Chloe Roy is a successful ecological flower grower, flower farming instructor, and founder of the groundbreaking start-up Floramama. After working with Jean-Martin Fortier at Les Jardins de la Grelinette for two years, she was inspired to apply her newly acquired skills in human-scale agriculture to floriculture. Chloe studied cut flower production with Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers and learned floral arranging from Sarah Ryhanen of New York-based Saipua. She launched Floramama, Quebec's first biointensive flower farm, in 2014. Since then, Floramama has grown to provide full-time employment for several women while delivering bouquets to over 550 annual subscribers and selling to the public through farmers markets, to florists and designers, to small local shops and a large organic grocery store chain, as well as arranging flowers for weddings and events, turning Floramama's 1.5 acres of flowers into a $380,000 annual business. Chloe lives and farms in Frelighsburg, Quebec.
Stunning photographs compliment this practical guide, creating a balance of beauty, usefulness, hands-on advice, and inspiration. Flower growers will consider this a key text worth reading and keeping. —Library Journal Floramama by Chlóe Roy is as breathtaking as the blooms it celebrates. I'd treasure it for the photography alone, yet within its pages lies a garden of wisdom—practical, generous, and deeply inspiring. With grace and clarity, Chloe Roy guides both the smallest backyard grower and the aspiring flower farmer from seed to arrangement, weaving beauty with know-how at every step. This is a book that doesn't just inform; it inspires. I loved every page and finished it eager for spring, ready to get my hands in the soil and grow more flowers than ever before. —Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist and author Having had the pleasure of visiting Floramama Farm, I love how Chloé has translated her work in the field into an accessible blueprint so anyone can follow her recipe to create a beautiful and profitable flower farm. It's so important that she takes readers all the way from considerations before starting the farm to how and where to sell the blooms, because this gives readers the tools to establish a profitable business, not just grow flowers. Because though the business aspect may not be as sexy as the blooms, a solid foundation in the business of farming is what will keep readers growing for years to come. —Andrew Mefferd, Editor and Publisher, Growing for Market magazine and podcast What strikes me about Chloé's beautiful work is the all-encompassing, wholistic approach: it's not just about flowers, it's about the relationships with the women she works with, her relationship to seasonality, and a deep integration and honoring of the all of the life-world systems that make a beautiful flower—or business—possible. —Sarah Ryhanen, Saipua Chlóe Roy has woven together cutting-edge growing techniques with her own creativity to design a beautiful and productive farm. This is the kind of book that I like—full of super-practical knowledge gleaned from direct experience, with illuminating images. If you want to set up a successful small-scale flower farm, I highly recommend reading this book. —Ben Hartman, author, The Lean Farm and The Lean Micro Farm So you consider yourself a pretty good gardener and you grow some great flowers. Now it's time to take it to the next level and become a professional. This is the book that will take you there. —Jeff Lowenfels, Lord of the Roots. Author, Teaming with Microbes and DIY Autoflowering Cannabis. Check out the new ""Teaming With Microbes"" podcast, read the Teaming series of books, and plant a row for the hungry. Not just a visually gorgeous book, but one covering all of the details of what it takes to start and run an ecologically focused flower farm. This is a great resource for any aspiring farmer or gardener wanting to grow cut flowers, full of clear, concise instructions for every step of the way from planning it out, planting and harvesting, making beautiful bouquets, and even selling and making the business work if that's your plan. Beautiful photos and content to match! —Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm, author, Compact Farms and Build Your Own Farm Tools