In 1980 Al and Marty Blackadar purchased a large parcel of farm land in South Hampton, NH where they made their home and used the land to raise Morgan and Quarter horses. Once the horses no longer needed the beautiful pastures that surrounded the residence and main grounds it became obvious that more could be done with the land. He turned that passion into Indian Hill Tree Farm using only about an
1/8 of the farm land. Marty always enjoyed gardening and knew the history of the land that was once used to produce vegetables and fruits for the Amesbury and Exeter markets. She and Al even found rows of wild asparagus when building the fence around the horse pasture. Cultivating the fertile soil and making use of the main grounds, plus what once was the horse pastures she started building raised beds and growing over 50 different varieties of annuals, perennials, bulbs, and woody ornamentals, now known as Late Bloomer Gardens. In 2007 and 2008 the garden expanded as did Marty's knowledge. She learned, practiced and attended conventions and educational opportunities with the Cut Flower Association which is a large membership of Cut Flower Growers worldwide. Marty has attended conventions in Oregon and Long Island and Cornell University in Ithaca, NY thus far and will to continue to attend future meetings. Marty and crew have participated in selling the flowers at the Newburyport Farmers Market and to a few local upscale markets that include fresh local flowers as a service to their discerning clientèle. Late Bloomer's target customer is someone who enjoys the beauty of fresh cut flowers, but might not have the time to garden themselves. Many customers love the arrangements Late Bloomer can provide specific to their office decor or somewhere in their homes without having to think about how to get them home or how to preserve them. Getting fresh cut flowers home from the grocery store usually doesn't bode well for the flowers to last very long. With Late Bloomer's handling, delivery, and guarantee, you really can't go wrong. The fresh cut flowers are handled as we've learned is necessary to enjoy the longest possible life from them. Without the professional cooler, knowledge of when to harvest, and correct method of hydrating the flowers they might not last more than a day or two. It doesn't seem like such an expense to have fresh flowers on a weekly schedule if they last from week to week especially at a minimal cost of $15.-$25. And, if you become a LAF Club Member (Local Affordable Flowers), they can be delivered to you for that price! No additional delivery charge. Late Bloomer Gardens does not grow flowers for whole sale markets or large scale events. Our customers are our neighbors or members that make up the community in our offices, business', restaurants and homes. Everyone deserves the beauty that a fresh cut flower bouquet or arrangement can add to their environment. Our goal is to supply a little more beauty to our friends and neighbors with flowers from our farm at a reasonable cost during our New England growing season (and maybe a little longer with the help of one small greenhouse). The farm help for Late Bloomer Gardens include young people who are either earning their way through college with horticulture or some form of agriculture in their future or people who love flowers and the opportunity to work with them. I trust you'll enjoy our beautiful flowers and we'd love to get to know you as a regular customer.
