We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kara Bettis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kara, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic is definitely supported by my late grandmother. She was always the first in line to jump at an opportunity and had a great sense of how to make things fun. My Gram is the reason I grow flowers and her drive and motivation have helped shape me into who I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a local micro flower farmer, who has a passion for sharing the beauty in our day to day lives. I’m thankful I am able to spread happiness by growing seasonal cut flowers with my local community. Growing flowers started as a hobby, and when others showed interest in enjoying flowers of mine, the opportunity bloomed.
Our spring growing season is just kicking off, where we’ll be offering tulips for the first time, and daffodils.
The growing season will continue into fall, before we wrap up to amend our soil.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Like many, during Covid, I turned to gardening. I completed the Master Gardens program through LSU’s Ag Center. I started with growing vegetables, and began to incorporate companion plants and flowers, in order to naturally control pests.
While attempting to increase my vegetable yield and maintain healthy soil, I found a real passion for growing flowers.
I would highly recommend any new grower look into these course or even visit your local Ag Center to learn what grows best in your area. Growing of all sorts is best done in a trial and error fashion. Every plot of dirt is different, which makes the growing experience so unique.
During Covid, I joined a lot of Facebook groups and online communities. Connecting with others with common interest, virtually, really allows you to expand your knowledge.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I would love to connect with a few different types of people! Other growers! Collaboration and sharing is the ultimate gift.
Local vendors! Do you own a coffee shop and want to have fresh flowers for your clients to be able to enjoy and take home? A local restaurant who would love to freshen up their table scapes? How about an artisan who could recreate my flowers with their own spin? Do you host a market or pop up event?
Flowers are a great way to brighten someone’s day!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/bettisblooms
- Facebook: Facebook.com/bettisblooms
Image Credits
Kara Bettis
