Sarah Rossi Photography www.sara
Greg Campbell and Erick New. Photograph by Sarah Bell
There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But in this particular case, I might make an exception. Trust me, you can, too.
Just published in April, Florists to the Field is a gorgeous volume, both inside and out. Its publishers, Christian Owen and Greg Baudoin, have really hit the mark in the first offering of their new publishing company, Southerly. Owen, a former editor at StyleBlueprint and Mid-South Living magazine, and Baudoin, owner of Greg Baudoin Interior Design, have produced a splendid book about two of Memphis’ favorite and most talented florists, Greg Campbell and Erick New, the co-owners of Garden District, located on Sanderlin.
As many of their clients know, Campbell and New had worked together for years with the late, widely admired John Hoover in his little florist shop on Union. This book is clearly a labor of love, the result of a year-long journey that takes us behind the scenes as they visit the dedicated and remarkably talented commercial growers who are among Campbell and New’s primary sources for Garden District’s always bountiful supply of fresh flowers.
Garden and design gurus have written numerous books on home garden design, flower arranging, and decorating with flowers. Making Florists to the Field so very special are the in-depth profiles of 12 individuals and their families which Owen and Baudoin provide. This delightful dozen all work on what might be called “flower farms,” both near and far, from right here in the Deep South, all across the Midwest, out on the West Coast, and even across the Atlantic in The Netherlands.
In fact, the close personal relationships the owners of Garden District have developed with these growers (most of whom have clearly become good friends) come across loud and clear in Florists to the Field. Greg Campbell even went so far as spending a weeks’ vacation with Kenyon Growers in Forest Grove, Oregon, to work in the fields and see the growing process first hand. We can thank Sarah Bell of Sélavie Photography for her excellent work in capturing the ambiance of so many of these magnificent flower farms.
As you read the book, you’ll discover that each of these 12 operations is both interesting and unique. For example, you’ll read about how, in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, the owners transformed a former dairy farm into Star Valley Flowers, with rows and rows of glorious flowers. Two chapters of particular local interest are: The Farmstead on Woodson Ridge, where two acres of flowers are grown near Oxford, Mississippi (where the Garden District team has created events for the owners), and Wilson Gardens in Wilson, Arkansas, where a “rural renaissance” has been created by Gaylon Lawrence Jr. and the Lawrence Group.
From the dahlias featured on the cover to the delphiniums pictured inside, the book’s photographs are simply gorgeous. The colorful “people” shots of Campbell and New working on special events at the various farms and mingling with the owners are especially fun. In addition to Sarah Bell of Selavie Photography, Florists to the Field benefits from the excellent photographic contributions of Julie Wage Ross and Brandall Atkinson.
Co-publisher Christian Owen wrote all the colorful stories on the growers, and these are beautifully crafted. And as if he doesn’t have enough to do, Baudoin was the stylist, charged with responsibility for “the look” of the book. Everyone involved in the project is proud of the endorsements they have received, including kudos from Jeff Leatham, artistic director of the George V Hotel, the Four Seasons property in Paris, who points out that “Garden District brings flawless nature into your home and event.” High praise indeed!
Many of us first heard the news about the upcoming publication of Florists to the Field at an elegant party at Acre Restaurant, hosted last fall by Don and Elizabeth Scott, longtime friends of Garden District. The breathtaking flowers at the event (by Garden District, of course) were hung from the ceiling to evoke “upside-down meadows.” Now the book is out and available. There have already been several book signings of Florists to the Field in April, but there will be another at Novel in Laurelwood on May 12th, and another at Memphis Botanic Garden later in the month. Needless to say, the book can make a perfect Mother’s Day gift, since as the publishers had hoped, Florists to the Field is “as pretty as the flowers pictured inside.”
Owen and Baudoin point out that there are more books in the Southerly Publishing pipeline: one on design, which is no surprise considering Baudoin’s background, and another on decorative-arts collecting. I for one cannot wait!
Wilson
WILSON GARDENS
Wilson, Arkansas
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JULIE WAGE ROSS
The Wilson family has owned thousands of acres of Arkansas farmland since the 1840s. As their cotton empire expanded, the town of Wilson also developed, with buildings constructed in a Tudor Revival style. In recent years, the community has become a center for the arts, especially after the property was purchased by new owners in 2010. “Thanks to a new era ushered in with The Lawrence Group,” write the authors of Florists to the Field, “by renovating and resurrecting historic sites, the city that fell victim to progress has reclaimed its destiny as a jewel in America’s Southern crown.”Attractions include the Delta School, considered a national model of excellence, and the Wilson Cafe, “once again abuzz with the sounds of clinking cutlery.” A true gem of the property, however, is Wilson Gardens, some 200 acres devoted to flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, grains, and even cows, goats, and chickens. It’s much more than a farm, however. The Grange at Wilson Gardens is a learning lab that also serves as a special-events center, such as the dinner hosted in the middle of a cotton field (shown here). The event represented “the town’s history woven into a lively tapestry of cotton branches, vegetables, and herbs — an evening of Wilson’s past and a thread to its present: rustic, elegant, and intimate.”
Sarah Rossi Photography www.sara
Nico Wigchert Delphinium Farm
The Netherlands
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Sarah Bell
A second-generation grower, Nico Wigchert joined his father in thefamily farming business more than a quarter-century ago. At the time, the father-son duo was producing daffodils, tulips, and gladiolas. That changed in 1992, when Nico saw a flower at an exhibition – the Princess Caroline delphinium – that took his breath away; its fine texture and peachy-pink complexion with traces of rouge set it apart from other garden plants. Thus began Nico’s quest to create and recreate unparalleled varieties of this regal flower.
Today these perennial plants receive royal treatment at the Wigchert farm from Nico and his wife, Maria, who grew up in a farming family in Poland. With innate agricultural wisdom, Nico has developed a delphinium formula that is one part his own cultivation system, one part breeding his own species, and one part operating his own nurseries in two countries.
Nico rotates his plants between fields and greenhouses in Holland and Portugal. His recent addition of the second location in Portugal allows him to stagger the growing process and eliminate reliance on a single site’s weather conditions. The result of his loyalty and undivided attention to the delphinium since he met “Princess Caroline” 26 years ago is a current yield of 1.4 million stems harvested each year by the Delphiniumkwekerij farm.
Sarah Rossi Photography www.sara
The Farmstead on Woodson Ridge
oxford, mississippi
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JULIE WAGE ROSS
Situated on the edge of Oxford, Mississippi, this hidden, yet industrious refuge has two working farms, a cooking school, guest cottages, and a newly renovated barn that doubles as an entertainment and event space. Anne and Sandy Sharp have lovingly preserved the site’s rustic charm. Modeled in part after Covey Rise in Louisiana, also established by the Sharps, The Farmstead grows 14 acres of fruit and vegetable crops. Together with the Louisiana operation, The Farmstead supplies 250 area restaurants with specialty, mostly heirloom, varieties. No mass farming allowed here.This 128-acre haven beckons visitors to bask in a place where cattle once grazed and escape to the solace of the country when the hustle and bustle of city life become too much. Both The Farmstead and Covey Rise work directly with farm-to-table chefs and restaurateurs in five states to cultivate specialty fruits and vegetables that cannot be bought from commodity produce houses. Oxford is home to some of the finest chefs and caterers in the region, and its locals are invited to join the action and prepare traditional Southern delicacies in sophisticated indoor and outdoor kitchens.This is the multisensory sanctuary that awaits those who yearn for tranquility, let’s say, following a University of Mississippi football game. The creation of one of the simple enjoyments of life — time spent with family and friends — came from the blend of harvesting humble fields, restoring a simple country barn, and sustaining relationships born out of Southern hospitality.
