batch of flowers in the fall through a process called overwintering where she built low tunnels and added a frost cloth over the top of the flowers. The flowers first germinate and sprout in the fall while the frost cloth protects them from the elements. Then, when temperatures rise in the spring, the flowers will “take off.”
“I planted several flowers this fall … my first bloom was Feb. 25 of this year,” Bridges said. “I realized that I was going to have a lot of flowers this spring so I began offering hand-tied bouquets in bunches and pre-arrangements in vases at the Farmer’s Market.”
Bridges credits King as an excellent source of information and an inspiration to her.
“Ms. Ella King is a wonderful person — she’s helped me with a lot of information,” she said. “I went to her when I was thinking about getting started and she’s always there to answer questions and to point me in the right directions — she’s so good to me.”
King still frequents the Farmer’s Market on occasion though she primarily operates by appointment. She wants to ensure her customers that peonies will remain a constant. Bridges and her Pink Poppy stand are at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 8-12 a.m. to offer sunflowers and an assortment of other cut flowers.
The Link LonkJune 28, 2021 at 12:17PM
https://www.owensborotimes.com/features/community/2021/06/king-slowing-down-production-excited-to-pass-flower-bucket-to-pink-poppy/
King slowing down production, excited to pass 'flower bucket' to Pink Poppy - The Owensboro Times
https://news.google.com/search?q=Flower&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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