Mallika Nair has always loved agriculture. She began growing vegetables more than a decade ago as a hobby and also got a degree in environmental studies.
After planting flowers, Nair found a new purpose. This led her to create the Warehouse Arts District-based Padmé Flower Farm, at 22nd Street and 3rd Avenue S. The company has launched Thursday, and every other Sunday, U-Pick experiences.
Previously, Nair founded San Francisco area-based garden education nonprofit Growing Together – which focuses on community engagement and health. She would later become a grant writer for environmental justice organizations.
Mallika Nair
Nair began to experiment with flower gardening at the Clearwater-based Beacon Food Forest last year. “I totally got captivated by it,” she explained. “I was having that longing to actually be on land farming more.”
Opening a location in St. Petersburg, where Nair lives, was the next step. She signed a contract with the owners of the land in October and began to work on the property. The growing area on the site is about half an acre.
Nair started to plant flowers in December and the first blooms were available a month later. Organic standards were key in the process. The Padmé team does not use dangerous pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
Once some of the flowers were ready, she began to sell them to florists. Padmé’s first major event in the area was Localtopia. which took place Feb. 14 at Williams Park.
U-Pick experiences were not initially part of the plan.
“I thought I was going to sell flowers at farmer’s markets and things like that, but when I thought about it more, part of the reason why I wanted to start this in the city was to give more people more exposure to agriculture,” Nair said. “It’s an opportunity to interact with nature in a way that’s really easy and accessible.”
Guests are educated on how to harvest the blooming flowers and then they can create their own bouquets and arrangements. Currently, the farm is home to a variety of specialty cuts such as snapdragons, ranunculuses and anemones. The sessions are roughly a half hour long. Participants can book their experience in advance.
“It can be a starting point for people and encourage them to think about growing more things on their own,” Nair explained. “I just want people to get the opportunity, whether they want to pursue it as a job or not, at least to have it as a hobby that they can participate in and enjoy.”
She hopes to grow other plants on the property to show the various options that can thrive in Florida. Additionally, Nair plans to continue to build out the farm. It’s a “work in progress,” she said. Infrastructure improvements can make the space more suitable for events.
Local blooms can also have a positive economic impact. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 80% of cut flowers sold in the country are imported.