Petals Gals

Gretchen is our Founder & Creative Director. Petals, ink. has allowed her to build a business and lifestyle from what she loves– flowers and plants, design, photography, and writing. She got her official start in flowers on a small farm in the mountains of Vermont in 2002.She has been expanding her flower dream ever since through design work, workshops, the mobile truck and farmers markets. “Shopping” the flower fields to create stunning works of art with the flower farm’s seasonal blooms is her greatest joy!

Chandler is our Lead Farm Assistant. With our team since 2019, Chandler fell in love with flowers while working at a small flower farm in Boulder, Colorado. She loves creating floral arrangements inspired by nature and crafted from flowers she’s watched grow from tiny seeds. She has a degree in Soil and Crop Science, and loves learning anything about plants and flower farming. 

Emily is our Lead Wedding Specialist and Studio Manager.  With a background in non-profit work, a love of flowers and organization, Emily joined Petals, ink. in the fall of 2016 and has been running the show at the studio.  She has her hands in all aspects of making an event happen from creating design plans, to making gorgeous boutonnières and arrangements, to setting up the event.

OUR STORY

After a New England childhood spent running through the confetti colored tulips in her grandfather’s garden, Gretchen dreamt of bringing the joy of fresh, locally grown and vibrant blooms to Texas.

Out of this dream, years of hard work, and an unwavering dedication, Petals, ink. was born. It started with sharing the beauty of flowers with a written story behind each handcrafted bouquet. Since its launch in 2009, Petals, ink. has evolved to become a bustling, artistic enterprise recognized in the wedding industry as a provider of fabulously unique florals, and dreamy customer service. With the expansion to a 7 acre Flower Farm in 2015, the studio is also offering 100% locally grown flowers artfully arranged for deliveries in select zip codes to Austin and Manor, TX.

The business is still rapidly growing with new sustainably grown flower varieties, additional event services, and expanded flower farm space. It is also Austin’s first mobile florist, offering a flower truck that remains 100% locally grown at Grassdale Farm.

OUR FARM

Our growing space has transformed from the endearingly nicknamed “Petal Patch” in a downtown corner lot, to a seven acre parcel of Texas Blackland Prairie. We purchased the land in June 2015 and named it Grassdale. It is where the dream of cultivating beauty has taken root and taken off.

We have two greenhouses up, an established three acres of wildflowers, a “kitchen garden” full of bulbs, and a long stretch of planting space we call “The Runway.”  During our growing season lasting February-November, you can see a variety of blooms at our farm. We’ve continued to grow our staples like ranunculus, sweet peas, anemones, zinnias and nigella, while expanding and trialing varieties to create the most diverse, thriving, and gorgeous bounty we can!

Grassdale Flower Farm is located just 18 miles northeast of downtown Austin in the outskirts of Manor, Texas. We would love to see you out on the flower farm! We hold seasonal workshops showcasing the stars of each season. For a peek at what is currently being cut, check out our Grassdale Instagram!