<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=467IgK_0wCIL5WA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=467IgK_0wCIL5WA00" width="1024" height="697" >Kate and John Fitzpatrick planted a seed six years ago when they acquired a historic property near Pungoteague and transformed it into Chatham Flower Farm, one of the first of its kind on the Eastern Shore.Now the region is home to more than 10 flower farms, and the industry continues to grow.Neither of the Fitzpatricks began as a flower grower. Kate Fitzpatrick is an artist and a former horsewoman, an Olympic-level show-jumper. John Fitzpatrick is a former straw grower.In 2015, Kate Fitzpatrick first visited the Shore, where her future husband was working on a straw farm.During that first visit, the couple stayed at the Cape Charles House bed-and-breakfast, which was run by husband-and-wife team Bruce and Carol Evans, who are now retired.The two couples connected quickly, and when the Fitzpatricks were married in 2022, Bruce Evans walked the bride down the aisle.The Fitzpatricks went on to develop relationships with many people in the “friendly and open” Eastern Shore community. They never experienced the “come-here” and “from-here” phenomenon, Kate Fitzpatrick said.Of every place she has lived, from Europe to Florida, the Eastern Shore of Virginia stands out as a place that is welcoming and home to many different cultures.The Eastern Shore is “deeply important,” Kate Fitzpatrick said.The Fitzpatricks have lived on the Shore since 2017, and they purchased the historic Chatham farm property and began their flower business in 2018.Flower-growing lends itself well to anyone who wants to get started in farming because it doesn’t require a lot of heavy equipment or space, they said.Hundreds of flowers can grow in a small bed — for example, the Fitzpatricks have grown about 600 oriental lilies in a bed approximately 10 feet by 60 feet — so the flower business thrives on the four-acre farm with plenty of room to spare.Dahlias are the featured flower at Chatham Flower Farm and the Fitzpatricks’ favorite.They appeal to Kate Fitzpatrick because the dahlias are so “big and beautiful,” and the seemingly unending variety of colors speaks to the artist in her.“This is my life,” she said of the colors that adorn both the dahlias and her oil paintings — mostly abstract coastal landscapes.Kate Fitzpatrick has other connections to dahlias. Her grandmother, who lived in Maine, raised dahlias and zinnias. Many of the people that Kate Fitzpatrick worked with in horse-showing hailed from Mexico, where the dahlia is the national flower.She finds dahlias “easy to grow” but sometimes expensive. The flowers start from tubers that can cost anywhere from $6 to $160 each. The tubers typically multiply four times over every year, Fitzpatrick said.The dahlias begin blooming every year in May, but their prime time is throughout September and October, and they continue blooming until the arrival of a killing frost, she said.Dahlias are delicate and prone to breakage due to their hollow stems, so the Fitzpatricks string large-holed nets across the flower bed rows; the dahlias grow up through the holes and the nets hold the flowers upright.Dahlias grow not only in many colors but in many shapes. The types of dahlias found at Chatham Flower Farm include balls, dinner plates, and anemones.The Fitzpatricks feel as connected to their historic farm as they do to their community.Kate Fitzpatrick said that when she was shopping for Eastern Shore real estate, the Chatham property was the “lucky No. 13” property she had seen in one day and “that was it for me.”The 300-year-old farm, complete with a barn that houses Fitzpatrick’s studio, “has a feeling like it’s been loved” and “envelops you with a warm hug,” she said.The Fitzpatricks take the care of their historic property seriously. “We’re stewards for the next person that owns it,” Kate Fitzpatrick said.She would like to purchase the surrounding farmland one day and place the entire property under conservation.The Fitzpatricks also enjoy giving to the community that made Chatham Flower Farm so successful that John was able to quit his job to run the farm, giving Kate more time to focus on her other creative passion, art.Their “business model” always has been, “What can we do for the community before we do for ourselves?” Kate Fitzpatrick said.That included Chatham Flower Farm hosting the first annual Meet at the Table farm-to-table dinner in 2018, which benefited the Delmarva Farmers Union and the Eastern Shore Artisans Guild.Fitzpatrick also serves on the board for the Eastern Shore Artisans Guild, and Chatham Flower Farm is a stop on the group’s annual studio tour.Her goal is to continue to reach out to the community, collaborate with other flower growers on the Shore, promote buying locally, and create a “flower farm collective” that is a source for area florists.“The community makes us as good as we are,” she said.The Chatham Flower Farm and roadside stand are located at 31094 Boggs Road, Painter.For more information, visit www.chathamfarm1770.com or the Chatham Flower Farm page on Facebook.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

John and Kate Fitzpatrick brighten Shore with flower farm

Kate and John Fitzpatrick planted a seed six years ago when they acquired a historic property near Pungoteague and transformed it into Chatham Flower Farm, one of the first of its kind on the Eastern Shore. Now the region is home to more than 10 flower farms, and the industry...