Welcome to Nantucket Dahlias!
I’m Suzanne, and I own, operate, love and obsess over Nantucket Dahlias.
It’s a small operation, so it’s pretty much just me. My husband, Craig, provides the lion’s share of the muscle for the business, but he has a day job, so I’m on my own during the week.
For more than 20 years, I ran my own landscape design business catering to homeowners in southern Connecticut. It was a complete departure from my former career as an investment banker, but it was a wonderful experience that gave me the perfect creative outlet to indulge my passion for plants while I raised our children.
Fast forward, and our college-age daughter casually mentioned that we should visit Nantucket. She had spent a few weekends there at a friend’s family home and said, “Mom, I think you’d love this place. There are flowers everywhere!”
Craig and I figured we’d check it out and instantly fell in love with the island. I was completely enthralled by its scenic beauty, the natural bounty of its mesmerizing seashores, and the possibilities that the sandy soil and temperate climate offered for a person who loves to garden.
I had been looking for a new creative challenge since retiring from landscape design and had toyed with the idea of establishing a flower farm for several years, but it was the beautiful island of Nantucket that finally inspired me to pull the trigger. In short order we bought a home on the island and, with the help of a very talented local landscape architect, we reconfigured the landscape to create family and outdoor entertaining spaces as well as field production beds tucked into the back corner of our property.
Although our small “micro” farm is new to the island of Nantucket, I’ve been growing dahlias seriously for the past 15 years in Connecticut, and more recently, selling them to floral designers. Through this experience I’ve gained valuable insight into what kinds of dahlias floral designers, and wedding designers in particular, like to use in their arrangements. In the last few years, I’ve overhauled my dahlia collection, jettisoning those that are too big, garish or stiff in favor of bouquet-friendly colors and flower forms. I think you’ll appreciate my peachy/pastel/sorbet colors, white/blush tones and rich magenta/purple/burgundy shades. If there’s any variety I don’t have that you fancy, let me know. I’ll track it down and grow it for you!