Summer Garden Flower Farm

by Cheryl Cronbaugh

LYNN HAVEN, FL - It is summer all year long at Summer Garden Flower Farm in Lynn Haven. Kevin and Christina Melvin have turned their backyard into an urban farm of flowers. They have many long, raised beds that are home to beautiful flowers that can be turned into bouquets. The beds are rotated with the seasons to keep the best flowers for that season allowing them to have flowers nearly all year. In late December and January, you might only find snapdragons, but there will be flowers. Christina’s goal is to raise some flowers you might not find at the local florist making her bouquets special.

Kevin got his love for flowers and planting from his early jobs landscaping for a putt-putt course and now part-time landscaping. He takes on building planters, climbing walls, and poles in the ground to support draped areas that need to be out from under the sun. He also helps in plant selection, planting, and clearing beds. They raise all their flowers from either seeds or tubers.

Christina is actively involved in the planting and clearing as well but her specialty is making bouquets from these flowers and taking them to the Panama City Farmers Market. She also speaks at different clubs and organizations sharing her unique skill to weave plant stems together into a bouquet. She also does prom flowers, weddings, holidays, teacher appreciation, graduation, and recitals to name a few. While they don’t have formal training in this field, she shares that they learned a lot from books and especially You Tube videos. One of her tips for marigolds is to take the leaves off your flower and the negative odor is mostly gone. She gives even more tips on her talks.

Zinnias, Snapdragons, Foxglove, Ranunculus, Larkspur, Campanula, Roses – that actually smell good, Statice, white sunflower, and Cosmos are a few of the currently blooming flowers. Some of these are fading away and their beds will be replaced with Marigolds, more Zinnias, and other blooming flowers, while other beds are starting to bloom like Dahlias, Queen Anne’s Lace, Yarrow in multiple colors, and others. They grow between 18 to 30 varieties throughout the year.

They cannot welcome you into their garden because of the narrow pathways and children’s toys but you can purchase her lovely bouquets at the market or contact them through Facebook or Google. They choose not to post their contact information in this article for the safety of their children: 2 teenagers that include a 17-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old son, and a 3-year-old son.

When you are ready for a bouquet to brighten your day or that of a friend’s know that you can get her infamous jar bouquets for $15 - $35 and her wraps for $25 - $40. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077186194622