Growing Flowers

Niki Irving is the flower farmer and florist of Flourish Flower Farm, a 9-acre specialty cut flower farm nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Niki grows countless varieties of cut flowers and foliage and creates seasonally-inspired designs for weddings and special events. Niki loves growing, nurturing, and creating beauty and believes that flowers make the world a more beautiful, joyful place. She is an active member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and Slow Flowers, and has been featured in numerous national publications. She sells her flowers wholesale locally and nationally, and hosts floral design and flower farming workshops on her farm. Niki tends the flowers alongside her husband William and their menagerie of animals.

“Irving, founder of Flourish Farm, debuts with a winning guide to creating a flower garden. ‘My hope is that this book will save you a few errors of your own,’ she writes, and welcomes newbies by translating gardening jargon (defining such terms as ‘hardiness zone’ and, among other things, outlining the difference between annuals and perennials) and explaining how to choose an ideal garden spot based on ‘the path of the sun.’ Her advice follows a garden’s life cycle, from planning, planting, and tending to harvesting, and each chapter begins with a short list of requisite tools. A chapter on ‘Planning What to Plant,’ for example, lists measuring tape, flags, and a notebook, and involves learning what flowers thrive in one’s climate and keeping a journal to note dates of extreme weather and the number of days to germination. A section on harvesting features step-by-step flower arranging projects, while ‘Putting the Garden to Bed’ is a ‘bittersweet’ endeavor at the beginning of fall that involves removing support nets and stakes, as well as pulling up plants. Irving also covers such gardening basics as weeding (‘elbow grease’ is recommended over chemicals), irrigating, fertilizing, and composting. Anyone wanting to get started with a flower garden will find plenty of expert guidance here.”—Publishers Weekly“This is not your average how-to guide; the stunning array of photographs set the scene, making this book lovely to see as it is to read.”—Seattle Book Review“Growing Flowers by Niki Irving is the perfect book for anyone looking to grow beautiful, plentiful flowers. Irving is a farmer and florist for Flourish Flower Farm in Asheville, NC. She also makes floral arrangements for weddings and other events, so her advice is topnotch. Owing to the book’s gorgeous photography on every page, it can also be a great addition to a gardener’s coffee table—or anyone who wants a colorful book out on display in their home. Each page is extremely informative, but also a great flip-through if you just want to look at the images. This book provides any and all information you could need for starting your own flower garden. Irving provides all the basics first and foremost—growing climate, garden plots, soil, compost, and more.”—Washington Gardener Magazine“It is for anyone who wishes to grow flowers, whether by setting up a farm or simply establishing a micro garden. The tips and tools are all here in Niki Irving’s generously shared words and beautifully arranged pages—and so is the inspiration.”—Splash Magazine