Karry Jarrell refuses to sit still.
After retiring last February she threw herself into gardening — something she’d always been passionate about.
Now, she owns and operates a flower farm called Bees & Blooms from her home in Blackshear.
It started with vegetables and “a few flowers,” said Jarrell.
Those few flowers got a big response, and Jarrell found herself faced with requests for more variety.
Jarrell did her best to rise to the occasion. She converted her garage into a grow room and tilled up a large portion of her 2.76 acre property.
Jarrell starts from seed.
She is quick to mention these are not “normal seeds.” They come from wholesalers, and some are mind numbing to handle.
They are smaller than a flake of skin, some require a magnifying glass and toothpick to pick up and plant.
Jarrell says snapdragons are especially tedious,
“It’s black seeds on black soil.”
Still, she gets new seedlings started all year round, watering them by hand twice a day.
The “Bees” in Bees & Blooms comes from Jarrell’s other hobby. She has been a beekeeper for 12 years.
“Funny enough, honeybees aren’t super into flowers,” Jarrell said.
This is actually a good thing since after pollination, flowers die.
That’s part of why Bees & Blooms is a precut farm. All the flowers are harvested before they fully bloom so pollinators cannot get to them and customers can appreciate their beauty for longer periods of time.
Bees & Blooms is also a pesticide free flower farm. Jarrell does not want to use any chemicals that could harm her bees.
Her aversion to pesticides is part of the reason Jarrell advocates for shopping local.
“Ninety percent of flowers sold in the U.S. are from South America,” Jarrell said. “The pestcides affect our plant life.”
She further explained that Ecuador, one of the biggest suppliers of flowers to America, is currently experiencing strikes among farm workers. This has made prices in the flower market “astronomical” according to Jarrell.
Nevertheless, Jarrell says she is not in it for the money. She has invested $17,000 into Bees & Blooms and doesn’t think she’ll ever break even.
“If I make $10-$20 I’m tickled pink,” she said.
She is passionate about fundraising, saying she’d like to do one every month if possible. She recently raised $340 for Reels for Heroes, an organization in Kingsland that helps veterans and medical professionals deal with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
She hopes to get bigger in the future and has 5,000 tulip bulbs on order for fall.
“Most people don’t think you can grow them. You just have to keep them in the ‘fridge for 12 weeks before you plant them,” she said.
Jarrell has also taken several classes through The Gardener’s Workshop with Lisa Mason Ziegler and Dave Dowling.
She plans to continue reading books on the topic.
Jarrell would love to hold classes at the farm including maybe watercolor painting or yoga.
“I don’t have the skills, but I could invite someone,” she says.
She thinks it would be fun to host garden tea parties or birthdays at the farm.
For now, she’s doing pretty well.
Jarrell has been growing for florists, done a couple weddings and supplied flower crowns for a Daddy-Daughter Dance in Blackshear.
The Honor Cart — a pop-up cart where customers can purchase prearranged bouquets — has returned after a brief hiatus, selling out as recently as last Tuesday.
She recently launched a website and has announced a monthly bouquet subscription service.
Jarrell also recently came into possession of a building where she hopes to set up and operate a twice-montly bouquet bar starting this Fall.
She envisions a farmer’s market style set-up where attendees come and choose from multiple colors and variants of flowers, building their own bouquets as they go.
Customers would be charged by the stem and could either bring their own case or purchase one for $2.
Just so long as she has something to keep her going.
“This is man’s — not woman’s — work, but it’s me. It’s my hare-brained idea,” she said.
“My goal is to have no grass left to mow,” she laughs.
