Vision, then Details: The Foundation of our Planning Process

First we set the goal(s) – cast the vision. Then we sort out the details that make the magic happen.

When working on our annual Flower Farm Business Plan, I break up each “arm” of our business into a separate department. Together, our team determines the vision for each department, and we talk at length about how the departments interact, and how each contributes to our overall vision. Then once we have our direction set, I work backwards to determine when, what, and how much we need to grow of each crop to make the vision a reality.

To double check my plan, I make a chronological list of every “event” that we are planning at the farm (including weddings, public open-farm events, but also other unadvertised “events” like starting to wholesale specific crops, starting seedlings, potting up or pruning roses, planting out bulbs, etc.) and spend time thinking through how well our detailed plans will meet the needs of each day during the season.

This process does take weeks to accomplish, but it’s 100% worth the time investment. The pay-off, year after year, is a successful season of exceeded expectations on serving visitors/customers, meeting sales goals, etc.

I’m also learning how to involve more members of our team so that 1. they deeply understand the big picture of what we’re doing at Triple Wren, 2. they can contribute their own creativity and make our Farm even better through collaborative teamwork, and 3. so that the business depends less on the “secret sauce” of Sarah+Steve. (This diversity makes the Farm business stronger in the long run, and frees us up to be individually creative in business growth areas that only we can accomplish.)

This exact method is useful when planning a personal flower garden. We receive frequent questions asking how to decide what to grow, and how to grow it. The first question I encourage inquiring gardeners to answer is: WHY do you want to grow flowers? Because why you want to grow will instruct what/when/how you grow.

Are you looking to produce bouquets to give away to your friends and neighbors all summer? You’ll want to grow a balance of focal and filler blooms + foliage, including lots of re-blooming plants so that you can “cut-and-come-again,” and make a succession plan for your “one-and-done” varieties.

Are you looking to grow for one specific event (like a family wedding or a garden party)? You’ll need a plan to stagger seed-starting and bulb-planting dates so that everything you want for that week puts on a big show all at the same time. (Note: This is very difficult to do without at least a year or two of experimenting in your unique micro-climate to see how the flowers you want to use perform.)

Over the next few weeks, I look forward to sharing here on our blog the differences between growing for cuts all season and growing for a specific event, and hope that you will follow along if you want to see how we plan for success at Triple Wren!