SF Gate Interviews Joanna Letz ’06 About Her Rooftop Flower Farm
Bluma Flower Farm, a rooftop flower farm in Berkeley, California, owned and managed by Joanna Letz ’06. Photo by Nicola Parisi
SF Gate profiled Bard alumna Joanna Letz ’06, who is the owner and manager of Bluma Flower Farm in Berkeley, California. She manages the rooftop farm day-to-day and also organizes events and online sales. While the rooftop is idyllic, Letz says running it is hard work: “People romanticize farming —‘it must be so beautiful’ — but it takes so much effort to grow something and to grow it well.”
Letz started her rooftop farm in 2019 after more than a decade of working on other farms and running her own business. Despite initial challenges—farming plants on a rooftop means more wind, for example—Bluma has thrived. As an urban farm, not only does it have a lower carbon footprint than internationally-importing competitors, it also supports biodiversity for pollinators in the area. In the future, Letz hopes to host more educational programming at the farm to teach children about growing plants and share her love of flowers more widely.
Post Date: 09-24-2024
Letz started her rooftop farm in 2019 after more than a decade of working on other farms and running her own business. Despite initial challenges—farming plants on a rooftop means more wind, for example—Bluma has thrived. As an urban farm, not only does it have a lower carbon footprint than internationally-importing competitors, it also supports biodiversity for pollinators in the area. In the future, Letz hopes to host more educational programming at the farm to teach children about growing plants and share her love of flowers more widely.
Post Date: 09-24-2024