Why not dare to be different?

I sometimes feel we’re living in monoculture when it comes to how flower farmer portray themselves on social media.  For that fact honestly how most of us portray ourselves, we all want to fit into the a trending aesthetic. I get we’re all trying to get a marketable image out there. The fact of the matter for a small business is a large percentage if not all of our marketing plan is social media. I find myself sometimes in a sea of armload of flowers harvest shots, buckets full to the brim imagery and the whimsical videos of flowers blooming in the breeze. Which don’t get me wrong are absolutely beautiful but it can all feel the same.

This monoculture of a very specific aesthetic can lead to comparisons trap. Is my harvest bountiful enough? Should I have chosen to grow that color? Should I have found a more neutral background? Are my flowers as beautiful as theirs? I would lying if I said I haven’t fallen into this comparison before. I find myself in the peak of a season constantly scrutinizing my flower photos-trying to choose the absolute perfect image. I then find myself in the dead of winter months later marveling over the gorgeous blooms I works so hard to grow.

So why not dare to be different? At the start of this year while reflecting on last season I started to think about how the farm’s social media doesn’t feel fun to me anymore. I wanted to shift my mindset around this. To shift my mindset I’m trying two things to help me create imagery that feels more me. Create content that I enjoy making- let this be more fun and less work.

The first is my Frida Kahlo inspired harvest shots. These photo are self of me with a bunch of fresh flowers I just harvested a top my head. I generally take this photos in the field in the process of harvesting or as I’m just finishing. They make me happy, they feel fun and I love looking back at them over the course of the year. They are little snippets of my life capturing a moment in time.

The second practice I’m trying to incorporate-is bringing flowers in my home. After doing all the work of planting, growing, harvesting the flowers I’ve come to find I rarely actually bring them into my home. I preach about their beauty and sell the idea of the joy they can bring into the home but came to find over the years I’ve actually done that less and less. So this season Im committing to making myself an arrangement each week. I plan to share these simple arrangements I make with you all and hope they spark joy for you too.

I’m hoping these two practices will bring me more joy and fun on this platform this season.

Until next time,

Caelin G-S