Through the Years
Take a trip down memory lane with us to see how far we've come!
The plants at Wildly Native Flower Farm are grown here right on the beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland. For generations this farm has grown amazing things... from the crates of tomatoes that left stains on the floors of the old farm house in the early 1800's, to the Christmas trees of my Pop-Pop and so many other crops from generations ago, Wildly Native Flower Farm focuses on hand-selected, in season flowers that are harvested at the peak of bloom. Locally sourced and delivered fresh minutes from the field instead of trucked in days away from locations far away.
1953
Where it all started...
For generations, this small family farm has grown a variety of crops: the floors in the old farmhosue tell it best with the stains left by crates of tomatoes that used to be grown here before my Pop-Pop brought the first automatic hay bailing machine to Kent County. This farm has alwaysa grown a variety of crops but done it a little differently. While my Pop-Pop was remembered for his pipe, tractors, sense of humor, and of course, growing Christmas trees, he was always known first and foremost for being a farmer. Being in Ag was in my blood from day one! Today, we still have the more traditional corn, soy, and wheat growing here on some parts of the farm.
I have been growing plants pretty much my whole life. It all started in the garden with my Mom – I was always outside whenever possible or somewhere stuck in the mud! Flowers have always been my thing and I often convinced my folks to let me dig up “just a little section” to add some more flowers here and there in the yard.
1980s
2017
Wildly Native was born.
A graduate of Delaware Valley University, a Certified Professional Horticulturist, FFA Member, previous Ag Teacher, and all-around outdoorswoman, I love to be outside or in the garden. I learned to smell the flowers & in 2017 stepped into the adventure of growing plants on a larger scale and created Wildly Native.
Learning, Growing & Experimenting
After years of competing in floriculture competitions through FFA, Lizzie finally had the chance to put those skills to work. What followed was a year full of firsts. With help from family, we planted our first hydrangeas and built our first hoop house—along with learning how to use self-tapping screws. We celebrated our first tulips (even if they were a little shorter than expected), harvested iris and bells of Ireland, and created our very first flower market bundles.
There was plenty of learning along the way, too. We figured out how to grow better flowers, attract pollinators, transport buckets without spilling water everywhere, and eventually traded our round buckets for square ones. We began experimenting with dried florals and greenery, and every arrangement was designed right from our home kitchen. Looking back, 2018 was a year of trial and error, small victories, and laying the foundation for everything that would come next!
2018
2019
We had our largest harvest to date, started doing local wholesale deliveries, had our FIRST holiday order (Mother's Day) and our first styled shoot was published!
We installed our road sign, managed through COVID and even had in-person classes! This is when Kenly joined our team as well as our first employee. And, our first 100' Hoop House was installed! We also delivered our first out of state wedding to Corolla, NC!
2020
Welcoming Kenly to Wildly Native (and the rain!)
Hosted our first dinner at the farm
Traveled out of state of a wedding client!
2021
2021 started the way it apparently meant to continue, with the coldest photo shoot of my life in January, frozen hoses, and snow that kept coming back like it had unfinished business. We kept going anyway.
We tilled more ground, learned to work Agribon inside and outside the hoop house, added bees, welcomed the goats back, and finally put in a glass front cooler so the flowers had somewhere cool to rest.
We built a website. We tried a podcast. We hosted a wedding right here on the farm. We stopped doing quite so much by hand and let a little machinery help. By fall we were doing bigger installs, stringing garlands, teaching holiday classes, and laughing our way through a rental van stuck in the sand at the beach. And then it snowed again, because of course it did.
This was the year the farm stretched, and we stretched right along with it.
The coldest styled shoot we've ever done
Too much snow!
We grew so many sunflowers this year!
Somehow Lizzy learned how to stay clean
Hosted our first wedding at the farm
The year we got our front glass cooler in the barn
We attempted our first podcast
Lizzy working hard on our first website
We grew new crops!
2022
2022 was the year we stopped guessing. We planned the field differently, got better germination on the crops that had fought us, grew in the hoop houses like we finally understood them, and installed our fence (after chasing the deer out one more time). We also got braver with design. Grapevine wreaths, hanging installs, tougher mechanics, cakes, dried work, table settings we had never tried before, and a styled shoot in a space so far outside our comfort zone that I still laugh about it. One of those installs got us published in Wedding Chicks. We pinned more grooms than any of us can count, built memorials, and helped families honor people they loved. There were frozen pipes, mystery diseases, crazy hours, and one very gross experiment with fermenting flowers. But we finally had real tables, my team grew up right in front of me, and we even took a break together. That felt like the biggest win of all.
We learned to make grapevine wreaths
We chased the deer AGAIN
We made dried things
Celebrated Amber's wedding here on the farm
We did a huge install under a sailcloth tent that got us featured in The Wedding Chicks
We built things out of the box
...and we took a break together!
2023
Wildly Native was honored to be a part of the NGS Internship program! Lizzy graduated from DVU in May of 2023 and started working full time in the business!
Seven years in, I still can't believe this is my life! This year, we started our podcast called "The Flower Files" and updated our website to maximize our online orders!
2024
