Mermaid City Flowers

Mermaid City Flowers Urban flower farm in Norfolk, Virginia. Seasonal flowers for weddings, events, workshops, and everyday life. Field notes from the cutting garden and beyond.

Summer Garden to Vase came to a close this weekend, and my heart is full.Teaching has become one of my favorite parts of...
08/03/2026

Summer Garden to Vase came to a close this weekend, and my heart is full.

Teaching has become one of my favorite parts of this work. Thank you to everyone who joined me this summer. You asked great questions, experimented, laughed, and made beautiful things.

Next, I’ll be joining T.J. McGrath - NJ Sustainable Luxury Florals & Education for a two-day Floral Design Masterclass at Harmony Harvest Farm | Fresh Cut Flowers + Bouquets , followed by the Dahlia Design Summit by Jennifer Gulizia | Oregon Cut Flower Farm & Garden Educator in September. I’m looking forward to both.

And if you’ve been hoping to take a class with me here in Norfolk, stay tuned…I have a few ideas for this fall.

07/31/2026

It’s the time of year when the field is covered in weeds and you begin to reassess your life choices.🤪

So naturally…I’m making more dahlias.

One of my favorite ways to multiply varieties I love is by taking dahlia cuttings. With a healthy stock plant and a little patience, one plant can become many, meaning even more blooms for next season.

Flower farming is funny like that. While this year’s garden is testing your resolve, you’re already investing in next year’s flowers.🤷🏾‍♀️

If you’d like to learn more about growing and designing with dahlias, I’ll be one of the featured speakers at the Dahlia Design Summit. I’ll be sharing one of my favorite design techniques: creating a beautiful, garden-inspired arrangement using just three ingredients.

I’d love to see you there! Link in bio.

My first byline!Slow Flowers Society | Local & Sustainable Flowers sent me to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show to write about...
07/02/2026

My first byline!

Slow Flowers Society | Local & Sustainable Flowers sent me to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show to write about the Flowers From the Farm display in the Great Pavilion, and my feature appears in the new Summer issue of Slow Flowers Journal.

Flowers from the Farm is a collective of British growers making the same case I make here in Norfolk: that local, seasonal, sustainably grown flowers are worth choosing.

Same argument, an ocean apart.

Standing in their display, I recognized so many of the flowers. Orlaya. Foxglove. Ranunculus. I grow most of them myself, on borrowed ground nearly four thousand miles away.

My grandmother Teresa grew their ancestors in St. Lucia from rose cuttings that arrived by ship from England. So much of why I do this work traces back to her. Seeing my name in print, telling the story of flowers and the people who grow them, feels like carrying that story forward.

Thank you to Slow Flowers Society for trusting me with my first byline, and to everyone who has encouraged me along the way.

This one I won’t forget.

One of my favorite moments in every workshop is when someone realizes they’ve been walking past beautiful floral materia...
06/26/2026

One of my favorite moments in every workshop is when someone realizes they’ve been walking past beautiful floral material their whole life.

A stem of basil ready to flower. A branch with beautiful movement. Seedpods drying in the garden. Grasses catching the light. A vine climbing the fence.

Most people think flower arranging begins at the design table. It doesn’t. It begins with learning how to notice in the garden.

Summer Garden to Vase is a four-week flower workshop in Norfolk that follows the whole journey, from the garden to the vase. Over four weeks, we’ll explore what to grow, when to harvest, how to condition flowers for a longer vase life, and how to build arrangements that feel natural, abundant, and true to the season.

We’ll harvest together, arrange together, and you’ll head home each week with flowers, plants, and practical skills you’ll use long after the class ends.

The Sunday cohort is filling, and I’d love to spend part of the summer with you.

If you’ve been wanting to grow flowers, arrange with more confidence, or simply spend a few Sunday afternoons immersed in the beauty of the season, I hope you’ll join me.

Registration is available through the link in my bio.

Flower workshop • Norfolk, Virginia • Cut flower gardening • Seasonal flowers • Flower arranging

Mermaid City Flowers will be closed June 17–30 for family time.During that time, I won’t be taking orders, scheduling co...
06/16/2026

Mermaid City Flowers will be closed June 17–30 for family time.

During that time, I won’t be taking orders, scheduling consultations, or responding to inquiries. I’ll return to the studio on July 1 and will respond to messages as soon as I can after I return.

While I’m away, registration will remain open for my Summer Garden to Vase workshop series beginning in July. If you’ve been thinking about joining us, you’re welcome to reserve your spot online while I’m gone.

Thank you for your patience, and I’ll see you in July.

For years, Mermaid City Flowers has grown on borrowed ground…urban plots across Norfolk, lent and shared, that taught me...
06/10/2026

For years, Mermaid City Flowers has grown on borrowed ground…urban plots across Norfolk, lent and shared, that taught me how to work a make the best of a small footprint.

Now I’m looking toward the next chapter.

I’m searching for permanent agricultural land, 5 to 10 acres or more, to become , the future home of my growing, floral design, teaching, and gathering work.

Virginia is still the heart of the search, especially Central Virginia, with Fluvanna and Orange counties high on my list. But I’m also open to Washington State for the right fit…a place with strong flower, farming, garden, and creative communities where this work could take root and expand.

If you know a landowner, a retiring farmer, or someone thinking seriously about who carries their land forward, I would be grateful for the introduction.

The full call is here: https://www.mermaidcityflowers.com/land-call. Please share it with anyone who might know the right person, that’s how land like this finds its farmer.

Many of you discovered Mermaid City Flowers through the recent Washington Post story and have been asking when I’d be te...
06/04/2026

Many of you discovered Mermaid City Flowers through the recent Washington Post story and have been asking when I’d be teaching again. I’m excited to finally share this.

Summer Garden to Vase is a new four-week series exploring how flowers move from the garden into the vase.

Together we’ll cover what to plant for cutting, how to harvest and condition flowers, how to work with foliage, herbs, and botanical materials, and how to create natural, garden-inspired arrangements.

We’ll spend four weeks growing, harvesting, arranging, and learning together in the studio.

Whether you’re a gardener, flower lover, or simply curious, this series is designed to help you see flowers a little differently.

Two cohorts are available:
🌱 Thursday mornings
🌱 Sunday afternoons

Registration is now open, I hope you’ll join me.

https://www.mermaidcityflowers.com/shop/p/summer-garden-to-vase

Happy anniversary to the man who accidentally married a flower farmer.I went looking for local flowers once. Now I own a...
06/01/2026

Happy anniversary to the man who accidentally married a flower farmer.

I went looking for local flowers once. Now I own a flower farm.

Neither of us saw that coming.

Our wedding is featured in the current Slow Flowers Journal.

❤️

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Norfolk, VA
23517

Telephone

+17578950723

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