We are excited to announce the return of our Featured Vendor program. Kicking off May, we are featuring von Trapp Flowers located in Waitsfield, Vermont. We asked owner Emily von Trapp about her business and here’s what she had to say!

Emily is the third generation to cultivate the land where she sustainably grows 200,000 specialty tulips, in addition to many varieties of annual and perennial cut flowers. The daughter of a horticulturalist and self-taught master gardener, she grew up surrounded by her parents’ (Tobi & Sally) gardens and blooms at the von Trapp Greenhouse in Waitsfield. The environment her parents created nurtured her love for growing and arranging flowers.

She has been selling sustainably grown seasonal flowers in the form of “Market Bouquets” to markets in central Vermont for over 30 years and started selling to the Hunger Mountain Co-op in 1995 when she was 17 years old, remarking that “I pulled into the parking lot with the back of my car full of flowers, asked to speak with the produce manager, and the rest is history!”

Emily grows all the tulip bouquets, summer and fall lilies, and mixed bouquets. The potted cyclamen and potted spring bulbs have been supplied by her parents of the von Trapp Greenhouse for the past two decades, and her father Tobi is the magician behind the beautiful anemone bouquets they deliver to the Co-op all winter and spring.

von Trapp Flowers grow flowers year-round (which can be challenging here in the Northeast!) and sell flower bouquets wholesale to more than 12 markets throughout central Vermont, in addition to offering a 10-week Winter Tulip CSA with seven different pickup sites February through April.

What makes von Trapp Flowers unique and different?
“We provide the community of central Vermont with fresh, local flowers year-round. We source and grow unique varieties of tulips and other flowers. Our flowers are ecologically grown, making them safe for your table and your compost.”

What are the biggest challenges von Trapp Flowers faces?
“The biggest challenges we face on the farm come in the form of extreme weather events. Last April an unseasonably warm stretch of weather—five days of 80+ degrees—had serious impacts on the later season Tulip crop, while the endless rain and wet of last summer brought challenges to our field crops. Extreme weather events abroad have also made sourcing some of our bulbs more difficult. While these challenges have been tricky to manage at times, I enjoy the opportunity to think on my feet, pivot when I need to, and make lemonade when Mother Nature is serving up lemons.”

What is your favorite thing about what you do?
“Being able to grow and share beauty with our friends and neighbors here in Vermont is an absolute joy and a privilege. There’s nothing better than watching the impact of flowers and everything they evoke. We are grateful that our flowers adorn so many important and beautiful moments (and tables) throughout the community.”

Check out von Trapp Flowers online:
von Trapp Flowers website
Instagram: @vontrappflowers
Facebook: von Trapp Flowers

von Trapp Flowers Tulip Bouquet Buy One, Get One Deal

In addition to featuring von Trapp Flowers through the Month of May, we’re running a special buy one, get one free promotion on their tulip bouquets beginning May 1, 2024, until supplies last. These beauties are sure to sell fast, and if you’re picking up a couple bouquets, here are some care tips to get the most out of your flowers whether you’re gifting them or keeping them for yourself:

von Trapp Flower Care Tips

1. Always use a clean vase and give the flowers a fresh trim.
2. The flowers we grow drink lots of water- fill the vase with cool water and be sure to check on the water level after the second day- add more as necessary.
3. Keep your vase of flowers in a cool place- away from heat sources like wood stoves and heaters, and away from warm sunny windows.
4. While it’s tempting to add the flowers from a fresh bouquet to one that you have had for a few days, doing so will likely shorten the vase life of the newer flowers.
5. Be sure to recycle the paper sleeves our flowers come in.
6. Enjoy!