Penny Carnathan

Penny’s a Nurture And Hold (NAH): Nah, I won’t pull that out yet, it’s still got a green shoot. She likes dragonflies, lady bugs and new stuff only after weeding, pruning and fertilizing.

Kim Franke-Folstad

Kim’s a Want It Now (WIN): Everything pretty, everything now. She will resort to full-spectrum insecticides in desperate situations, and believes it’s her duty and right to buy new plants every weekend.

Both advocate Plant Choice (SOMEthing besides crotons. Please!), lots of color and low maintenance. We don’t agree on everything, but we’re smart enough to learn from each other - and from you.

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Grab your cameras, we’re goin’ on a field trip

Posted Oct 7, 2009 by Loren Omoto

Updated Oct 7, 2009 at 11:25 PM

I’ve seen dairy farms and citrus groves and miles of corn. But I had never seen a flower farm till June.

It was fascinating. And beautiful.

Never mind that June is a slow month for sales of annuals here, at Riverview Flower Farms, row upon row of hot pink portulaca burned neon

and pots of Angelonia created a purple haze.

Twenty-five acres of meticulously cultivated annuals and perennials, each variety blooming en masse, creates a display you don’t see in gardens.

Owner Rick Brown gave me a personal — and personable — behind-the-scenes tour. I got sneak peeks of the brand-new plants he was testing for market and a look at the unusual factory-style machinery that keeps his flowers rolling to every Home Depot in Florida.

After I wrote about the visit, The Dirt’s on-line, readers (and Kim) asked, “Hey, when do I get to go?”

Janice Vogt even offered to bake Farmer Rick one of her famous pound cakes.

Smart, Janice.

Draw a big plumbago on your calendar for Oct. 31. If you’re reading this, you’re invited to our first Dirty, Dirty Field Trip.

November’s the fourth biggest production month of the year at the farm (April’s the first), so the place will be filled with flowers.

“I’ll have all the new varieties of petunias, muhley grass blooming, and lots of butterfly plants,” Rick says. That includes butterfly cassia (my personal favorite.)

He’s also trying out some new plants — a little glimpse into the future.

Rick’s a homegrown horticulturist whose mission is to develop and cultivate plants that can survive our clumsiest efforts — and the hysterical whims of Bay area nature. He knows firsthand what we deal with, and if you’ve got questions, I guarantee he’s got answers.

The farm is about 28 miles from downtown Tampa, off Interstate 75. The tour starts at 11 a.m. Anyone who wants to carpool can meet Kim and me at The Tampa Tribune at 10 a.m. and we’ll hit the road at 10:15.

This is a great opportunity for a seed swap, so if you have seeds and cuttings from favorite plants, bring them along. Rick has offered to throw in unusual goodies. (All he wants in return is Janice’s cake. Go figure.) We’ll swap after the tour.

If you plan to join us, leave a comment here or give me a call or shoot me an e-mail so I can let Rick know how many to expect. My phone is (813) 259-7612; email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Carpoolers: The Tribune is at 200 S. Parker St. From I-275, take the Armenia Avenue exit, then head east on Kennedy Boulevard to Parker (just past the University of Tampa) and turn right. We’ll meet in the visitors’ parking lot.

Independent types: The farm is at 10320 Tucker Jones Road in Riverview. That’s off U.S. 301, about two miles south of Gibsonton Drive. Head west on Tucker Jones about a half-mile.
To learn more about Riverview Flower Farms and get great tips about plants and gardening techniques that work well here, visit www.floridafriendlyplants.com.