A buzz of activity surrounds the lead-up to Memorial Day for nurseries and greenhouses, like bees hovering around the bright blooms that are sold all across the county that weekend.
Wolf’s Blooms and Berries in northwest Ohio is no exception, as staff runs from one retail display to another, watering plants and snapping off wilted leaves.
Wood County Farm Bureau members James and Sue Wolf have operated the greenhouse in Bowling Green for more than 20 years. After two decades, they have a good sense of what their customers want. On Memorial Day the graves of loved ones who have passed are adorned in remembrance, especially those of service men and women to commemorate their service and sacrifice.
“We have many customers with a priority to make sure their loved ones’ graves are tended to and decorated for Memorial Day events, “ Sue said. “Customers are also eager to start their outside summer entertainment on Memorial Day and their yards and patios are a priority to plant and decorate.”
Kim Ringler, plant production, organizes Memorial Day arrangements.
It’s good to keep in mind that Memorial Day weekend is in some ways a grand finale of the flower season. In another month the Wolf’s greenhouse turns from blooms to berries.
“We start harvesting strawberries around the first week in June,” Sue said. “Our goal is to have our greenhouse emptied out by the time berries are done, which is (usually) around the end of June.”
Feature Image: Sue Wolf, owner of Wolf’s Blooms and Berries works on organizing some Memorial Day arrangements at the greenhouse.
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
The 2023 Ohio Agriculture and Rural Communities Action plan provides a blueprint for policymakers and Ohio Farm Bureau members to bolster Ohio’s agriculture industry and our rural communities.
Brad Weaver of Wyandot County is a sixth generation farmer from Upper Sandusky. His family raises wheat, corn, and soybeans as cash crops and uses a wide variety of cover crops on their farm.
The Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge is a national business competition that showcases U.S. startups developing innovative solutions that address challenges facing America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
International Food Solutions is receiving a grant to help redevelop and expand a vacant building in Cleveland into a plant with the capacity to process 60 million pounds of poultry.