WHY IS LOCAL, organic and seasonal a concern with food but not flowers? It's true we don't eat stems and petals like we do strawberries and tomatoes. But we bring flowers into our homes, set a bunch on the dining-room table or next to where our kids eat breakfast. Many cut flowers, whether you buy them at a florist or the grocery store, have been doused in chemicals, heavily packaged and transported halfway around the world. It's ironic that few items we buy are less green than flowers.
Which is where Jello Mold Farm comes in, with its organic flower farming. Diane Szukovathy and Dennis Westphall bought property near Mount Vernon eight years ago, lured north by a 1908 farmhouse. And what about the unlikely name? "We collect everything," says Szukovathy, including dozens of old Jello molds that decorate the farmhouse and outbuildings.
The couple started planting an orchard with the goal of running a Community Supported Agriculture farm. But somewhere along the way, Szukovathy read "The Flower Farmer" by Lynn Byczynski, and the seed was planted. "Growing flowers is four times the work for the dollar as landscaping, but I say bring it on," says Szukovathy. She and Westphall weed by hand, layer on compost, dig in fish scraps. "Our flowers are of phenomenal quality because we take care of the soil," says Westphall simply.
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