Events - Event View

"A Love Affair with Local Flowers"
Thursday, Sept. 12, Ann Arbor City Club

We're kicking off the new 2024-25 Farm & Garden season with an inspiring story and, of course, flowers! Join your AAF&G friends as we learn how Marilla Field & Flora in Dexter, a local, sustainable flower farm and floral design studio, came to be through the vision and work of its grower/owner. Hand-tied bouquets will be demonstrated.

Speaker: Adrianne Gammie, grower/owner of Marilla Field & Flora in Dexter, is originally from Canada, where she first had a career in Toronto as a fashion designer and event planner. Connected by her profession to local flower farmers in her area, she fell in love with growing the flowers that she used in her designs. Having grown up on a fruit farm, she easily transferred her knowledge of growing fruit to cultivating flowers. 

For Adrianne, it became “the best job that I never knew existed.” She began by growing a field of flowers between some rows of apple and cherry trees, and Marilla Field and Floral was born. A love of browsing used-book stores led her to a book describing the carbon footprint, plus the ecological and human impact of the floral industry. She vowed to do it better. She practices earth-friendly organic techniques, such as creating dedicated pollinator fields and refusing to use single-use plastics in bouquets or in other aspects of her business. She'll tell us more about her journey, her practices, and demonstrate hand-tying a beautiful bouquet in her presentation.

 
Members, please register for lunch ($18) and the program, or program only, by midnight, Sept. 5th. Doors open Sept. 12 at 11:30 am; lunch is at noon; the presentation begins at 1 pm.

Guests of AAF&G members are welcome to attend the presentation at no cost (registration required). Members, you can register your guest here for lunch ($18) and/or the presentation only. Doors open Sept. 12 at 11:30 am. Please register by midnight, September 5th.

Non-AAF&G members are welcome to attend the program for a $5 donation to Ann Arbor Farm & Garden’s Foundation, which awards annual garden-related grants and scholarships. Doors open Sept. 12 at 12:30 pm. Please register by midnight, Sept 5th.