Open Flower Network
Helping women and gender diverse farmers connect, scale and succeed in the specialty cut flower sector. françaisinformation, support, community
What is the open flower network?
Women and gender diverse farmers often face barriers to participation in Canadian agriculture. But in the rapidly growing sector of specialty cut flowers, women and other historically marginalized communities are finding a new field of opportunities. Open Flower Network aims to build on this potential. Over the course of the 2-year program, we’ll be drawing on the collective wisdom of successful flower farmers to provide mentoring, skill-building, and knowledge-sharing opportunities that help new and aspiring flower farmers connect, scale and succeed.
presentations & events
In-person and online panels, workshops and networking events focused on priorities identified in the sector.
informational resources
A curated repository of resources, crowd-sourced from experienced flower farmers across Canada.
community building
Peer-to-peer support networks that let flower farmers share challenges, questions and solutions.
research & advocacy
Building knowledge within and beyond the sector by gathering industry data and strengthening its voice.
Freshly cut
Newest Resources for Flower Farmers
Cut Flower Pricing and Quality for Wholesale in Canada
Open Flower Network: Expanding wholesaleCut Flower pricing & QualityFeb 13, 2025 Determining fair and competitive prices can be a challenge for flower farmers, whether you're selling to consumers, designers or otherwise. Recently, we shared a spreadsheet of...
Pick Your Sales Channel
Open Flower Network: Channeling OptimismPick Your Sales ChannelJan 23, 2025 Pick-your-own, wedding design, wholesale markets... With so many possible sales channels available to flower farmers in Canada, how do you choose the options that are best for you? It's common...
Intro to Cut Flower Pricing
Open Flower Network: Starting up & scalingIntro to Cut Flower pricingJan 13, 2025 Pricing is a crucial aspect of running any successful business. It’s also a tricky one for many flower farmers, who have told us they struggle to determine the right price for...
What’s Coming up
Events for the flower farming community
- Hiring farm staff? Seeking advice on training and managing staff? Join the National Farmers' Union for a series of five 2-hour free online HR training modules for a crash course on best management practices. Join for one session, or for all!
Jan 29 - Hiring & Incentives
Feb 5 - HR Fundamentals
Feb 12 - Interpersonal Dynamics, Training & Retention
Feb 19 - Planning, Task Management & Delegation
Mar 5 - Bonus! Farm Grants, Loans, and Financial Tools
Hosting a learning or networking event for specialty cut flower farmers? We’d love to share it!
Find flowers, sell flowers
putting flower farms on the map
One way we’re building the Open Flower Network is through national and provincial directories that promote the amazing flower farms growing across the country. These public directories let florists and other buyers easily locate farms near them, and are a free promotional tool for farmers. Click on the maps below to see the directories in action.
Gap Analysis Report
As a starting point for the Open Flower Network, we gathered survey responses from almost 200 Canadian flower farmers at all scales, along with running a series of focus groups. This gap analysis report synthesizes those results to describe the sector as it is today, highlights opportunities, and identifies barriers to growth. The report also outlines the resources and programming the Open Flower Network program will begin developing to bridge these gaps.
Financial support was provided under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
