Today we’d like to introduce you to Briana Bosch.
Briana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My little farm started just this year. We dug in our first seedling in the spring of 2019, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a rush. I’ve had a near-maniacal search for my perfect career, which has encompassed classical ballet, journalism, administration, brand management, marketing, and public relations. After receiving my MBA from UC-Irvine in California, I moved back to Denver (where I was born) to pursue marketing but was found myself feeling lackluster about the profession. I dreaded spending days behind a computer, watching the hours tick by as I mindlessly ran graphs and crunched numbers in an artificially lit cubicle.
I plodded on until my incredible husband suggested I return to a passion of mine, ballet. I performed with a local company, Ballet Ariel, and did guest artist work for several years until I had my daughter and (once again) retired from the stage.
Struggling to find my place and my passion as a new mom, I leaned heavily on my friends and relationships. Unfortunately, in November 2017, my best friend of nearly 20 years committed suicide after a long battle with prenatal and postnatal depression. I was more lost than ever. Life suddenly felt blank, cold, and devoid of meaning. Everywhere I looked in my home, I was reminded of my dear friend. Nights were spent staring at the ceiling, drifting in and out of restless sleep and nightmares.
My dear husband was supportive of his zombie wife during this time, as I cried regularly and sought meaning in my life. One day, while browsing Zillow on a whim, I stumbled upon a property in Lakewood. It had a lovely, renovated little house, with a run-down and neglected 1.5-acre property attached to it. The next day, I dragged my dad and husband to see it–and they knew we were in trouble. From the little stream of runoff snowmelt that trickles across the property to the small red barn, everything I saw made my heart pitter-patter. Walking the lot, I felt a sense of relief. Peace. Purpose. I felt a vision and, for the first time in a long time, a spark. My dad, now a realtor, grew up on our family farm in Southern Minnesota, a place I have always cherished and loved to be. I realized that this farm–this place, would be MY legacy.
But what would I farm? I had never been any good at vegetables; though I would start the tomato season with gusto, they always seemed to wither on the vine before I harvested them. Flowers, however, I had always been successful at; growing them in small corners of community gardens or on apartment balconies and snipping them here and there. I had arranged flowers for my own wedding and the weddings of several friends and had spent time with a florist learning techniques and methods. Having been obsessed with Erin Benzakein’s Floret blog and book, “Cut Flower Garden,” it seemed like a natural fit. Armed with several books about flower farming and a sense of adventure, my husband and I spent our first winter burning the thousands of cockleburr and thistle weeds that cover the property and studying the dirt, trying to breathe life back into the clay soil of our land.
We are continuing our journey, learning daily from our mistakes and what the earth has to teach us. Our goal is to farm in a way that is beneficial to our surroundings, rather than detrimental. This means leaving in place the half-acre of woods on our property and its preexisting ecosystem, fertilizing with compost rather than synthetic chemicals, and avoiding the use of pesticides to do our part to save our pollinators. It’s been quite an adventure and an intense challenge, but we are so thrilled to be able to take it on together!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Farming is never a smooth road. There is always something: grasshoppers. Earwigs. Japanese Beetles. Bindweed, Cockleburrs. Squirrels. Bunnies. Drought. Hail. Powdery Mildew. Poor soil. Clogged irrigation hoses. All things we’ve encountered in our first season! Rather than letting these issues overwhelm us, we carefully weigh our biggest enemies and start there. Focusing on one issue at a time is much easier than worrying about everything at once.
As an entrepreneurial mother of two girls (a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old), I have my own whole other set of challenges. Giving my babies the time and energy they need, while not letting my farm become overrun with weeds when there aren’t enough hours in the day. I have to get up before they’re awake to harvest and stay in the field after bedtime until it’s dark just to get the bare minimum done to keep the farm running. But I love that my girls get to see me work; they see what I do and that the good things in life aren’t easy. It’s teaching my three years old how to plant seeds, watch them grow, and that we respect nature–she isn’t scared of bees, and I’m so proud of that!
Mom entrepreneurs are torn in so many different directions… expectations to have a career (“you can have it all!”), expectations to NOT have a career (“your children don’t get enough attention from you!”)… there is no perfect answer, but I firmly believe that every mama needs some time to herself, for her sanity and for her happiness. The struggle is achieving balance and not punishing ourselves for feeling inadequate.
Please tell us about Iris Floral Farm.
Our beautiful rural-feel farm setting (in the city!) makes Iris Floral Farm so unique! I’ve toured many flower farms and never seen one like ours. We host workshops and classes in our barn on the property, forage foliage from the woods, and enjoy the expanse of private space that makes our farm feel like a true retreat in the city.
I’ve always wanted to make flowers accessible. For so many, it’s a luxury item to have fresh flowers in the house; I wanted to make it easier for everyone. That’s how the farmstand came about; we stock it almost daily with nosegays (small bouquets) for $5. Flowers don’t have to be huge to make an impact and brighten your environment.
Not only are we providing high-quality flowers in a serene and peaceful environment; we also are following organic practices on our farm (no pesticides, composting our materials, no synthetic fertilizers or preservatives).
What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
I’m lucky to be in a field where women are actually leading the charge. Floral farms are increasingly being started by females, and some of the top industry leaders are women. That said, in the farming community as a whole, we are still a minority. We sometimes aren’t taken seriously–especially because we grow something that can be seen as “dainty” and “precious,” like flowers. If a corn farmer could see how much manual and physical labor we have to put in to plant and harvest, especially as most of us don’t have big equipment and do a lot by hand, I think they’d change their tune!
So many people have questioned my sanity in what I’m doing. In the busy season, I put in at least 40-60 hours in the field (all while the kids are in bed), and this work is not going to make me a millionaire. But when I’m doing it, I’m happy. My advice is to go for it. Even if you have to do it at 4 in the morning before you work your day job–start tomorrow! You can do it, and you will be amazing.
Pricing:
- DIY flower arranging classes starting at $65
- Farmstand nosegay bouquets $5
- Custom arrangements from $20
Contact Info:
- Website: www.irisfloralfarm.com
- Phone: 720-319-0243
- Email: briana@irisfloralfarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iris.floral.farm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/irisfloralfarm/
Image Credit:
Robin Cain Photography
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