Garden Bee Flower Farm LLC
I have been growing dahlias since 2017. I sold blooms to florists until I retired in 2022. In 2016, I sold sunflowers and zinnias to nine local florists in the Greensboro, Kernersville, and Winston-Salem area. I was so happy that local florists were excited to have fresh locally grown flowers. The following year I added celosia cockscomb, celosia plumes, ageratum, dahlias, eucalyptus, lisianthus, yarrow, and zinnias. I also tried some other cut flowers but narrowed the flowers down to those eight cut flowers. Besides selling to florists, I added some wedding designers especially since I had increased the number of dahlias I had been growing. I grew over 200 varieties in 2020. I really enjoyed being self-employed and growing flowers for a living. In 2020, I sold dahlias to Mayesh Wholesale Florist in Charlotte, NC. I sold 500 to 1000 dahlias a week to them. I appreciate all the local florists who bought my flowers. I no longer sell blooms to the public or local florists.
I am a member of the American Dahlia Society, and I belong to my local dahlia societies. I exhibit some of my dahlias at the Carolinas Dahlia Society show in Cashiers, NC. I am learning more about showing and exhibiting dahlias. I am an American Dahlia Society Candidate Judge. In 2026, I did join the Knoxville Dahlia Society in Knoxville, TN. I look forward to learning more about exhibiting dahlias through this southern state group of dahlia lovers!
After I began growing a few dahlias from seed in 2019, I became fascinated by their diversity, and my focus gradually shifted toward cultivating unique dahlia cultivars from my own garden. Each year, I save dahlia seeds from my dahlia field and evaluate the dahlia seedlings. I am looking for the cultivars that produce long stems for cutting, have solid bloom attachment, great vase life, tubers store well, and are floriferous. I am also looking for seedlings that have a vivid or unusual color that stands out. It is a long process as it takes three to four years of evaluation to make sure the new dahlia cultivar is consistent in form and color with stable genetics.
