Tanya Hand with daughter Rowan, 18, from Cotati take in a crisp morning to harvest flowers at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
San Leandro residents Ashley Acosta with daughter Alena, 4, harvest cut flowers at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Tony Le of san Francisco, left, and Travis Troyer from Santa Rosa harvest flowers during Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
(Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Amy Callinan of Mill Valley picks flowers at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Fresh vegetables and blackberries at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Lillian Silverberg, 9, with freshly picked flowers at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Jaclyn Konczal floral director of Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Fresh picked cut flowers a Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Jaclyn Konczal, floral director of Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, in the new floral design studio at the farm, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Shafts of sunlight filter through a barn at Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Peter and Mimi Buckley, owners of Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Freshly harvested okra and purple zucchini at Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
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Tanya Hand with daughter Rowan, 18, from Cotati take in a crisp morning to harvest flowers at Front Porch Farm’s U-Pick day in Healdsburg, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
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Over the last few years Front Porch Farm has become renowned for organic and biodynamic produce, unique polenta, and u-pick events that often leave visitors with fingers stained purple (from blackberries, of course).
Now the farm along the banks of the Russian River in the southeast corner of Healdsburg has a new attraction: An interactive floral design studio.
The new effort, dubbed Flower Porch, was scheduled to open Sept. 20, and it marks the first time that Front Porch farmers have invited the public to work with flowers grown and harvested on the 110-acre property. The three-hour classes include hands-on instruction in floral design, a guided excursion to harvest materials, a custom-made ceramic vessel, and snacks.
Classes will be offered every three or four weeks and cost $278 per person.
The new studio is the brainchild of two women: Jaclyn Edds Konczal, studio creative director; and Zoe Hitchner, flower program manager. While Hitchner farms the flowers, Konczal heads up all the farm’s floral design, and likely will teach every class herself.
Konczal said she is excited to launch the new program, and hopes the classes enable participants to slow down and tap into their creative sides.
“My real hope is that people have a connection to the land that they’ve been deeply craving whether or not they’re aware of it — a return to the land, and an opportunity to have their creativity inspired,” she said. “Just unlocking that and giving people the space and the container to express themselves and have fun.”
Building a flower business
Front Porch didn’t always grow flowers; that dream was realized after owners Peter and Mimi Buckley bought the farm in 2010. At the time, Mimi Buckley wanted to develop a small garden for flowers beside the vegetable rows, so she went to a conference to learn more.
Kitchner was a speaker at that conference; soon thereafter she moved to Healdsburg and started farming. (Konczal, a florist by trade, joined later.)
Over the years, Hitchner has grown the flower operation with the goal of having fresh and beautiful flowers year-round. Front Porch now grows more than 60 different species and 300 different varieties, including peonies, cosmos, dahlias, campanula, godetia, and chrysanthemums.
“Started as an experimental plot; now 6 acres of semi-intelligent decisions,” Hitchner joked.
The new Flower Porch studio looks out on many of these flowers, and it comprises part of a barn on the property that the Buckleys built around 2012. For years, the space was where workers stored Dahlia tubers, and where farmers dried garlic by hanging it from the rafters.
On temperate days, Konczal sets up a table in the storage area and arranges flowers into bouquets. (On hot days, she’d ply her craft in a walk-in freezer.)
Front Porch transformed the space into a studio earlier this year. First they converted two of the wooden walls into walls of windows that bathe the room in natural light. Front Porch then painted the rafters white, creating a country feel. The studio is sparsely decorated with tables and carts, giving visitors maximum space to move around and work.
All told, the place has the vibe of a pavilion. It’s an exquisite place to spend an afternoon.
“We built the Flower Porch studio in the farm center, so visitors can look at the flower fields on one side and at carts filled with fresh cut flowers on the other,” Peter Buckley said in an email. “Flower Porch workshops are another way to share the farm’s beauty.”
Anatomy of a class
Against this spectacular backdrop, all the new Flower Porch classes will follow the same agenda: an exploration of floral design as art.
Guests arrive to a spread of homemade snacks, usually goodies that feature or incorporate fresh fruits and produce from elsewhere on the farm. Konczal also serves Mimi Buckley’s famous lemon ginger tea — a staple for those who live and work there.
Once the group has settled, Konczal shares a few insights about design. During this talk, she reviews basic concepts such as form, line, texture, and depth. Konczal picks up flowers as she references them, providing participants with clear examples of her vision. This is part of her effort to make the class accessible for everyone.
From there, guests grab a pair of clippers and head out to harvest materials from the farm.
Konczal and her team also will have previously harvested flowers available, in case participants do not harvest enough on their own.
When guests are ready to start arranging, they are given custom-made vases from Olivet Ceramics in which to place the flowers. Konczal said the vases alone would sell for about $75, and noted they are not available anywhere but at Flower Porch.
Each guest can take home their arrangement, vase and all.
“We want to encourage people that once they leave, they can go to the farmers market or clip flowers from their backyard and create an arrangement for themselves,” she said. “This is something that people have been doing forever, in every culture, and our intention is to help people bring this art form into their day-to-day lives.”
Seasonal offerings
Flower Porch classes can seat up to 30 guests at a time.
For the first workshop, Konczal was expecting to encourage participants to use dahlias as a focal flower and accessorize with fun elements such as tomatoes on the vine and celosia, a complementary flower that has a fuzzy texture. She said she also might offer guests the option of working with asparagus foliage, which comprises tiny red berries.
“I love working with elements that are gorgeous but are elements people don’t often consider putting in a floral arrangement,” she said. “If people walk away from these classes learning one thing, I’m good with it being that.”
Just as the flowers in the fields at Front Porch change with the seasons, so too will the classes that work with them.
Some weeks, Konczal will offer different species and different colors. Other weeks, she’ll change up the program completely —always making sure that the end result is reflective of what’s happening at the farm.
In early November, for instance, classes might revolve around darker colors such as mauve, pink, and plum. The farm won’t have dahlias, so perhaps Konczal will incorporate chrysanthemums, which they grow year-round under hoops. Later in the year, when options dwindle even more, classes might feature dried flowers, or wreaths.
The promise of these classes appeals to Vanessa Miranda Stewart, a Healdsburg resident.
Stewart has attended Front Porch’s U-Pick events and said she certainly would consider a workshop at the farm’s floral studio in the future.
“U-Pick has become our favorite family weekend activity,” she said. “Our toddler gets the freedom to discover where food comes from, while we enjoy the freshest produce and gorgeous flowers in a beautiful, welcoming space.”
Matt Villano is a freelance writer and editor in Healdsburg.
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