MONTGOMERY COUNTY — While snow is falling, farm-grown flowers may be the last thing on your mind, but at Fresh Cut by Shannon Family Farms, they are working hard to get ready for the 2025 season.
This Montgomery County farm allows you to pick your own flowers through the summer season.
"Most people just think that they can go out there and the plants grow in a short amount of time, like a few weeks, but it really takes months for them to be able to grow," said Amarah Shannon.
The entire Shannon family is involved in the flower farm. Jonathan and Kelly Shannon own the farm, and their three daughters are learning the ropes.
Before any plants go into the ground, the family decides what flowers to order.
"I have a bunch of different seed catalogs," explained Sophia Shannon. "Throughout the fall and winter, we kind of reflect on the past season and look at some of the types of flowers that lasted longer and looked really good in the vases."
Seeds are ordered either at the end of the year or the very beginning of the year so that they arrive and are ready for planting in early February.
The family saves a calendar from each year, which details the high and low temperatures of the day. These calendars and notes help determine when the different types of flowers can be moved outdoors.
The end goal is to get the flowers outdoors in the fields, where they can be picked, but there are several stops before then.
The family has a high tunnel and a greenhouse.
The heated greenhouse has plenty of work space available for seeds to be planted, watered, and eventually moved to heat mats to help spring them to life.
The high tunnel is a more recent addition and was part of a grant from the USDA.
"It is where we can have a season extension. You basically get a month before and a month after our season to be able to plant in there," explained Amarah Shannon.
Two extra months of growth can mean a lot for farmers since the flower season is not very long.
"It's important to be able to get the most out of our actual growing season, and really be able to use that short amount of time that we have most efficiently," continued Amarah Shannon.
The high tunnel is not heated but can warm up quite a bit, even in the wintertime. This means the plants can be transferred from their trays in the greenhouse, and actually planted in the holes that run along the tunnel ground. This gets them into the ground and growing earlier than if they were transferred right away to the field outdoors.
Plants cannot go safely outdoors until the time of the last freeze, which is often in late May.
"Longer growing plants, like lisianthus, where you plant them in December and they don't bloom until July, you're able to go ahead and get those started, and get those at the beginning of your season," Amarah shared.
This winter, the family experimented with growing snapdragons in the tunnel, to see if they could get them blooming earlier than other farms this summer.
As if the flowers were not enough work, there is also a lot of maintenance that needs to be done around the farm through the winter. Jonathan Shannon proudly showed off the tractor he was restoring.
All the maintenance in the winter is important so that the family is able to get to work and not miss a day when it is time for the flowers to get in the ground and grow.
You can learn more about the farm, and find out when they will open for the summer season,by clicking here.
