Flower farm blossoms right next to Ripon

Bronwyn Escola snips bunch after bunch of ranunculus at her flower farm on these late winter days. The tulips are about done. Snapdragons, dahlias and other summer blooms await.

Escola and her husband, Laif, own Wild Blooms Flower Farm, an acre and a half of splendor on North Ripon Road just outside the city limit. Their crops, grown from bulbs and seeds for five years now, end up at weddings, holiday gatherings and other celebrations.

Or they might simply decorate the home of someone who drives by and decides on the spur of the moment to buy some.

“I just wanted a place where people could come in, grab a bunch of flowers and take them home,” Bronwyn Escola said during a break from her work Wednesday morning. “And they’re fresh.”

Yes, fresh. Californians get most of their flowers from Latin America and other foreign places. The Northern San Joaquin Valley has nurseries that produce a fair amount of ornamental plants, but the cut blooms come from a few small operations.

Escola was born and raised in New Zealand and worked there as a flight attendant. She met Laif while visiting a friend in the United States and has lived here for 15 years. He works in the cardiac catheterization lab at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. They have two young daughters.

Browyn is the only full-time worker at the farm but has part-time help from friend Diane Miller. They have a small tractor and a seeder that they have to push. Well water runs through drip lines to the flower beds, planted on a schedule that has something blooming from February to October.

The farm is not certified organic, but it uses sustainable practices, such as compost and worms to enrich the soil. Straw and landscaping fabric help keep the weeds down.

Escola used to grow heirloom tomatoes but now concentrates on flowers. The site, right across from a northwest Ripon neighborhood, has another 1.5 acres for expansion.

A basic bunch of flowers costs $10. When no one’s around, customers can take them from the stand out front and leave their payments in a lockbox. It’s an honor system that so far has worked. It is not a pick-your-own operation, as is done at several fruit farms in the region.

Wild Blooms charges more for flowers that will grace wedding venues, Easter tables, Mother’s Day gatherings and more. Escola said baby showers are an especially popular use.

“She does great work,” said Michelle Klasser, owner of an event planning company called Events 22 in downtown Ripon. “This is a wonderful upsell for our business, to be able to say I get our flowers locally.”

Ranunculus is the top seller, available until early April in red, yellow, white, orange, purple and other hues. An Italian type of poppy will bloom in time for Mother’s Day. Summer will bring dianthus, celosia, amaryllis and more. Chrysanthemums are big in October. The farm also grows ornamental versions of pepper, dill, watercress and basil.

“I’m obviously really passionate about the flowers,” Escola said.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Flower farm blossoms right next to Ripon."