Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Keep it Local: Honeybunch Flower Co. is in full bloom in the Garden Spot

By: Shelley Widhalm | The Surveyor | July 22, 2021 | Business

Getting a bouquet of flowers doesn’t necessarily require a trip to the grocery store or an expensive online order when what grows in the yard can make a great, colorful arrangement.

That’s the message Kayla Coleman, owner of Honeybunch Flower Co. in Berthoud, wants to spread about flower arranging.

“There’s all these beautiful perennial plants we see every day or have in our yard. It doesn’t occur to (people) to cut them and bring them inside,” Coleman said.  “It’s a way to get people excited again and to get them to look at their spaces through a different lens.”

Coleman launched her home-based flower business in February after founding Berthoud Garden Girl in fall 2020, a landscape consulting business that provides advice on creating and caring for gardens and landscapes. In March, Coleman came up with a name for her flower business based on a nickname she uses for her husband, Austin.

Photo by Christina Gressianu – Kayla Coleman, owner of Honeybunch Flower Co. in Berthoud.

“It’s sort of a joke,” Coleman said. “He was very much the inspiration, so honeybunch is very fitting.”

Coleman and her husband used to frequently camp, and he’d make her wildflower bouquets. She thought they were “special,” liking that they were handmade rather than store-bought, she said.

Following that idea, Coleman grows flowers in her backyard, cuts them nearly every day and arranges what she cuts. She grows her flowers in a 14-foot by 16-foot garden that also has fruit trees, mint and asparagus. She calls the garden a cut-flower garden or a micro-farm since she grows flowers from seed for production.

“My flowers are starting to produce,” Coleman said. “All my summer stuff is kicking in.”

The flowers include a few annuals, like dahlias, sweet peas and snapdragons, along with several perennials like black-eyed Susans, buttercups, coneflowers, lamb’s ear and lady’s mantel. Coleman doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides, making the flowers as organic as she can.

Coleman creates small and large bouquets by request and for small gatherings, like parties, anniversaries and birthdays, but doesn’t do weddings or large events. She cuts flowers every morning, so they’re fresh as possible. She uses the cuts to arrange her bouquets, listing her creations on her website, www.honeybunchflowerco.com, and social media accounts—visitors can contact her and send a request for one of her bouquets.

“I’m not a florist,” Coleman said. “The bouquets aren’t made to order. It’s what I have available. Most florists order their flowers. I have cut flowers for sale.”

Coleman arranges an average of five to 10 bouquets a week, depending on what’s ready for cutting.

“I want people to have access to really fresh flowers,” Coleman said. “I really want people to have something they’ll love and enjoy.”

Coleman wants the flowers to be affordable and for her customers to not feel like giving them is a chore, because it’s expected on certain occasions.

Courtesy photo- “Rosie” the micro-truck used to deliver flowers in the 80513 zip code.

“I want to create flowers in a price range I would pay,” Coleman said.

Coleman delivers her flowers in a micro-truck with red wheels she calls Rosie—customers also can pick them up at her garden at 356 Bronco Court. She delivers the flowers for free in the 80513 zip code and, right now, is delivering only in Berthoud. She also plans to begin selling her flowers at the South Street Market in Louisville after it opens July 16.

The flowers are part of Coleman’s mini-mobile market, where she also sells hand-painted ceramics, primarily planters, vases and garden markers. She paints the ceramics and fires them in a kiln at Glass of Art in Berthoud. She also makes weighted eye pillows using lavender from Heritage Lavender, LLC, in Berthoud and flaxseed, sewn up in organic cotton. The eye pillows serve as a relaxation mask.

Coleman donates the flowers she doesn’t sell within two to three days to local nursing homes, long-term care facilities and “families who could use a smile,” as stated on her website.

“I love giving them away as much as selling them,” Coleman said.

For more information, visit Coleman at honeybunchflowerco.com or email her at [email protected].

 

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