About
Hi there, I’m Pat!
I’ve always gardened. Like most people, I mostly grew my favorite vegetables. It wasn’t until I retired from 30 years in education that I got hooked on growing flowers.
On a whim, I opened the book, Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein at Modern General. There and then I decided that I wanted a cut flower garden of my very own. That first year, after forking the soil, transplanting many bushes and adding a few trees, I planted several rows of flower seeds. At the end of the season, I had four flowers. Four flower stems, not four kinds of flowers growing. Wait, what?! Yep. Four.
I had my soil tested and discovered that there was virtually no nitrogen in my soil, alas. The next year, I added raised beds and good soil to the garden—et voila! I grew so many flowers that I ran out of places to put them in the house. I gave many away and let others go to seed. Then I thought that there were probably other people who would love these flowers, too. So, I put an old card table out on the corner and a hand-made sign letting people know I had flowers for sale. And to my absolute delight, people stopped to buy flowers!
It’s a few years later now, and I have a busy flower business from March to November. While it’s a lot of hard work, it is pure joy to see someone’s face light up when handed a fresh bouquet.
support local Growers
Why buy local?
We’re excited about the local flower movement and hope you are too. Did you know that approximately 80% of flowers sold in the US are imported from over 1500 miles away, are often dipped in a chemical solution to ensure they survive the trip over? Did we mention the packaging?!
Luckily, the local flower movement is moving people towards choosing local flowers for many of the same reasons people buy local produce. And as a $40 billion industry, buying from your local growers can have a huge impact on the environment and economy.
Sustainable Practices
Petal Pushers grows the flowers we arrange with, amends the soil with local compost, and uses organic fertilizer and pest reduction practices exclusively. This results in the freshest and healthiest possible blooms. No need to worry about breathing in or handling chemically-laden flowers– you can freely poke your nose into any one of our bouquets with abandon!
Supporting Local
Petal Pushers flowers are grown in your neighborhood without excess packaging or plastics, which lowers your carbon footprint, all while helping to support our community’s small businesses as well as our bees, moths, ants and other necessary pollinators. We love partnering with other businesses and local growers whose practices are consonant with ours. Buying from local growers keeps your hard-earned money in your neighborhood by supporting local families and businesses.
Fresh Aesthetic
Nothing is quite as bewitching as the fragile beauty of a flower hand-picked at its peak. Enjoy freshly harvested local flowers that last longer in your vase.
Why Petal Pushers?
My brother doesn’t remember this, but when I first started sharing the flowers I grew, I had described my little flower stand and said I needed a name for it. I asked him for suggestions. When he didn’t say anything, I figured that was the end of that. The next day, however, he turned to me and said ‘petal pushers.’
I loved it! And I loved the echo from my childhood of ‘pedal pushers,’ now called capri pants. I asked a friend and former colleague to turn my idea into a logo –and voila! I had a name and a logo to go with my flower stand.
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