If you like to buy locally produced fruits and vegetables, Linda VanApeldoorn wants to add another homegrown staple to your table: fresh flowers cultivated from her half-acre garden in Lansing.

VanApeldoorn, who calls herself a "farmer florist," owns Take Your Pick Flower Farm on Brickyard Rd, the only u-pick flower farm in Tompkins County. She is also a vocal proponent of the "field-to-vase" or "slow-flower" movement, which advocates the use of locally and sustainably grown flowers.

"Most of the flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from factory farms in Ecuador and Columbia," VanApeldoorn says. "When you think of flowers, you think beauty and romance. Our flowers have that fresh-picked look and scent, because they are freshly cut from our gardens."

If you don't have time to stop by and pick some lilies, gladiolus or heliopsis, VanApeldoorn will deliver a weekly bouquet to your home or office through a subscription to her flower CSA (community-supported agriculture). This summer, she is offering the option of delivering both flowers and fresh baked goods from Ba-li Cravings, an Ithaca catering business.

Dave Astorina, owner of Green Home Heroes, an inspection services company, bought three subscriptions to the flower CSA this summer so he could give the bouquets to his wife, her office at Ithaca College, and the people he meets when he inspects their homes.


"No matter whom you give the flowers to, their face lights up," Astorina says. "It brings energy and light to an office space. Everyone who sees them smiles."

VanApeldoorn started the flower farm in 2007, after working in the telecommunications industry for several years. In 2010, her farm, which grows 40 types of annuals and perennials, was named one of the top ten pick-your-own flower farms by Birds and Blooms magazine.

In addition to offering the u-pick farm and CSA, VanApeldoorn arranges flowers for weddings, bar mitzvahs, parties, and special events. Her flowers are also available at the Triphammer Marketplace Farmers' Market, which runs every Friday from 8 to noon.

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