Golden sunflowers, red zinnias, orange marigolds. These are a few of the blooms that raise their bright heads in Sarah DuBose’s field in July. “We call them the McDonald’s flowers, because of their colors,” says Sarah, who, with her husband, George, owns Sassafrass Flower Farm in Easley.
From May through October, you can always find something lovely growing here. In spring, royal-blue delphinium, pale peach roses, fragrant sweet peas, and so much more create a kaleidoscope of color on the farm’s two acres. In the fall, hefty dahlias and heirloom mums add drama to the bucolic scene.
Sarah, a former respiratory therapist, met George DuBose in 2015 when she started volunteering one day a week on his first small vegetable plot in West Greenville. From there, a romance blossomed, and two years later, Sarah and George were married and digging in on the five acres they purchased in Easley.
Although their organic farm’s main focus was initially vegetables, they intermingled flowers among the crops. “We planted our first flower in April 2018,” Sarah says, pointing to a spot by the split-rail fence. Then it was sunflowers. “Anyone can grow a sunflower,” she claims. “Then came zinnias . . . and it all snowballed from there.”
Turning Sassafrass Flower Farm into a Blooming Business
Eventually, the couple realized that for the amount of work required, flowers would yield a better living than organic vegetables did. So, in 2018, they started Sassafrass Flower Farm as a full-time business. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” Sarah recalls. “I didn’t have any avenue to sell the flowers [at the time].”
That first year involved a steep learning curve, but after some trial and error, Sarah and George got the hang of flower-growing. Today, they sell their blooms in retail shops and to flower designers for weddings and other occasions, as well as hosting myriad events on the farm, from evening U-Picks and kids’ experiences to flower-arranging classes under the outdoor pavilion.
As with any type of farming, raising flowers is hard work. Sarah starts prepping her flower beds in early February and the work doesn’t stop until the last plant goes in the dirt in early December. Then there’s the weather. “It’s something you cannot control,” Sarah admits. “If it rains for five days, you just have to sit and watch. Or if a storm comes through with hail [that destroys certain flowers], you just have to be prepared to plant something in their place.”
The joy comes in being able to share the farm and field with others. “I love to see new folks out here,” she says. “I get excited just seeing their faces. I just want people to come out and pick flowers and have fun.”
Flower Power
In addition to looking lovely in an arrangement, many flowers are edible. Here’s a short list of blooms to add pizzazz to your plates.
- Amaranth
- Batchelor buttons
- Calendula
- Nasturtiums
- Nigella
- Pansies
- Snapdragons
- Sunflowers
- Violets
- Yarrow
Picking Favorites
Sarah says her favorite flower varies with the season, but any time of year, “I love a sturdy workhorse of a flower. I truly respect a sunflower, because I can throw out a seed . . . and it’s so resilient.”
255 Alex Dr., Easley; for information about U-Picks and other on-farm events, go to sassafrassflowerfarm.com
