Chesapeake Flower Exchange

We formed to offer beautiful locally & sustainably grown flowers & foliage to retail flower shops & floral designers.

Our founding growers are based in Carroll, Howard, Baltimore, and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.

Location:

Cotton Shed
Park in Little Lot

Hours:

By Appointment Only

Contact:

chesapeakeflowerexchange@gmail.com
chesapeakeflowerexchange.com

Cotton Shed

Apricity Flowers

Apricity Flowers specializes in beautiful blooms grown using sustainable practices in Dayton, Maryland. What started with a love of dahlias in 2014 blossomed into growing flowers from March through November, with a special focus on tulips, peonies, dahlias, and mums. We sell our seasonal flowers and foliage to retail florists, studio designers, and flower-lovers in the Washington-Baltimore area. We also create designs for weddings, parties, funerals, and just-because using our own flowers and that of other local growers. And we teach classes on floral design, including holiday greenery and wreaths. Apricity means the warmth of the sun in winter– the perfect description of yearning for fresh flowers on cold winter days. We are constantly learning and stay abreast of the latest trends in colors and flowers, as well as learning how to grow with respect for the earth. We are members of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, the American Dahlia Society, the National Capital Dahlia Society, and the Independent Floral Designers Association. We have been working for several years with other local growers as an informal cooperative, and we are delighted to have been one of the founders of the Chesapeake Flower Exchange. We look forward to providing the loveliest product for discerning customers.

Contact:

Lisa Derx
apricityflowers@gmail.com

Blue Gables Farm

After working hard for more than 30 years and raising children, Frank and Sessy Hazzard yearned to add a second chapter to their story before they bought the farm, so they bought a farm, built an Amish barn and sowed flower seeds. Lots of flower seeds! Thousands, in fact. The Hazzards believe no community is as strong without local, small businesses. Blue Gables Farm is the culmination of their dream to work together running a local business. Each year they grow thousands of flowers that they cut for sale at their farm, in local markets and via monthly subscriptions. Sessy still works part-time as a self-employed CPA, runs the farm and helps Frank with chores. Farming is in her blood partly because her mom was the first female to get a horticultural degree in Iceland. Sessy grew up surrounded by her mother’s gladiolus, roses and Zinnias, and yearned to recreate that beauty and share it. Frank, a retired fire chief, graduated from Centennial High School and University of Maryland, and has been a resident of Howard County for more than 50 years. He comes from a farming family and feels tied to the land. Farming suits him, he likes to be active and prefers to be outdoors where he can witness the miracle of life.

Contact:

Frank & Sessy Hazzard
support@bluegablesfarm.com

Plant Masters

Plant Masters is a second-generation grower of specialty cut flowers and plants. For over 40 years we have supplied farmer’s markets and floral designers with sustainably grown blooms year-round. We have been recognized by Best of Bethesda and received Grower of the Year twice from the MD Cut Flower Growers Association. Our farm was showcased by WETA’s Maryland Farm and Harvest and hosted tours for the MD Extension Service many times. Plant Masters has been featured in numerous publications including Washington Gardener, DelMarVa Farmer and Florists Review. Located in Howard County’s Agricultural Reserve, we have about 5 acres under cultivation as well as a heated greenhouse and 6 hoop houses allowing production all year. Although we are known for our chrysanthemums and dahlias in addition to our summer annuals we also grow a wide selection of perennials, bulbs and woody stems.

Contact:

Leon Jr, Carroll, Leon III
plantmastersflowers@gmail.com

Bee Haven Farm

I graduated from the University of Maryland with an Agronomy degree and started working with plants immediately after graduation. I was first introduced to sustainable agricultural practices during my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I continued working in the agricultural field for 30 years with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. After all those years of working in agriculture I felt the need to grow crops myself. I wanted to do it in a way that respects the environment. Growing flowers in a sustainable way is my passion. I love seeing customers’ faces as they take their flowers, hold them to their nose and smile. Flowers seem to make everyone happy. I also am a beekeeper and am fascinated with pollinators. It is peaceful to watch bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in my garden. They are so important to a healthy ecosystem. I love the synergy and beauty that flowers and bees present. I am committed to growing in an environmentally responsible way and enhancing pollinator habitat on my property.

Contact:

Patty Engler
beehavenmd@gmail.com

Tanglewood Flower Farm

Tanglewood Flower Farm is an entirely women owned and operated farm. We grow gorgeous flowers using organic, sustainable practices to attract pollinators and to restore the soil. We follow IPM for pest and disease control. Tanglewood Flower Farm is located on the historical Tanglewood property which has been farmed for much of its 150 years. The location is now surrounded by small farms and residential housing and our farm is keeping the agricultural traditions in eastern Montgomery County. Throughout my career as a science and horticulture teacher I taught students about the importance of native plants and pollinators. My education continued as I took classes to manage my school’s greenhouse without harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I learned all I could from the amazing people who grow sustainably to restore our soils and water. In 2016 my husband and I purchased Tanglewood, a small historic farm in Ashton, Maryland in Eastern Montgomery County Maryland. A new journey began! We restored the barns and purchased goats and sheep. Working with a local yoga instructor, Goat Yoga began on the property. Growing flowers followed. In 2019 my friend Lee Paul, a former horticulture teacher, and I began growing specialty cut flowers for farmer’s markets. Anne Thompson has now joined our team. We now sell flowers at three farmer’s markets, to local florists, and for special events and weddings . Our flowers are sustainably grown, using compost from my animals on the fields that have been farmed for 150 years. Although we are not organically certified, we follow organic practices to produce beautiful blooms and woody stems on 2 acres of land, using compost from my animals on the fields that have been farmed for 150 years.

Contact:

Jill Coutts
tanglewoodflowerfarm@gmail.com

Enchanted Flower Farm

Growing up in the rice fields of a small village in Myanmar, farming was the center of my childhood. I bought my property in early 2020 after moving from Michigan, just weeks before what would become known as “The Pandemic”. I planned on going back to my career as a civil engineer after having taken a year off to care for my newborn baby Karina. The “lockdowns” put my plans on hold, leading me to explore new opportunities and passions. Soon, the seed that had been planted in my heart as a child was awakened. I started growing flowers. Each season, my garden grew bigger and bigger. What started out as less than a tenth of an acre has become half an acre. Recently I added a high-tunnel greenhouse to extend my growing season. Over the past seasons, I have been selling flowers to local florists and floral designers in addition to my local farmer’s market. I am committed to sustainable agricultural practices and refrain from using pesticides and chemicals. My main support comes from my husband Dondi, and my daughter Karina. Dondi serves as free labor and Karina helps me arrange flowers. Unfortunately, she keeps the most beautiful ones for herself. Thankfully, we have more flowers than she can keep.

Contact:

Nana Ellis
nana@enchantedflowerfarm.com

Dilly Dally Farm

I was blessed to be raised in the beautiful country of western New York state. I had an idyllic childhood, living in a big Victorian house my grandfather built, attending K-12 in the same school, riding bikes and playing basketball in our huge barn with cousins and best friends. Every year my parents and grandparents would tend huge gardens and fill the larder with canned goods to keep us through the winter. My dad would hunt and fish to fill the freezer. My grandmothers would cut flowers for church. I grew up knowing what hard work and scarred hands looked like.

I went to Grove City college, majored in metallurgical engineering, and met my husband there. During Jeff’s graduate school years at UVA, I taught at a private Christian school, worked for a business that made drapery and did upholstery, and discovered stress is not good for someone with Crohn’s disease.

While living near Niceville, FL, Jeff’s work took him around the world and I stayed home with the kids, heading up Vacation Bible School, managing backstage at community plays, homeschooling, and selling vegetables at the end of the driveway. In 2006 we moved two cats, three dogs, and three kids to Sykesville, MD to be closer to family and Jeff’s job at APL. I took on a third teaching career at Granite Classical Tutorials and watched the kids grow up and out. Just when it looked like we were going to look forward to our retirement years, the irresistible opportunity to start up a flower farm presented itself.

For the last six years I have enjoyed selling my home-grown flowers to friends in the neighborhood and at the farmers market. I have connected with several other growers and they have become my best friends. I am thrilled to be part of the Chesapeake Flower Exchange and look forward to these coming years out in the flower field.

Contact:

Diane Lutz
dillydallygarden@gmail.com

Hedgerow Floral Co

Hedgerow Floral Co is a boutique flower farm in Glyndon, MD. We specialize in sustainability grown flowers and foraged woodland material. Hedgerow employs environmentally sound practices to work along with nature to provide flowers and woodland products to event designers, florists and floral enthusiasts.

I am a farmer/florist and freelance floral designer. I am honored to freelance for some of the most talented designers in the area. From them, not only do I keep up with floral trends, I get a first hand view of what is needed from growers. I love providing out of the ordinary, chemical free products to designers as well as designing with them.

I grew up in Georgia and have lived and experienced gardening in California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and the U.K. Every place provided flowers to study and gardens to explore. Every home, a new place to experiment with new plants and plantings. While living in England, I studied garden design, earning a diploma in Garden Design from Writtle University. I have had the pleasure of learning from some of the best designers and farmer florists in the industry. I am also a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers and Growers.

After spending a lifetime moving, learning, and meeting new people, my husband Ian and I decided to finally plant roots and have a place to call home. Hedgerow Farm seemed like a good place to start. I am the mother of three grown daughters and when not tending to flowers, I devote all of my energy to the Feline Rescue Association, fostering cats and kittens, finding homes or barns for them to live out their happy cat lives.

Contact:

Page McGavisk
Hedgerowfloralco@gmail.com

Gill Hill Flower Farm

Gill Hill Flower Farm is located in West Friendship, Maryland, and was established in 2021. It is 100% female owned and operated. My mission is to provide locally and sustainably grown seasonal blooms for designers and florists, as an alternative choice to the mass-produced and pesticide-laden wholesale imports that have become the norm. In addition to wholesale bunches, I offer local flower subscriptions to friends and neighbors in our community. Sharing the beauty of flowers with friends and family brings me immense joy. The plants are all grown outdoors in the field, and available blooms change with the seasons. I do not spray chemicals or pesticides that could harm our animals, bee hives, or humans. My mission is to educate the public about the realities of the floral trade as they know it, and to be an inspiring example of small-scale, regenerative agriculture for the next generation.

Contact:

Kristi Gill
gillhillblooms@gmail.com