Hi! I'm Nikki, and I own Lady's Hat Farm, a small-scale and sustainable cut flower farm in the middle-of-nowhere Alberta. In 2017, I quit my job as a journalist, and headed back to the family farm to start my own business. What started as a small market garden, complete with pigs, chickens, lambs, bees, and ducks, has now morphed into an operation that focuses almost 100% on flowers (with a few animals to complete the funny farm!).
Being in Zone 3, I've honed my skills at growing cold-hardy annuals and perennials, as well as extending my growing season with hoops – and extending my season with dried flowers! Every year, we tuck away thousands upon thousands of stems in our 1960s barn to use in the winter months for wreaths, arrangements, and wholesale.
I find the most joy in growing colour. Sure, pastels and neutrals are nice, but there's something spectacular about having a rainbow of flowers at your disposal – and when winter arrives, having these bright jewels to play with is such a treat, like strawflowers, statice, amaranthus, and marigolds. Below, you'll find some of my favourite flowers for drying, including strawflowers, statice, marigolds, and cloud grass! Happy planting – and be sure to connect with me on Instagram @ladys.hat.farm to find some dried flower inspo and let me know how your dried flower journey works out!
