From Textiles to Floral Design: It's All About Texture

While the roses at Dragonfly Farm have yet to bloom, owner Bonnie Z. has no shortage of materials with which to work.

Outside the office-retail store, succulents piled high in garden carts await planting. A willow basket sits high on a shelf while flexible branches poke out of troughs, ready to be shaped into delightful designs.

Inside, air plants grow in repurposed tree branches, while earthen-toned vases march on one shelf and palm frond baskets line another.

Loveliness is all about fiber and texture. A one-time fiber artist who worked and showed in galleries and museums in San Francisco and Boston, as well as the Contemporary Crafts Museum in New York, Bonnie Z. bought the already-organic Dragonfly Farm in 1990.

The farm at that time, “grew everything from grapes to vegetables,” she said.

Vegetables still play a part in Z’s farm life, interplanted among the flowers or growing in beds, but they are no longer the central farm focus.

Now, the focus is Dragonfly Floral: floral design for weddings, events and wineries among other clients.

“Over the years we have done a lot of things,” said Z. “We’ve used coffee grounds from the Goat (the Flying Goat Coffee shop), grape pomace and worm castings.

“Once we had butternut squash growing between the roses,” she said, then laughed. “We shared with non-profits.”

 Z’s daughter, Carlisle Degischer, also lives on Dragonfly Farm, in a separate house,  with her husband Ray Degischer.

The Degischers have a young son. Carlisle Degischer is one of the designers for Dragonfly Floral. Ray Degischer’s design studio is also at the farm. His business, Country Industrial, specializes in what he calls “repurposed functional art.”

While the farm is no longer certified organic, Z continues to be an adherent of organic methods and environmental responsibility.

“Now I’m doing hugelkultur beds,” Z said.

Hugelkultur is a way of growing plants in raised beds formed of compostable materials, like brush and other garden materials. It is a method free of irrigation or chemical inputs.

She turned to hugelkulture as a way to avoid burning the copious brush and other materials that come from this six-acre farm. While she still burns the rose canes, she composts the rest of the brush.

Z’s beds are lined in rows into which she plants directly. The oldest bed is filled with garlic plants that will be ready for harvest at the end of May or June.

Just as the hugelkultur beds don’t rely on inputs, Dragonfly Floral uses mostly plant materials from the farm, instead of relying heavily on imported flowers.

The move from vegetables to floral designs came about through a suggestion by of Jimtown Store. Dragonfly Farm was growing flowers and vegetables for the when the folks at the store got them their first wedding and they were off into the floral world.

Now they design flowers for weddings all over the Bay Area. In addition, they provide weekly flowers to a number of Healdsburg businesses, including wineries, as well as individuals and families.

“We have a lot of blooming shrubs,” she said. “There is always something in bloom.”

Riley, her rescued Golden Retriever, lies quietly by the table, only getting up when we stand to go outside. Z talks of her support of the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.

The shelter photographer, Linda Wilkes, brings the dogs to her property and most of the dog walkers bring dogs on their daily constitutionals. Z laughs when she talks about her seven cats and “one auditioning.” The cat has to get along with the rest of the brood.

In addition to Riley and the cats, another dog, chickens and ducks make their home at Dragonfly Farm. The chickens used to run free but because they ate most of the garden starts, they now live in a spacious chicken house. The ducks have their digs right next door.

“The ducks are great about eating snails and slugs and other garden pests,” said Z. “Sometimes the Shelter calls and says I need to go round them up.” The ducks don’t go far, just to the edge of the property, where they hang out and gabble through piles of woodchips.

“We’re on a wire service BBrooks, but we are very unlike Teleflora,” said Z. “We grow organic and natural.”

Z extends to an invitation to the community to enjoy the grounds at Dragonfly Farms. The retail store is open for business. Call for hours of operation.

425 Westside Road
Healdsburg
(707) 433-3739

 In addition to other activities at Dragonfly Farm, they offer classes, one coming up very soon.

On Sun., Apr. 15, learn to design your own wedding or event flowers at three classes at Dragonfly Floral. The class will be broken into three sections:
1.  Personal Flowers: Learn the mechanics of how to make bridal bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, and hair flowers. This class runs 10:00 a.m. - noon
2.  Table Tops:  We will teach you how to design interesting centerpieces as well as how to stage the tables and the room for the most impact. 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
3.  Ceremony Flowers:  In this section we will cover large format pieces for ceremony arrangements, pew markers, and swags. 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

1 Class:    $100.00
2 Classes:$175.00 
3 Classes:$225.00

Sign up here.