Roadside Flower Stand Basics

Local flowers do not have far to go from field to vase, yet a lot rides on where and how growers meet their customers. Farmers' markets have long been one of the most dependable outlets. They let newer growers show off their crops, try out varieties and prices, and build a following, and they act as inexpensive incubators for a young farm business. A well-run market also creates a lively community feel that draws shoppers who enjoy the atmosphere and the chance to buy flowers (and food) grown close to home.

Markets have costs, though, in time, travel, labor and unsold flowers, and not every grower can justify them. As farms grow and change, owners start adjusting their business models and asking whether there are better ways to sell directly to customers than the weekly market.

To explore on-farm retail and what goes into setting up a farm stand or farm store, the Hensley's team gathered experiences from five flower farms in the Slow Flowers community, drawing in part on interviews published in a recent book profiling flower farmers . The farms are:

• a husband-and-wife team at a Vermont flower farm (Champlain Valley)
• a farming couple at a Georgia flower farm (northeast Georgia)
• a farming couple at an Ohio flower farm (central Ohio)
• a grower at an Alaska dahlia farm (Mat-Su Valley)
• a family at an Oregon flower and herb farm (Willamette Valley)

We asked why they opened a stand and what they gained from it, along with their advice on location and parking, insurance and security, hours and days, staffing versus self-service, and which items sell best.

Their stands look different and serve different purposes, but all five growers say on-farm retail gives them a level of control a farmers' market cannot. When it works well, a farm stand tends to mirror the owners' way of life and adapt to what a family farm needs.

The Georgia growers' main advice is to be willing to try several versions, because what works on another farm may not work on yours. Test an idea until you find what fits, drop it if it doesn't, and keep focusing on what your customers like and want more of.

Beyond adding income, a farm stand can serve several other purposes, as the sections below show.

Benefits of Selling Flowers Roadside

A farmers' market has a festive feel that builds friendships among growers and shoppers. The Alaska grower still misses the relationships she formed at her local market when she was starting out. In 2022, though, she moved to selling on the farm, turning a repurposed storage shed into a flower stand. For her, the market took too much time and money, and giving it up was hard because she valued the other vendors and the sense of community. She has found a similar close connection with customers at the stand, and she stresses that a stand can be shaped to suit any farm.

The Ohio growers paused market sales when the pandemic closed their market along with most others in North America. They decided to see whether customers would come to them. Their first stand was a small homemade lean-to with buckets of flowers and potted lilies, which did not shelter the flowers well enough from the weather.

After several versions, they now sell from a shed-sized farmstand. Most of their volume goes to grocery stores through a wholesale program, so the stand helps them stay connected to the people who actually buy their flowers. The more they focus on wholesale, the more distant they feel from end customers, and the stand now serves some of the shoppers who used to find them at the market. Others still prefer picking up the farm's bouquets at the grocery store, since visiting the farm takes a bit more effort.

The Georgia growers also moved to on-farm sales because of the pandemic. They began with appointment shopping for their spring plant sale, which before the pandemic had grown into a festival-sized event, scheduling short, no-contact pickup slots. As things settled and their business shifted from local markets toward shipping, a farm store looked like a good way to stay connected locally. They bought a prefabricated shed, finished the interior with reclaimed wood trim, and added an overhanging front roof on old posts for a charming look. Along with seasonal flowers from the farm, the store lets fans experience the farm on a small scale. They say it is not their biggest money-maker; it comes from wanting to stay close to the community and give people a beautiful place to visit.

The Oregon farm's store, open from late spring to mid-December, is likewise a way for the owner to give back to her hometown, where places like it are becoming rare. In summer there are cool, shady spots and cushioned benches where people wait while others in their group pick flowers, watch the bird feeder or simply relax, and ideally shop too.

Location & Parking

The Vermont couple built their farm stand in 2021 to add another retail outlet alongside some wholesale and wedding work. They set the small shed on a level spot that met the required setback from the road under county rules. The farm sits on a road leading to one of the few bridges across the southern end of Lake Champlain, and summer visitors heading to a nearby resort pass by, so stopping for flowers is easier than driving into town. They note that Vermont is quite accommodating to farm stands, with a state law allowing farms to operate a store on their own property.

The Oregon farm has run a stand or store in some form for decades on a road that hikers use to reach a nearby arboretum. In the late 1980s the stand was just planks on cinder blocks set up around an old walnut tree, and the farm sold fresh flowers such as larkspur to people making dried arrangements. Today the permanent store still serves crafters but also functions as a flower shop, plant nursery, art gallery and home décor shop. A few years ago a retired contractor friend offered to use up some custom-milled lath, and the owners asked him to build a lath house shaped like their barn. It now shades the area next to the store, echoes the barn's tall Dutch-style roof, and reliably makes drivers stop; many say they pass by all the time and had never pulled in before.

Both the lath house and the store, which the same contractor rebuilt with a deep hip roof and shed-style overhangs, now draw visitors. That busy corner has become the center of the farm's customer activities, including workshop and u-pick check-in and, of course, shopping.

A busy road brings its own problems, the Alaska grower says. Her stand sits on the access road to a large state fair, close to a highway, so traffic brings visitors but also moves fast. To catch drivers' eyes she planted dahlias and a long row of sweet peas along the road and put up a sequence of retro-style signs counting down to the turn so people know where to pull in.

Hours & Days of Operation

Most of these farms open their stands toward the end of the week, after flowers have been harvested and sent to other outlets, and a Thursday–Saturday or Friday–Sunday schedule also seems to suit shoppers. After a few seasons with their farm stand, the Vermont couple opened a small flower shop in a nearby town and later moved to a larger storefront with production space. Opening just before Mother's Day, followed by weddings and prom season, proved too much for one person to run alongside the stand, and with an off-farm job in the household nobody else could cover it. Even so, shop customers kept saying they missed the farm stand; going to the farm itself had a charm that a town shop could not replace.

Their plan for the next season is to open the farm stand only on the two days the shop is closed, stocking a select range of items found only there, such as flowers plus outdoor-themed goods like candles and fire-starters.

The Georgia couple open their store from spring into early summer and again from early fall through the holidays, when they have more flowers than they can otherwise sell. The lighter growing seasons are also their rest periods, so the store closes then. They find that reopening after a few months away creates a rush of eager customers, and concentrating sales into a shorter window builds excitement.

Alaska's short growing season means the Alaska stand is strictly seasonal. The grower prefers opening three days a week, Thursday through Saturday, which stay busy. Apart from Mother's Day and occasional spring tulip pop-ups, the regular season runs from midsummer into early fall.

Insurance & Security

Every grower stressed having insurance before inviting the public onto private land. Talk with your agent to confirm your coverage; the Georgia farm insures the building and carries a separate policy for the merchandise inside. Because their store is self-service and unstaffed, some theft happens, so they added a camera aimed at the parking area that can capture license plates.

A locked gate keeps shoppers out of the working farm. Visitors can browse, enjoy the setting, look out over the flowers and photograph the dahlias, but they cannot wander into the fields. That protects the owners and crew from interruptions, since a friendly hello can easily turn into a long conversation that pulls them away from farm work.

The Vermont farm carries substantial coverage, including a standard business owner's policy and an umbrella policy for personal liability, which also covers the private events they host.

However carefully you plan, accidents still happen, the Ohio grower warns. Despite plenty of signs, visitors sometimes drive out to the greenhouses, get stuck in mud and need a tow, or back into a tree or rock. For big events such as a holiday open house, a family member or employee directs parking.

Transactions & Sales

The farms take different approaches. The Oregon and Alaska farms staff their shops, while the Georgia, Ohio and Vermont farms rely on self-service. Some points to consider:

Staffed

The Oregon farm has a stand manager who works one closed day each week plus the open days. On the closed day the manager makes all the bouquets and bunches for the stand. The owner suggests using last year's sales to decide how much to produce. Stock sits on its own rack in the walk-in cooler so the manager and a couple of part-time helpers can restock through the weekend.

At the Alaska farm, the grower and an assistant run the stand. Staffing is required because the stand is part of a larger family farm, and visitors cannot simply wander the property. She enjoys meeting customers in person and also uses the stand as a studio for online orders delivered locally through delivery services. Shoppers can even bring their own vase and have a custom arrangement made on the spot.

Self-Service (Honor System)

Growers say QR codes and payment apps have made self-service flower buying much easier.

At the Georgia farm, a posted board explains how to pay by app, cash or check. Accepting some occasional theft costs far less than paying someone to staff the store. The owners are fascinated by how shoppers react when they realize they can serve themselves and are trusted to pay; many find it exciting and unusual, and it hands them a different kind of trust and responsibility.

The Ohio farmstand has a cash box and payment-app instructions. To keep things simple they do not add sales tax at the register and instead account for it in the books afterward. They also leave small IOU slips so customers short on cash can note what they took and receive an emailed invoice. Visible security cameras help discourage theft. The system depends on trust, and any losses have been too small to justify a staff person, though an employee checks and restocks the stand during the day.

The Vermont stand also relies on the honor system, which works well for customers buying bunches or market bouquets; they pay with a QR code or drop cash or a check in a cash box. The owners leave out a large notepad, and visitors often write them notes, many from travelers staying nearby who stumbled on the stand and want to say it made their visit to Vermont special.

Bestselling Items

The Oregon farm's store carries a broad mix: products grown and made on the farm, hanging baskets and potted plants from local nurseries, and pieces from local artists, potters and makers. Handmade ceramic garden figures are favorites, and candles made by a local beekeeper whose hives sit on the farm sell well. The bees also produce honey, and the farm's lavender is distilled into oil; both carry the farm's own label.

True to its long history with dried flowers, the farm also stocks crafting supplies such as wreath bases, wire, glue guns and many dried flowers, including loose flower heads sold by quantity. Many customers follow the farm on social media for ideas, visit weekly for supplies, or ask to buy a wreath they spotted online. Workshop participants receive a one-time store discount. The Alaska stand doubles as the check-in point for farm tours and dinners. Because many visitors are tourists, not all of them buy flowers; some pick up jewelry, locally made snacks or branded merchandise such as mugs instead.

The Alaska season opens with Mother's Day tulips, the first local flowers available, followed by pop-up sales of ranunculus and anemone bunches until field flowers arrive in midsummer. A medium market bouquet is the top seller through late summer, backed by a family of named bouquets at several price points, from mid-size bunches to large wraps.

Besides the farm's own flowers, the Georgia store stocks unique items such as pottery and woodwork made by family members. New products rotate in so returning shoppers always find something different, while keeping the same price range, sustainable sourcing and an artisan focus, with many items from women-owned businesses. Their approach has changed over time: they once thought they had to make everything themselves, then discovered they could buy wholesale from other makers and sell at retail, supporting another business while paying it fairly.

Since the store has no climate control, they display only as many flowers as they expect to sell that day and restock as needed. A typical customer might pick up a bunch of flowers and then add a candle, hand salve and a vase, often spending more on non-floral items than on flowers.

At the market they had success with abundant, overflowing displays rather than sparse ones, and they apply the same idea in the store. Candles, their bestselling category, are all about a wide, colorful assortment, such as dipped tapers in many colors from a small candle maker.

After hearing about the Georgia farm's candle sales, the Ohio growers tried adding candles, ceramics and handmade soap, with only modest success. They found that flowers are what they sell best and what customers come for.

Their stand offers both mixed bouquets and single-variety bunches. To avoid competing with their own wholesale accounts, they stock it differently from what goes to grocery stores and florists: shoppers find standard bouquets at the store and premium ones at the farm. Holidays bring higher-priced bouquets and vase arrangements, and in summer customers can buy bunches of foliage or filler (such as celosia or gomphrena) to combine with dahlia bouquets and make their own arrangements.

The stand also gives the farm's designers room to try new ideas. Shoppers especially like single-variety bunches in mixed colors, such as peonies, mums or celosia.”

Silver Linings

Flower farmers are good at stretching resources. At the Oregon farm, unsold flowers are stripped, bunched and hung in the barn loft to dry instead of going to compost. An end-of-season sale gives loyal crafters a deep discount on remaining stock, clearing shelves for fresh dried flowers when the stand reopens in spring.

The store has played different roles over the years, and the owner says recent seasons have been the most profitable, thanks to work on making it a place people want to spend time. Beyond income, it provides jobs, lets people enjoy the farm even when the owners are not there, and attracts shoppers who want to support small businesses and find quality goods.

The Georgia couple know their store draws visitors from across the region, many driving a couple of hours, so they promote other small businesses in their tiny town. Several local businesses now open during the same Saturday hours, and the farm encourages visitors to make a day of it, even listing recommended places to eat, shop and explore on its website. When one business does well, the whole community benefits.

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