our story

How It Started

Established in 2015 as Hummingbird Gardens, my aim then was to use my suburban front yard to its fullest potential and grow herbs for restaurants. I started an herb CSA specifically for restaurants and couldn’t believe when they actually signed up. At the time I also worked as the Garden Education Coordinator for the Weinstein JCC and taught children from ages two through middle school about growing tasty veggies and eating them, respecting and loving our pollinator friends, and using the garden space to connect to our bodies and minds. As someone who used to see flowers as frivolous (if you can’t eat them all what’s the point?), I started to become more interested in them when I saw how they helped our education garden as a whole. At the same time, one of my restaurant clients asked if I could grow flowers for their tables. That became an offering and before I knew it I was growing more flowers than I was herbs. I was reading everything I could get my hands on about growing cut flowers. I was hooked in a big way. I used the herbs from my garden that I kept growing to start producing herb infused culinary salts and that steadily became a large part of my business. Today, I’ve said goodbye to the herb salts in favor of more time with the flowers and my 2 year old son, Silas, who keeps me extremely busy and laughing.

In early 2018, I attended a cut flower conference in Danville held by Virginia State University and happened to start chatting with a nice man named Don from Midlothian. He told me about his land and his interests and I asked if I could come visit sometime. That season, I started growing flowers at Bright Acres Dayliles. We expanded to include growing in a big high tunnel (a new thing for me that I loved but also felt intimidated by!) and a bunch of new beds. I was so fortunate to be part of this space while I was there. Last year, we found our dream home in Beaverdam, Virginia (part way between Ashland and Doswell) and are now working to re-establish there. All while having another baby! Life is super full but I’m really grateful to have a field of my own that is equal parts beauty and chaos! :)

Also in 2018, myself and Jenn Henry of Field Day Creative put our heads and hearts together to launch River City Flower Exchange, the city’s only all local wholesale and retail flower market. Our first day of business was April 17, 2019, and while it wasn’t all roses (har har), we learned a ton, had loads of support from our community River City Flower Exchange, and decided it was still a good idea at the end of our first year. Now, RCFE has transitioned to a grower-owned cooperative model where all the growers have a stake in the market, setting up for a more sustainable future. Our area not only has a bunch of bad-ass flower farms and farmers, but we’re a group that cares about each other, too. We have our own storefront in Scott’s Addition where you can buy our flowers and take some awesome workshops!

Today, Hummingbird Flower Co. grows almost 100 different kinds of flowers, herbs, and foliages for cut flower production (and some edible flowers, too!). Through our flower subscriptions (on pause for 2023), wholesale accounts, and bouquets in shops around town, we aim to help bring natural beauty into your space, making every day moments a smidge more special. Thank you for supporting locally and lovingly grown cut flowers. This flower farmer can’t wait to hug you one day (if you’re into that)!

Hummingbird Flower Co. is a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) and Floret’s Farmer-Florist Collective.

Meet the Farmer

amanda-with-bouquet-of-locally-grown-dahlias

Hello! I’m Amanda Montgomery, owner and operator of Hummingbird Flower Co. I remember following my grandmother around greenhouses and garden centers when I would visit her in Georgia growing up. She was a bit of a plant hoarder and though it was really tough to grow roses in Savannah, she was going to make it work. And she did! Looking back now I see a thread from those visits to doing what I love today as a flower farmer.

I grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia and remember growing marigolds in my backyard and bursting seed pods from impatiens that my mom planted. But, I don’t think anyone would have pegged me as a kid that was into plants. I did love to be outside but as I got older most of my outside time was marching band practice where I played the trombone and only played it kind of well.

My first real exposure to agriculture was in college when I decided to become a vegetarian. It took cutting something out of my diet to open me up to new foods and I finally had to eat vegetables other than carrots and broccoli. From there my interest in food grew and grew but flowers were nowhere on my radar. Though my diet now encompasses pretty much everything, I have held onto that curiosity and love of food. After I graduated from VCU in 2009, I stayed in Richmond but a year later found a graduate program at Chatham University in Pittsburgh offering a Masters in Food Studies. And off I went! I studied and read and opened a seed library at the public library and worked at Churchview Farm for two seasons. Working on a small, woman-owned farm was the experience of a lifetime and cemented my interest in working in agriculture. When I finished my degree, I wanted to come back to Richmond (I cannot live anywhere further north of here because I’m a wimp). My then-boyfriend (now husband) Michael and I got a teeny apartment in Carytown and I started looking for farm jobs...in November. Funnily enough, there wasn’t much to be found at that point in the year! I ended up finding a position at the Weinstein JCC that started as being a gardening instructor for their after school program but then quickly became something more. I was tasked with starting their Edible Schoolyard and while I did that, I started working in a four year old classroom. I am an only child and barely did any babysitting growing up, so I did not know kids. But they embraced me and I grew to love teaching and building out the garden and doing lessons with kids of all ages. Seeing kids unafraid of bees, eating tomatoes off the plants with delight, and digging out sweet potatoes with huge smiles on their faces is something I’ll never forget. But something tugged at me.

I remember sitting on my swing with my dad and looking out at my front yard in Bon Air where we had moved a couple of years before. It was plain and grassy and I knew it could be different. I remember telling my dad that I had a feeling that this space could be so much more and maybe I could make something really special happen there. Now, almost 6 seasons later, I look back on that moment and see that that’s where this dream really took hold.

In July 2022, we relocated a little bit away to Beaverdam, VA (part way between Ashland and Doswell) in part so I could have my own field. I also had a baby in May (yay Ruby!) so lots of changes this year as I work to re-establish the farm.

I’m a mom to a spirited and amazing kiddo and now a new baby and I find my time at more of a premium than ever. So I am on a journey that I’m sure will never end; finding a way to work my farm into my life while not letting it run me. Part of that is partnerships with other businesses and people who are better at things than I am (like designing wedding flowers! And making wreaths!) and part of that is simply letting go of a few ideas (maybe just for now, maybe forever). A big part of it is leaning on others like my parents who come out to the field to help me harvest and grow and then help me deliver. I couldn’t begin to do it without them and others!

The mom/farmer combo can be wholly exhausting some days but more times than not I find myself looking around at my crops and my family and thanking my lucky stars that this is my life.

The Farm

Hummingbird Flower Co. is located in Beaverdam, VA which is 15 minutes from downtown Ashland. Previously, HFCo. resided in Bon Air, VA and Midlothian. We still frequent the area and you can often find our flowers for sale at Perk! Bon Air. Otherwise, the vast majority of my blooms are for sale through our cooperative, River City Flower Exchange.

The new field is in its first year and is already blooming like crazy. As I work to re-establish the farm here, I have paused subscriptions for 2023. As things progress, I plan to start a roadside stand, offer u-pick days, and continue supplying bouquets at different shops. The majority of my flowers will still be offered through River City Flower Exchange.

Our Why

Everything has a purpose.

From the wonky stems to the earthworms, we value the life that our farm cultivates and we do our best to utilize every part of our farm smartly and with care.

You don’t need a special occasion to have a special moment.

One thing 2020 has taught me is that there can be so much beauty in the mundane. I believe that flowers in our space can be the catalyst for bringing us back into the present and can serve as a reminder that beauty can be found just about anywhere if we’re willing to take a closer look.

Collaboration over Competition.

I am friends with other flower farmers and do not know where I’d be without them. With around 80% of the cut flowers used in this country being shipped in from abroad, there is room for all of us. This is where I plug River City Flower Exchange again, y’all!

Be as open and transparent as possible.

The flowers are beautiful, yes. But sometimes the process is messy. Really messy. And I am far from a perfect farmer. I hope that by being open and honest about my struggles I can give a realistic look at what this work is like and why it’s worth it!

The farm is a living and breathing entity and we’re here to help it be as healthy as possible.

Paying attention to what our soil and yes, the farm pests, are telling us will help us to care for it in the best way possible. Our job is to observe and listen to what the farm is telling us.

Be a voice for earth friendly floristry and flower farming and boost our friends who are doing the same.

There is a growing understanding that industry standards like floral foam and other disposable tools are harmful to the environment. By providing information that already exists and speaking through my own experience, I hope to add to the voices that are advocating for a different path for the floral industry. It’s also important to not shame anyone for using these design techniques. That helps exact zero people!

Be a business our customers respect and care for.

In order for them to feel that way, we treat our customers with care and respect. HFCo. wouldn’t exist if people didn’t purchase the blooms we grow. Our best show of gratitude is to continue to produce beautiful flowers and foliages and give our customers an experience that makes them feel special (because they are!).

Embrace imperfection.

We want our farm to be as close to a closed-loop as possible and we want our stems to be flawless, but that doesn’t always happen. We aim to do our best and learn from our mistakes, always working towards a better version of what we are today.