They’re Swimming in Blooms at Fishing Creek Flower Farm
business, fishing creek flower farm, flowers, michael o’brien’s, whitakers,
You might say Fishing Creek Flower Farm started by accident on Michael O’Brien’s seventh-generation family farm in Whitakers.
“We started this business unintentionally,” O’Brien explains. “My grandmother, who lived here, loved flowers, so my grandfather planted a row of them in his vegetable garden for her to cut. Later, my wife Daphne and I kept that tradition alive. One time, we decided to cut some and take them to the farmers market.”
That was 15 years ago. And the rest, as they say, is history.
“Now we’re in over our heads; we’ve got 15 acres of flowers,” O’Brien says with a laugh. “We start with daffodils and tulips in the spring, and then we have irises, peonies, sunflowers, lilies and lots of others. We easily have 75 different kinds of flowers.”
The O’Briens still sell their flowers at the Rocky Mount Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from the first week in April to mid-August. They also offer a home and office delivery service of their unarranged cut flowers.
“Our primary sales avenue is subscription deliveries to homes or businesses of people who love having fresh flowers on a weekly basis,” O’Brien says. “We’re not a florist though; we just provide the cut flowers, and our customers arrange them themselves.”
Fishing Creek Flower Farm delivers to several neighborhoods in Rocky Mount and Tarboro, with normal deliveries made on Mondays and Fridays.
Before becoming a full-time flower farmer, O’Brien worked as a professional photographer. Today, he uses his photography skills to capture flowers in bloom on the farm.
“I always wanted to live on the farm and grow things, and now I’m getting my wish,” O’Brien says. “I enjoy the beauty of the flowers and being outdoors all the time. I love working the land and seeing seeds pop up out of the ground. Being a flower farmer is a fabulous experience.”
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Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Ian Curcio
