Spring is in full swing, ushering in warm weather, sunny skies and colorful flowers. Delight Flower Farm is one of the sources of the bountiful blossoms in Champaign-Urbana.
Located on County Road, Delight is a working flower farm hosting private tours, outdoor dinners and floral-focused workshops.
While the acreage is responsible for many of the blooms in C-U flower shops, Delight’s beginnings were anything but expansive. In 2011, Delight’s owner, Maggie Taylor, began growing flowers in her backyard and delivered them on her bike. From there, the business flourished.
“It started out very quaint, and it just naturally expanded,” said Delight’s farm manager, Remington Rock.
Delight Flower Farm was established in 2011 on a subsection of land owned by Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery.
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Since then, Delight moved to its current land and expanded its reach throughout the C-U community.
“Watching her dream take root and flourish into the beautiful farm she has today has been truly rewarding,” wrote Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery co-owner Lauren Brokish in an email.
Despite their growth, Delight stays true to their roots in Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery. Taylor and the Delight team host workshops at Prairie Farm and provide vibrant decor for Prairie Farm.
According to Brokish, Delight’s flowers “transform” their spaces and make “every event feel special and grounded in the natural beauty of the seasons.”
Brokish believes that decorating with flowers from Delight reinforces the values of locally and seasonally sourced goods. Prairie Farm aims to uphold this principle with their food and events.
In addition to its rich history in C-U, Delight aims to be an environmentally conscious and sustainable farm. Rock states that the farm does not use harmful chemicals and instead opts for organic pesticides or beneficial insects. Rock explains that these insects use “nature to kind of weed out the kind of bugs that we don’t want.”
To further their commitment to the environment, the farm uses biodegradable bouquet bags and mulch made from wood chips donated by local tree trimming companies.
In terms of their actual agriculture, the farm practices alley cropping. This agricultural method involves the planting of shrubs or trees in between rows of crops. According to Rock, alley cropping provides wildlife a habitat, is pollinator-friendly and will even be harvestable for Delight.
“Maggie and her team at Delight really take environmental land stewardship seriously and are always looking for ways to make a more positive environmental impact,” wrote Sarah Buckman in an email statement. Buckman is the marketing manager at Common Ground Food Co-op, another one of Delight’s partners. “Their work deeply resonates with our community, and it is a true joy to see the farm flourish.”
While also being mindful of the environment, Delight paves the way in the agriculture industry as a female-owned farm.
“(Being female-owned) is very important to me because agriculture itself is not a female-dominated industry,” Rock said. “So to have that recognition and that visibility is important, and especially when you get to flower farming.”
Community members can find Delight’s blooms scattered around C-U in places like The CU Flower House, Common Ground Co-op, Flowers by Kristine and Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery.
Along with supplying these establishments, Delight will be present at Urbana’s Market at the Square every Saturday starting in May through the end of October. They will greatly contribute to the bustling local business community of C-U.
“Delight Flower Farm is a treasure for our community — a place where beauty, stewardship, and creativity come together in the most inspiring way,” Brokish wrote.
