As the snow thaws and the sun peeks through the clouds in much of the country, it’s starting to feel like spring. And when it comes to this time of year, there’s nothing more symbolic than floral arrangements, fresh produce, and trying your hand at gardening. These five small businesses really strive to make this season feel special.
Bloom Flower Truck
The Bloom Flower Truck is a build-your-own-bouquet flower shop on wheels that travels around Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Owners Kristin and Todd Logan named the truck Fern after Kristin’s great-grandmother, who instilled in Kristin her love for flower arrangements. The Logans source from gardeners in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa to support local business and ensure freshness. By charging per stem, they aim to keep their flowers inexpensive and accessible.
The truck sets up shop at local businesses, participates in special events around town, and is available for private parties. Additionally, the Bloom Flower Truck offers deliveries, subscriptions, and an acrylic box called the BLOOM BOX, which can be updated every three, six, or nine months to keep it fresh. The truck is not active during the winter months; March to October is prime time for the Logans.
Malibu Farm
Helene Henderson is the chef and founder of the farm-to-table restaurant Malibu Farm. What began as a backyard operation in 2013 has quickly flourished into a cross-country and international whole-food, clean eatery. The restaurant chain is fully transparent not only about where it sources its ingredients, but also about its recipes. Much of the cuisine at Malibu Farm is locally sourced, organic, and loosely inspired by Henderson’s Scandinavian roots, and it changes with the seasons. The menus vary by location, but some of Malibu Farm Newport’s standout spring specials include a Southwest and niçoise salad, as well as fruity and fragrant cocktails.
Kicking off a farm-to-table series, Henderson offered a special event at the New York location called Spring Farm to Table Dinner. The event included a meet-and-greet, as well as a communal meal highlighting the season’s bounty.
Crimson Cup Coffee
Coffee doesn’t exactly scream “spring.” However, I think we can all agree it’s a year-round staple and Crimson Cup Coffee is more than happy to experiment and embrace seasonal change. Embracing more fruit-forward and herbaceous flavors, this Ohio-based coffee company has four limited-time menu items for the caffeine curious. Lavender Haze, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, Kossa Kebena (an Ethiopian bean with notes of peach, lime zest, almond, violet, and roasted cacao nib), and Cherry Blossom are the spring seasonal options. These are orderable as a cold brew or latte.
Sprigbox was founded in 2019 by Daniel Warmuth and is dedicated to making gardening easy in an urban environment.
Harvard graduate Greg Ubert paired his passions for coffee and entrepreneurship to start Crimson Cup in 1991. Not only has he expanded his business to include multiple locations around Ohio, he’s also helped over 300 entrepreneurs open their own coffee shops across the country through his 7 Steps to Success guide.
Ethics and direct coffee-farmer relationships are at the forefront of Ubert’s pursuit. Rather than going through a coffee broker, he works directly with his suppliers and started the Friend2Farmer program to foster better lives for farmers and their communities.
Bartlett’s Farm
Bartlett’s Farm has been growing on Nantucket since the 1800s and spans 125 acres, making it the oldest and largest family-owned farm on the island. Since its inception, seven generations of Bartletts have kept up the land, expanded its crops, and turned it into an enterprise that features a Garden Center, a market, restaurant, picnic area, playground, and wedding venue.
On April 29 and 30, Bartlett’s Farm hosted its 47th Annual Daffodil Show. This is the ultimate spring celebration for Nantucket, with the week of April 28 to May 4 being dubbed “Nantucket Daffodil Week” in 1975. At the show, daffodil entries are judged by American Daffodil Society Judges from all over the East Coast. The larger citywide Nantucket Daffodil Festival ran April 27–30, with parades and other events throughout the weekend.
Sprigbox
Sprigbox was founded in 2019 by Daniel Warmuth and is dedicated to making gardening easy in an urban environment. Nothing says springtime quite like growing your very own plants at home. Sprigbox makes it easy with all-inclusive grow kits—equipped with soil and a seed packet—all packaged in a little wooden box. “Just add water” is the basic concept, but each Sprigbox has a specific set of instructions for its recipient.
Some of the grow kits include orchid trees, sunflowers, lavender, strawberries, and even brewer’s hop. Sprigbox also offers a free e-book outlining mistakes to avoid for new plant parents.
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