Questions folks often ask:

My first flowers of the year are usually anemones and Iceland poppies in our unheated high tunnels that bloom during February. They are followed by narcissus, hellebores, hyacinth, tulips, and forsythia later in February and March. It all depends on how much rain and/or cloudy days we have in the late winter, and if we have any deep freezes. Every year is a new adventure with Mother Nature!

Oh yes! We live in USDA gardening zone 8A, which has so many varieties of flowers blooming for a lot of the calendar year. Obviously you will have many (many) more choices in spring and fall, but summer flowers are amazing too. Between November and late February, flower choices will be limited, but you could always choose dried flowers. Or a minimalist bouquet with a few sweet varieties (tulips! Just greenery and herbs!) Keep in mind that most flowers not grown locally are flown in refrigerated cargo jets from Central America, Holland, or California, and there’s a huge carbon footprint attached to these imported blooms. Plus lots of chemicals. Ick.

Trim the bottoms of your stems with clean, sharp snips every couple of days, and change the water when it gets mucky. Flower food (in the little packets like you get from most florists) also helps, or a small drop of bleach. And as individual varieties start to give up the ghost, pull them out– don’t throw out the whole arrangement because a few shorter-lived flowers wilt.

I am no longer delivering single arrangements, but I have bulk flowers available from mid-March until October. If you want to buy blooms by the bunch or by the bucket, just text me at 919-452-3640 or email me at lisa@firesidefarm.com. If you can pick up an arrangement at the farm, I can usually accommodate orders with 1-2 days’ notice. Every week is a little different, so it doesn't hurt to ask!

Nope. Since I provide flowers for events many weekends of the year, I am unable to attend any of the local farmers’ markets as a vendor. But most all of the markets have amazing flower farmers selling their blooms when they’re in season. Check out Humble Umbel Farm in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Bluebird Meadows in Durham, Split Acre Farm in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and Rodwell Roots in Elon. Spring Valley Flowers in Carrboro also usually has bouquets and arrangements at their roadside stand.

Email me as soon as you know your date, even if it’s a couple of years out. I often book weddings more than a year in advance, so the popular dates (April/May + October) get taken first. Then I’ll call you and we’ll discuss what you’re envisioning. If we’re a good fit, I’ll send you my floral agreement and you’ll put down a save-the-date deposit. Then we hone your flower design plan until it’s just right. There’s more info here.

Unfortunately no, not any more. But if you are a full-service client and want family or friends to arrange some of the flowers as part of the larger package, this is something I still offer.

If the timing is right and the weekend (or day) isn’t already claimed, I may be able to make your bouquet our boutonnières or a wearable. It’s worth asking, so send me an email- especially if it’s not spring or fall peak season.

There are so many ways to keep your flowers as a memento after your wedding. You can dry them yourself, hire an artist to create a framed piece with your deconstructed bouquet, or get it preserved it in resin. Some of my favorite folks who offer this service are Moon Garden Craft, Heba Salama, Bonnie’s Blooms, Pine Pressed Flowers, and Olive Branch Studios. If you are interested in a grapevine wreath of dried flowers from your bouquet, I can make one of those for you.

The best ways to cut costs are to keep your guest count low and your wedding party small. That way you avoid the added costs of extra bridesmaids’ bouquets and lots of centerpieces for all of those tables. Some people also use their bridesmaids’ bouquets as decor on tables after the ceremony to avoid buying as many centerpieces.

Absolutely. Please let me know in advance, as I will choose the blooms specifically for these purposes, and may have to order extras. If you’d like me to decorate the cake with flowers, please let me know in advance about that since I do need to charge that for design work.

Make sure to get some “details shots” or a “flat lay” before the wedding with your invitation, your ring, your bouquet on a lovely velvet couch. And don’t forget about the arbor, the centerpieces, the flower girl’s crown. When you get your wedding gallery of photographs back a couple of months after the wedding, those flower pix will pop and add so much joy and color to the photos. The flowers are art! You’ll have these photos forever, so make sure you accentuate all of the planning you put into every sweet detail of the day.

I wish, because that would be so much fun and we may try that in the future. But for now, wedding and growing season is usually too busy for on-farm events.

As long as your fridge doesn’t have fruit or veggies in it! Little known fact: ripening fruit releases a gas called ethylene, which damages flowers and causes them to prematurely wilt. A cool wet paper towel on top of your bouts is a great way to keep them fresh, or in a cooler. Any bouts you buy from me will have been conditioned in my walk-in flower cooler to last all day, but if your wedding is outside on a hot day, this can effect longevity of all of your flowers.

Keep them in water before and after the ceremony. And if you are getting photographs taken outside on a bright sunny day, bring the vase with you to keep the flowers fresh between shots. During cocktail hour, designate someone to place the flowers into the vases which have been pre-placed on your guest tables, and make sure to adjust them if any blooms or filler have wilted or broken off. Think like a photographer!

All greenery costs more than you think. Especially if you are going for a very lush effect, lots of garlands, or a large greenery or floral installation. The most cost-effective greenery is that which you forage locally or grow yourself in abundance. We grow a lot of eucalyptus, but still have to buy extra because so many people want it in their designs. Italian and Israeli ruscus hold up best and look great in arbors out of water, but they are pricey. 

I generally do not design with flowers that wilt or bruise easily like pansies or daylilies. Hydrangeas require special care and post-harvest handling techniques. Roadside flowers, although lovely, are often not the best varieties to use for cut-flowers. I am careful when using lilies, delphinium, larkspur, and other varieties that are poisonous if consumed by people or animals. 

If you want flowers from Alaska or Holland, peonies can be found in the fall, but they are very expensive to ship by the stem, and you can’t guarantee their quality. For October weddings, I recommend dahlias and heirloom chrysanthemums as your focal flowers. Peonies only bloom in this zone in the late spring. Here is a portfolio of Fall Florals that may spark some inspiration for your wedding.

I do not offer delivery at this time. If I’m providing your wedding flowers, then delivery and installation/set-up is of course part of my services, but I am not able to deliver bouquets or arrangements.

It’s usually around $500. Or 10% of the projected cost if I’ll need to buy a lot of the flowers from other farms or my local distributor (off-season)

It depends on where the wedding is, and what kinds of flowers you’re wanting. I generally take off January and February to focus on growing, but I can be convinced to design for a winter wedding if we’re a good fit.

Not without an appointment. We are a working farm, which means we generally work 7 days a week and cannot stop for drop-ins. Plus, the farm is our home and we live on a private road. We do not offer tours at this time. Also, please do not bring dogs to the farm. Our Great Pyrenees take their job very seriously and do not know that other dogs exist!