Red Daisy Farm

Have you ever walked into a flower shop and were amazed and in awe by the beauty the flowers were exuding? Or walked by a flower booth at your local farmer's market and couldn't believe those flowers were grown locally? Or just drooled over the most beautiful flower images on an Instagram account? Well, those flowers, as beautiful as they are, are the product of a painstaking amount of work, dedication, care, years of knowledge and did I say a lot of work? Now, imagine raising flowers as your source of income (yes, flower farming is an actual job), and after all the effort you put into a crop, mother nature comes and destroys everything you have built over weeks, months, years... That's what our friend Meg, at Red Daisy Farm, is currently facing right now. Meg is a bad ass flower farmer outside of Denver, and she supplies flowers for florists all around the area. She grows some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen, and she absolutely loves what she does, and has put all she has into this business. In mid April, Red Daisy Farm was hit with winds sustaining 65-75mph, that were devastating for the farm and literally shredded Meg's hoophouses to absolutely nothing. When you grow flowers, especially in the Rocky Mountains, where the weather just has a mind of its own, protecting your crops with hoophouses is a must. Meg mustered up the energy and kept going. She re-covered all her hoophouses with brand new plastic and reinforced the sides with polycarbonate siding. Well, two months later (06/18), RDF has been hit yet again. Golf ball sized hail hit the farm and Meg has now lost 75% of her crops, and the hoophouses (yet again) has been shredded to swiss cheese. Dahlias, Amaranth, perennials, annuals... completely devastated. For a flower farmer, this is devastating. With the first fall frost hitting sometime between Mid september to early october, there's just not enough time for those plants to bounce back (if they ever do), and bloom and turn a profit. Those crops are pretty much lost and with that went Meg's ability to gain income from said crops. Meg is a dear friend of mine, who selflessly helped me tremendously in the beginning on my journey, she shared her passion for farming and flowers, how to grow and care for them. We have celebrated so many successes and at times like this, I think we need to get together and help one in our flower farming community. I'm hoping to raise some money to help cover the expenses of re-covering her hoophouses as well as supplement some of the income from those lost crops! I'd be honored if you'd join me, I know it would mean the world to Meg, and myself. As we're heading into the busy season of summer, as well as planning crops for next year's spring and summer, I'm hoping we can raise $5,000 by mid July.
Thank you!

Julio
The Flower Hat