Meet My Flower Friend, Melissa

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How did dahlias find their way into your garden and heart?

Sea Breeze Florals started in the summer of 2019 but it has a much longer and meaningful history.

My dad opened the door to the world of biology for me. He shared with me his passion and love of dahlias, whether it was giving away flowers or sharing dahlia tubers so that others could learn to grow dahlias too. Sadly, my dad passed away in 2008. To honor his memory I continue to grow his dahlias and share them whenever possible. This evolved into a cut flower business where I sell my dahlias and cut flowers to the florists in Port Moody and create arrangements upon request. I also enjoy donating my flowers when possible.

What are some of your future garden goals?

My future garden goal is to be a completely no dig operation. I want to be able to leave all of my dahlia tubers in the ground each year. Leaving one’s tubers in the ground is amazing, it decreases the work at the end of a long season and it also allows me to harvest into early November without the daunting task of having to dig, divide and store everything. Leaving the tubers in the ground also helps to protect the soil structure and microbial soil food web which can be harmed when digging the tubers. Over the last couple of years I’ve been increasing the percentage of my dahlia stock overwintered in the ground. To reach my goal faster, this year I enthusiastically curated my dahlia collection to the point where I think I have enough of each size, form and colour to reach my goal of all my tubers being left in the ground by fall 2026.

What has been the hardest challenge growing dahlias?

The hardest challenge we all seem to face is the need to grow all the different dahlia cultivars lol The
dahlia breeding community are producing and introducing beautiful new cultivars that are pretty darn hard to say no too!

In all seriousness challenges are specific to each grower and the growing conditions they have. For myself I grow in an urban environment on the north side of Port Moody. I have limited space, so I grow on my property as well on two other neighbouring properties. I need to be very strategic in where I plant each cultivar to ensure adequate light and growing space and to optimize yield. This is especially challenging when there are other cut flowers, perennials and vegetables competing for space. Growing on a mountain also presents a unique problem – there is a limited amount of topsoil. To overcome this problem I primarily grow in large raised beds or beds surrounded by stone retaining walls. Each property and growing bed has different sources of soil and each is unique in its soil health. To overcome this challenge I’ve focused on regenerative soil practices over the last five years to improve the soil’s microbial communities. This has allowed me to grow healthier dahlias and cut flowers which my florists and customers love!

What has been the most rewarding part of growing dahlias?

Every growing season is different and presents new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow. I love a good challenge and the feeling when you overcome the problem. The challenges have varied from pest and disease problems, to irrigation (learning pulse watering), to designing floral buckets to safely transport my blooms to my florists. Being able to share my flowers with so many people has been one of the most rewarding parts of the journey, seeing the smiles it brings to people, a few tears of gratitude and knowing I’ve made a difference in people’s lives just through flowers makes all of the hard work worth the effort. One thing I didn’t see coming was the connections formed with the flower community. I’ve met some truly amazing friends through growing dahlias and cut flowers.

Do you have any tips to share that you’ve learned along the way?

Growing healthy dahlias all starts with the soil. Spend the extra time to understand your growing conditions. Have your soil tested not just for macro and micronutrients but also analyze what microbes are present in the soil. Taking a course in restoring soil health was a game changer for me. I’ve since gotten into Thermophillic composting for making my compost teas and extracts, hungrybins for vermicomposting and Bokashi composting. All of this has allowed me to produce many of the amendments for my garden beds and utilize the food and greenwaste from the property. Learning this skill set and applying it to your growing practices and garden takes time, you can’t do it in just one growing season. Each year you build a stronger foundation to build upon.

One final thought, do you need acreage to grow a lot of blooms? I get this question quit a bit – how big is my growing space? People assume that you need acreage. More space doesn’t always equate to more yield, it can sometimes result in more growing problems and a decrease in quality. The trick for great yields links back to space optimization and planning, focusing on soil health and growing a diverse range of flowers to have a long growing season. Urban flower farming is absolutely possible and can be a viable business.

Melissa

To learn more about Melissa and her flower journey, you can visit : Website| Facebook | Instagram