As the scent of nostalgia blooms in our studio, we're joined by Carol Carrier from Plant Masters Flowers to unearth the roots of a family business that's bringing the charm of your grandmother's garden to your doorstep. Carol shares how her son's leap from the corporate ladder back to the earth has sown the seeds for a thriving operation, specializing in American-grown flowers like lilacs and peonies that are too delicate for the long haul yet perfect for the local markets. Her tales of growth—both floral and entrepreneurial—remind us that the perennial nature of peonies can mirror our own resilience, and that cultivating a positive outlook can be just as essential as tending to our gardens.
Crackling with Carol's wisdom and wit, our conversation blossoms into an essential discussion about the cohabitation of felines and foliage. She sheds light on the lesser-known hazards that some household plants pose to our furry friends, especially the dangers lilies present to cats, while providing savvy tips to ensure all your loved ones—petal or paw—can flourish safely under one roof. Carol's zest for life encourages us to support local growers, appreciate our blessings, and to be that beacon of light in our communities, just as her flowers have brightened countless homes and markets across Maryland and DC. Listen in for a bouquet of inspiration, laughter, and life lessons in full bloom.
As the scent of nostalgia blooms in our studio, we're joined by Carol Carrier from Plant Masters Flowers to unearth the roots of a family business that's bringing the charm of your grandmother's garden to your doorstep. Carol shares how her son's leap from the corporate ladder back to the earth has sown the seeds for a thriving operation, specializing in American-grown flowers like lilacs and peonies that are too delicate for the long haul yet perfect for the local markets. Her tales of growth—both floral and entrepreneurial—remind us that the perennial nature of peonies can mirror our own resilience, and that cultivating a positive outlook can be just as essential as tending to our gardens.
Crackling with Carol's wisdom and wit, our conversation blossoms into an essential discussion about the cohabitation of felines and foliage. She sheds light on the lesser-known hazards that some household plants pose to our furry friends, especially the dangers lilies present to cats, while providing savvy tips to ensure all your loved ones—petal or paw—can flourish safely under one roof. Carol's zest for life encourages us to support local growers, appreciate our blessings, and to be that beacon of light in our communities, just as her flowers have brightened countless homes and markets across Maryland and DC. Listen in for a bouquet of inspiration, laughter, and life lessons in full bloom.
Speaker 1:
I'm Carol Carrier. Our business is Plantmasters and we offer locally grown flowers in season. So the best way to describe that is to kind of flowers your grandmother grew, so things like lilacs and peonies and zinnias and lisianthus. Sometimes these are flowers that don't ship well, which is our niche, but it's also in competition with the mass grown flowers coming out of South America, so we're an American grown company.
Speaker 2:
That is amazing. I saw you also our second generation. Is that correct?
Speaker 1:
Yes, I'm so thrilled. About 10 years ago my son asked to join the business. He had been in the corporate world and became disillusioned and we had room, form and thoughts of retirement, and so he's joined our business and we've set up a farm for him at his house. And the really cool thing about that is by setting up this second farm we were able to do things better than we bought our original property. So he has a big barn, so there's indoor workspace, space to store things, giant walk-in cooler. Just everything's a little more efficient and it really lets us expand our offerings.
Speaker 2:
Good, I saw you guys have a couple of farmer's markets that carries your flowers, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:
We do seven farmer's markets a week in season. So right now we're a little limited because the summer hasn't started up, but by the beginning of April we'll expand and then May we'll be in full force.
Speaker 2:
Awesome, and I see it's in Maryland and DC.
Speaker 1:
you're Maryland based correct, we're Maryland based Howard County, but our farm markets are primarily in Bethesda and Washington DC.
Speaker 2:
Okay, have you had any like thoughts or anything of expanding to Virginia for us Virginians? Well, not yet.
Speaker 1:
I will say that there are many talented growers in Virginia, so you do have access to Virginia grown flowers and I would encourage you to seek them out.
Speaker 2:
Okay, well, I'll come check you out just because you were our guest here. Thank you, I like you a lot. So far Good. And how do you pronounce it? Peonies.
Speaker 1:
Peonies. Well, I say peonies it doesn't mean I'm right.
Speaker 2:
Well, I'm going to trust you. Peonies, those are so beautiful. Are they hard to grow, not?
Speaker 1:
really, peonies are perennial, so they come back every year, which is something people like. The biggest problem people have is growing them without adequate sunlight. They do like to be in full sun. For us, we have about a quarter acre just in peonies. Whoa, it's a lot, and they all bloom at once.
Speaker 1:
And so when it's peony season we are at full force, I believe it you have to cut them at a perfect stage so that they are ready for your customer to have them open in their home. If they're full blown when you get them, they don't last very long. If you buy them in this soft bud stage, you will be able to enjoy them on your table for a week. I would love that Also. At that point I am able to store them in a cold, refrigerated room for about two or three weeks, which means it gives me a little longer time to sell the crop, a little longer time for people to enjoy them, and then, once they're finished, that's it for the season.
Speaker 2:
Wow, I love how you just like summarize that so beautifully. And as far as for your business, have you had any challenges that you've learned something from?
Speaker 1:
Yes, Share those with us.
Speaker 1:
Lots of challenges. I've been doing this about 44 years, so you can imagine everything that can happen. Pretty much has happened, and so I would just offer to you, before I even tell you any of the disasters, have a good attitude and know that the best way forward is just to start going forward. So there was this summer that well preface. We have really strived to have some balance. So one of those things to help us do that is we take a vacation every year. We go to the beach for two weeks and we take our whole family, which means we leave our operation in the hands of our employees, and they are capable and they are smart and they can do it.
Speaker 1:
But things happen. So one year we went away and we said don't use the tractor and just do things manually. We get back, don't use the tractor. Well, of course they use the tractor, turned it over in a ditch. Oh, we're sitting on the beach. Get the phone call. I'm really sorry. I use the tractor when they start off with. I'm really sorry. Well, you know, there's a fix for things. We got another farmer down the road to come out, tell him out of the ditch life went on.
Speaker 1:
We've had hurricanes come through knocking out our power. We don't have power. Wells don't run. You don't have a well, you don't have water. Flowers are a water business. Well, we have good neighbors. We had someone come over take a look at the generator, found out why that wasn't working, got it fixed, got the water. But there's usually a workaround. The worst thing is to do nothing and the other worst thing is not to admit that something happened. That's right. So in your life there will be troubles. Yes, recognize that. Then take some action and roll with it. I don't think that's pretty applicable to anybody.
Speaker 2:
Yes, I believe so. Even here, sometimes we need to just roll with it. We're like every other family.
Speaker 1:
People get sick. They need time off. Babies come. You have to be able to work around those things or you'll just work yourself to death.
Speaker 2:
This is really good advice. It is You're sharing that exactly and I feel like it helps to have that outlook. Just with life in general. Like you said, like with anything, always stay positive, because the worst that you can do is do nothing Right. So thank you for that.
Speaker 1:
And I would encourage people to become entrepreneurs, own your own business. It's not easy, but it can be very interesting and fun if you let it. Mm-hmm, yeah, you may not be rich, but I think you'd live a rich life.
Speaker 2:
I love that. That's beautiful. Oh, my goodness, you should write, like a book or something. I've thought about, that you should do it. I would read it.
Speaker 1:
I have so many farmers market stories that just are kind of funny that I think there's a TV series in there. Oh, my goodness, I'm not a writer, but I can tell the story.
Speaker 2:
That's amazing. Who are you, as a child, like? How did you get to this point today, watching your family growing up with the farm?
Speaker 1:
Well, you know, I had a very loving suburban childhood. I had good parents. I met my husband when I was 16. We were both in high school and I will tell you, he was the cutest boy in school and we stayed together. We went to the University of Maryland together and he studied horticulture and I studied textiles. And you know, after school, after we graduated, we were gonna get married. And then we had to seriously talk what are we gonna do?
Speaker 1:
Well, my dad was a plumber and he worked six days a week and I thought you know, you're gonna work that much, you should do something you like. And so I said let's try it. Let's try it with the flowers. At this point he had already been growing some things in his backyard and was selling at a farmer's market. And you know, I always thought if it didn't work we'd go to plan B. And thankfully enough, it worked. We raised three kids, we bought our home, we put them through school, we did all the things. So I think it's worth it to at least try and follow your dream. I can't guarantee it's gonna work, but you at least have the satisfaction of trying Exactly that's right.
Speaker 2:
Then you don't wanna live, maybe with regrets or maybe like what if I had done that right and you just did it?
Speaker 1:
But think of all the pieces of life. There's jobs for all kinds of things and we need all those people out there. We need doctors and lawyers and photographers and interviewers and flower farmers.
Speaker 2:
Yes, flowers make such an impact too. Let's talk about that. They can uplift a mood, somebody's spirits, when they're feeling down, and someone comes and brings you the prettiest bouquet.
Speaker 1:
Well, I say that we sell happiness. That's right. So a lot of times on my posts I will say get some flowers for your table, you'll feel 10% happier. That's right. It won't solve all the problems in your life, but it does bring a little nature into the intimate setting of where you eat, yes, and it gives your eyes some place to land. It's a conversation starter. Flowers are how we accent our celebrations. Can you imagine a wedding without flowers? No, right, not at all. So birthdays, anniversaries, every day, it's just nice to have flowers in your life. If you look at the landscape, there's the blue of the sky, which is very comforting, and the grain of the grass, and then in cities it's a lot of asphalt, so gray, let's say, for the buildings and the roads. When you're driving along and you see that flash of color from a blooming fursuthia or the pink from cherry blossoms this time of year, let's say, catches your eye, it inspires you, it wakes you up a little bit. Flowers are the color in our life.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
So, as much as I love green and blue and I'm a fan of both we need the flowers. They're part of our community for a reason.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. I definitely couldn't agree more with you. I love flowers. I know this sounds cliche, but I just love a good rose. I love the smell.
Speaker 1:
Do you?
Speaker 2:
have any recommendations for similar style flowers that have a nice smell?
Speaker 1:
Well, you know it's funny as flowers have been bred, a lot of them don't have the fragrance that they might have originally, because they were bred for bigger, showier blooms and even roses, most of them coming out of South America, don't have much scent. Now you can get garden roses grown in this country. They're pricey, partly because we don't have access to the same kind of pesticide use that they do out of the country, which is another good reason for buying local flowers. But there are rose growers here and the roses are big and beautiful and do have a fragrance. For me, roses are not my specialty, but we grow a lot of lilacs which have a tremendously beautiful scent, tuberose which will remind you of the tropics, even though they're grown right here in the area. But a lot of them really are for sight more than fragrance. Fragrance okay, and yet you instinctively will go to sniff a flower.
Speaker 2:
Always, even though I have allergies, I can't help myself. I need to just smell that flower. And then for marketing, are you online a lot. How are you marketing your business? Any tips for us?
Speaker 1:
So my main marketing outreach right now is through Instagram and, to a lesser extent, facebook. I'm pretty regular on Instagram and I'm not a whiz as it. I have a good following. It's not huge For me, I just need the people that are interested in my products so I actually get orders from Instagram. I don't need to be the influencer, I just need people that want to know what I'm bringing and what they're interested in. I would say the thing that probably sets my page aside is we're authentic.
Speaker 1:
One of my best posts I ever did was of my crew in the hot, dirty peak of the summer. They had been weeding and planting and they were a mess and I lined them all up and they gave me their best smiles and I think that's been one of my most popular photos. We show pictures of what we really do. The flowers are beautiful. It takes a lot of work and sweat to get them to you, so we show both. We show their gorgeousness and then we show People weeding, dogs running through, kids running through all the things that go on. It's a family business, so there's, you know, always something happening.
Speaker 2:
Yeah which is fun. Do you think it's important to showcase Not just constant knowledge, knowledge and knowledge and show like personalities and the people behind the business, or strictly business?
Speaker 1:
No, I would say generally, people like that have a post with an actual person in it, and even if it's not a whole person, just their hand, yeah, um, anybody part seems to elicit a response and I think that's. We need people. That was the biggest lesson I think we've learned from COVID is that we don't do well in isolation. No, we need to be with other people. That's why I like the farm market model so much. We have other sales outlets. I also sell to floral designers directly and through Another business we just started last year with a group of farmers Chesapeake flower exchange. It's a wholesale flower co-op.
Speaker 1:
But the point that I'm getting to is that the thing about the farm markets, its community. People come to get their veggies or whatever they're getting. That week They'll pick up some flowers, but you get to speak to the people that produced what you're buying and it's not this rush of buy it and get out. It's like we've got a minute to talk to you. Oh, you wanted to know how we grew those. You wanted to know that. I planted that last November but I'm not harvesting it until February. I can tell you what goes into what you're buying and why it's the price it is, flowers are a luxury item and I'm well aware that it's, you know, not in everyone's budget. But I would say to you, try to fit it in periodically. You know, even if you can't get flowers every week, get them once in a while. It'll really lift your spirits and that's important.
Speaker 2:
I love that. Thank you for sharing that. I have a little bit of an odd question. As a person who owns cats, I often find it hard to find flowers that are safe to have them around because of the toxicity to them, right? What advice would you give me? Because I'm always seeing flowers and I'll Google it on my phone. I'm like, oh man.
Speaker 1:
I've just. Well, that's true, and I think that's a good thing to do. If you have cats, you should, and I use Google for that purpose as well. Yes, lilies are definitely out. Yes, but there are flowers that are not toxic to cats.
Speaker 1:
I don't have the list at the top of my head since you didn't ask I had it. No, no, no, you could. But the other thing that happens is all cats are not the same, so I've had them where I could not keep anything on the table. They just were on to it all the time, but then sometimes, as they grew older, they didn't bother the vases as much. So sometimes it's a waiting game. Cats aren't kittens forever, no, and sometimes it's a matter of a safer place for them there's, they don't. Cats are habitual. I have cats myself, so they don't always hit the same spot. So sometimes there's a safer spot and there are safer flowers.
Speaker 1:
But, like you say, I think it's probably a good idea to Google that, like Dr Google over here. Yeah Well, you know, we have these tools at our fingertips. How wonderful is that? Amazing, I mean. That's why I love social media. I would have never had that outreach. That being said, you know, for most of my business life we were not listed in the phone book. We did not do paid advertising, it was all word of mouth and we did pretty well. So if you offer a good product, people hear about it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, they'll see it and they'll want to come to you. Yeah, so are. And then just a couple last questions here. Who are you, outside of being a florist, an entrepreneur, a business owner?
Speaker 1:
I'm like you, I'm a woman, I have hobbies. I'm a mom, I have three kids. I'm a grandma, I have seven grandkids. Oh, wow. I'm a cat owner. You are like me. Yeah, you know, no matter who you talk to, we all have our different jobs and our different backgrounds, but we have a lot more in common than we are different, no matter who it is. When you sit down like this, you find that you do have a lot of commonality.
Speaker 2:
That's right. And last question if you could leave one message for our listeners here in regards to anything in life, it could be about your business, it could be about family technology what would that message be?
Speaker 1:
You know I was thinking about that as I drove over here. I think attitude makes such a difference in your life. You know, every day is a good day, even the days that have disasters in them. You woke up that morning. You had another chance to be a light in the world. So you know, please take advantage of what you have around you and appreciate it. Count your blessings.
Speaker 2:
That was amazing. I actually I felt like I needed to hear that, but Thank you so much Like was this a sign or something Like could the world just send me a message? The world is very hard.
Speaker 1:
It just is, and you know I'd love to solve all the problems. I'm not in that position. So if I can just make my corner a little better, you know that's what I'd like to see happen. It can't help but do good. I would love to get rid of the wars, you know, straighten up our environment. You know there's so many people that have mental health issues these days. Families have problems. I'm not immune from any of that. But if I can start off with a positive attitude, I think it's going to influence you to have a positive attitude and together we can really make the world better. Sure.
Speaker 2:
Thank you so much for coming in today and sharing your amazing stories and wisdom with us.
