It’s February in Missoula—gray skies hang low and the green life of spring seems like a far off dream. Everything is in waiting, even us. So it might come as a surprise to have flowers be the topic of conversation as we bed down for the shortest (yet longest) month of the year, albeit a happy surprise.
Bess Brownlee knows flowers and she celebrates them in every season with unique, Montana-grown bouquets. As a businesswoman, she has tilled the rocky, tumultuous ground, planted seeds, and is reaping the rewards of a brave and thrilling venture on her own quarter-acre farm with one hoop house. Bess takes us inside the blooming—of her business and the flowers—and shares how her passion for creativity and the professionalism of owning a business can converge and sprout a beautiful beginning.
What inspired you to start your flower business?
I've fallen in love with flowers. They are such a unique medium of expression because they are so fleeting. You put together something special and then you only get to enjoy it for a week or two before it begins to fade. You know it will be gone soon. I think that makes the experience all the sweeter.
Your Flower Club Memberships include weekly deliveries of bouquets. With our short growing season, how do you manage to deliver so consistently?
We can really pump a lot of flowers out of a small space. I plant seedlings really close together and I work in "successions," so when one crop is done blooming I can replant that space quickly with another batch of seedlings. Because everything is grown locally on the farm, we can offer delicate and unique varieties that folks who are used to grocery store flowers may not have seen before. It’s because of our short season that we are able to craft a super special bouquet that changes every week.
You’ve expanded your business to include custom wedding bouquets. What do you enjoy about that?
Wedding florals are so fun to work with. What's blooming in May is totally different from what’s blooming in July, so we can offer a ton of variety. One of my favorite arrangements was for a friend’s late-September wedding. We included some of the most special September flowers from the farm for her, like dahlias, eucalyptus, calendula, and mignonette. Her husband loves birding so we also wove pheasant feathers into the bouquet for a personal touch.
Missoula is home to many creatives who have leveled-up their passion and made it into a business. How has our community helped you do that?
Missoulians support local food farmers, so that local frame of mind was already thriving when I began offering flowers a few seasons ago. Customers were really excited to get Montana-grown flowers! My farming experience has been overwhelmingly positive as well, and I think that is due to our flower farming community. They are a uniquely generous and kind bunch of folks who are more collaborative than competitive. I know I can call my flower pals with questions anytime—and vice versa!
As a business woman, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The hustle is real! I love farming and I feel passionate about the whole process, from seed to bouquet. If I could, I'd spend all day outside just taking my time moving from bloom to bloom, like an unhurried bumblebee. But the reality of flower farming is that I need to be quick, efficient, and organized. I'm still refining my business model and workflow to bring more balance and carve out more time to revel in the joy of creating. It's a process but it gets better every season.
Do you have any advice for other makers out there who are considering opening a business?
Build your team! Get really honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses and bring on people who are good at the things that you dread. It can be hard to let go and allow others behind the curtain but I was pleasantly surprised by how doing so brought some really cool and talented people into my orbit while saving my sanity.
From Buds to Brides, Let There Be Flowers
Southbound Flowers
406.531.9668
SouthboundFlowers@Gmail.com