Co-owner May Zegarelli harvests flowers at Ocean Fog Farm in Eastport on Aug. 11. Credit: Morgan Campbell

 Co-owner May Zegarelli harvests flowers at Ocean Fog Farm in Eastport on Aug. 11. Credit: Morgan Campbell

"There's two ends of the spectrum in the market: There's the people who buy the grocery store flowers or the 1-800-Flowers stuff, and they look to us and they think that we're jaw-droppingly expensive; and then there's the people who understand everything [that goes into this]  and they think that we're reasonable," said Jaclyn Rutigliano of Huntington, who buys from local growers as the co-owner of Hometown Flower Collective.  The florist business designs arrangements for weddings and other events and also sells bouquets by weekly, bi-weekly or monthly subscription, ranging from $45 for 8 to 10 stems to $180 for approximately three dozen stems, she said. 

Those growing locally are selling to small businesses like Rutigliano's, other florists, wholesalers, or directly to consumers. 

Some follow customers back and forth between the East End and New York City. Keith Pierpont, who owns Pierpont Blossom Farms in Baiting Hollow, sells in the summer at the Westhampton Farmers Market, to flower shops, to farm stands and to private clients. But in September and October, “I sell a lot [to wholesalers in] the city — because all the people that are out here go back to the city.”  

In addition to small farms devoted exclusively to cut flowers, others are getting into the business of selling blooms. 

“A lot of your farm stands are going to grow cut flowers to supplement their farm stand offerings,” said Nora Catlin, a floriculture specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension who has spent 18 years working with local growers. “Even the agritourism ... things like sunflower mazes or pick-your-own sunflowers  we’re seeing a growth in.”