Wholesale  Q & A

Are you the same as a traditional floral wholesaler?  Nope.  We are different...but in an amazing sort of way.  We are able to offer unique blooms that don't handle shipping and traveling very well.  Adding unique is a great way to set apart your arrangements and keep customers coming back for more!  We also offer a direct link from farm to florists.  We appreciate the genuine relationships that we have created within the floral industry.  Learning for each other has been invaluable.
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How are your flowers bundled? We sell our flowers in Growers Bunches.  This simply means that typically there will be 10 stems to a bunch.  However, if a certain variety is winding down for the season (meaning a possible decrease in height or size) or for other reasons we may include a different number of stems to equal paid value.  

What to you offer? We offer a variety of focals, fillers, and foliage.   Our farm grows over 80 different varieties of plants.  Within those varieties are different color choices.  We are a growing farm and are planning an expansion project this spring to offer you even more local goodness!

Is it easy to order from Fence Post?  That is our goal.  We know everyone is busy with the demands of running a small business.  We use on-line ordering system through our website for your convenience.  It's like we're open 24/7.  We do accept email and phone orders as well.  Our Chicago land deliveries are being mainstreamed through Chicago Flower Market.  Please visit https://www.chiflowermarket.com to learn more!!

Does Fence Post Florals deliver? Kind of.  Our product gets delivered to the Chicago Flower Market for Wednesday morning pick-up for Chicago folks.  Farm pick-up is an option as well for any interested florists!  

Who do you work with?  We currently work with retail florists, event planner studios, and wedding planners.  We welcome any addition florist who are interested in sourcing and creating with local products. 

Can we pre-order? Yes!  Once a florists creates an account on Chicago Flower Market they have access to farm product availability.  We do our major product updates on Saturdays.  We like orders to be in by Monday morning to ensure prime selection and harvesting conditions.  We are a farm and harvest fresh so our listed availability is an estimation of what we expect to harvest.  Weather conditions and other factors can effect the actual harvest.  If for some reason we are unable to completely fulfil your order we will be happy to work with you on substituting or adjusting as needful.   

What payment options are available? We accept credit card, check or cash upon satisfied delivery.

We are new to local flowers can we request a sample? Absolutely!   If you are interested in looking into our seasonal flower options and availability reach out to us here on our website or through our social media accounts listed below.

How fresh is your product?  At Fence Post Florals we are committed to freshness and beauty.  We pick our flowers in the cool of the morning and evening to maximize flower freshness and longevity for your arrangements.  Your flowers are often delivered 24-48 hours after they are picked.  Some flowers, like sunflowers, are picked everyday to capture the blooms at the perfect time.  Our coolers at the farm help us keep those blooms happy until delivered!  A side note is that our product is never out of water from the moment they're harvested.  Those stems can start drinking right away!

​Please explain how seasonality effects your floral selection.  Understandably a lot of our selection changes with the seasons and nature's provisions.  This may feel like a limitation, but we like to think of it as a way to keep arrangements fresh and new with special touches that revolve with the seasons.  We understand that the growing conditions of the Midwest has limitations, and we are excited to be one of your wholesale options.  Our website is a great tool for you to see what is available and in season. 
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My customers are used to Pinterest pictures and seem out of touch with seasonality, how do I help them embrace local flowers?   We get this!  Our world is largely out of touch with seasonality across the board.  We encourage a more flexible approach to floral design by thinking in color and style rather than promising specific flowers.  Educating the consumer about seasonality and encouraging creative license is so vital to embracing local flowers.  No compromise here on beauty or style!  

Does your farm use sustainability practices? We do! We use drip irrigation to conserve our water resources, we continually build up the soil to keep it rich and nutrient, we limit the use of chemicals on the farm, utilize crop rotation, compost, and use organic fertilizers.  We also lessen the carbon footprint by offering "grown not flown" flowers decreasing thousands of miles of delivery.

But does buying local cost more? The million dollar question.  We totally understand the necessity of maintaining a financially sustainable business.  Here are some things to consider.  Shrink.  The amount of waste or shrink decreases with less travel and handling.  Florists have noticed up to 20% less damage.  We are happy to replace broken stem upon delivery.  That's the Fence Post difference!  The freshness of our flowers delivered in water decreases the amount of processing/conditioning needed.  And we all know that time is $!

I'm new to using local.  Are there any resources I could learn more from?   Thankfully, yes!  As the local flower movement spreads so does information and advice.  There are a few resources we highly recommend.  Ellen Frost from Local Color Flower from Baltimore is a florists pushing the bounds by only using local flowers.  She has some great podcasts on sourcing and using local blooms.  A facebook group called floristsbuyinglocal is also a great resource!  There is a book entitled Postharvest Handling and Storage of Cut Flowers, Florist Greens, and Potted Plants by Joanna Nowak that addresses some of the unique flowers we offer and how to care for them.    

Is there anything else I should be aware of? Farming is a fulfilling, dirty, and beautiful work all at one time.  We are a small farm and contend with Mother Nature as do other agriculture based industries; we are not exempt.  This at times can cause some level of unpredictability regarding availability.  We appreciate your interest in local flowers and hope that together, we can build a beautiful future for the flora industry.     

It is part of our mission to increase the availability of locally grown flowers to florist allowing them to create with local resources.  We would love to answer any questions you may have and look forward to growing our whole-sale community.