Sonia Esqueda started farming by growing vegetables.
Working on an ⅛-acre plot at Green Hill Farm, the young farmer was hoping to support to local communities with her harvest. Listening to gardening podcasts and videos, she heard a tip about how to encourage pollinators: Plant some flowers. So, wanting to create a healthy ecosystem, Esqueda tossed some floral seeds into the ground.
“It was amazing, the difference,” she said. “The sounds from the pollinators, the amount we could hear in the mornings, the energy that was felt on the farm, it made a significant difference in the amount of vegetables that we produced.”
That successful season led her down a rabbit hole. She started watching tutorials. She read a book on flower farming. She was hooked.
“I just became fueled by, ‘What can I do with my local food system?’” the Colorado Springs resident said.
“Well, if I can’t grow all the vegetables, but I can grow flowers, that provides for pollinators and that can impact local farms in my area and the other farmers on the property, then that’s something that I feel like is an impact I can have on my community.”
Now, three years later, Esqueda’s plot boasts whimsical blooms of mauve snapdragons, soft daisies and pink bellflowers. As the owner of Florecita Farm, Esqueda focuses her growing on noninvasive, pollinator-friendly flowers, which she makes into bouquets to sell at pop-up markets and local businesses.
The handmade bouquets contrast from the traditional, tightly wrapped arrangements you might find at a grocery store. With her airy style, the self-taught florist highlights her locally grown florals, with muted color palettes and breathable blooms. When designing, sometimes she’ll pick a theme, like a citrusy bouquet with light oranges and yellows, or berry-inspired with saturated and punchy colors, she said.
“I enjoy soft, airy, whimsical, garden-inspired style. I love a flower meadow, so I love that loose look,” she said.
“My relationship with flowers is very intimate. So my floral design style, it’s kind of the personality that I see in every flower.”
Most cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported, primarily sourced from Colombia, the Netherlands and Ecuador, according to the USDA. To deliver the flowers in mint condition, suppliers often have to treat the plants with preservatives to survive the journey, which can be up to 5,000 miles, Esqueda said.
Esqueda, however, operates out of Green Hill Farm, an incubator farm in Peyton that uses regenerative growing practices. She’s passionate about a sustainable approach to agriculture, choosing not to treat her flowers with heavy chemicals and growing cold-tolerant, noninvasive plants. She grows just over a dozen species, including snapdragons, phacelias, delphiniums, zinnias, marigolds and celosias.
By growing locally, Esqueda also works to reduce the carbon footprint that comes with importing flowers internationally.
“I am not the only living species on this planet,” she said. “The best way for me to honor all of the life in my regional area is to not use anything that’s going to cause harm to it.”
Although she started Florecita Farm two years ago, she’s been farming for about five years.
She started her journey after dropping out of college in response to the pandemic. Originally, she planned on studying environmental engineering. When she returned home to Wichita, Kan., she decided to participate in a state pilot program for farmers and ranchers. Through that program, she was assigned to work at a local organic farm for a season.
“I was introduced to regenerative agriculture, permaculture concepts, and that’s when I really started to learn about where our food came from. I had never thought about how food was grown,” she said. “I just got hands-on practice, and I just fell in love with growing food.”
She also advocates for small businesses, especially those supporting local farmers and ranchers. Her flowers can be found at Provisions Bakery and Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market.
“The one thing I rave about is local ag (agriculture), and just knowing where your food comes from — it’s amazing people who put in so much time and effort, and it’s really a labor of love,” she said.
“Even though they might not feed thousands of people, they still feed hundreds of families every year. And a lot of the farmers in Colorado Springs are really passionate about food access and partnering with local food rescues.”
As for Green Hill Farm, Esqueda said she and other farmers have started to notice more honey bees, as well as recording about 40 species of birds, a welcome sight.
“Every year we’ve been here, the local ecology on our farm changes with more flowers,” she said. “We share this environment with every other species, with the plants too. As we’ve been on this property, every year we’ve seen an increase in the diversity of native plants that are growing, and the amount of birds that we’re seeing and the amount of deer that come by, and this year, we have a lot more bull snakes than ever before.”