I've always maintained a stubborn distance from flower farming.
I've always maintained a stubborn distance from flower farming.
Krishana Collins is sculpting bouquets in her flower studio. She wears knee-high, green rain boots and moves quickly down a row of three wooden tables standing end to end. Her face is set in a serious expression but she smiles easily, scrunching her nose and shaking her brown curls. She holds up a black knight scabiosa and looks down at the dark burgundy petals.
Her flower studio looks more like a temporary movie or stage set than a place of business. Filled with silver vases, vintage glass bottles, ribbons and buckets of fall blooms — among them stunning red, magenta and saffron-colored dahlias — this is the front office for Krishana Collins, flower farmer. The building is an old farm structure that looks like a miniature house, with aging shingles weathered white trim and casement windows, and one long side wall completely chopped off.
With bouquets all around, the ownership of historic Tea Lane Farm in Chilmark was formally handed to flower farmer Krishana Collins this week.
Ms. Collins attended the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday to sign a long-term lease with the town for the farmhouse.
“Let’s make it happen,” said selectman Warren Doty. “Let’s give her the keys and let’s have her own the farm.”
After two years of planning and proposals, Tea Lane Farm has a new tenant farmer.
Krishana Collins was awarded the Tea Lane Farm lease Friday evening. The vote was 5-3.
The joint vote was taken between the board of selectmen and the town Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission advisory board. The vote was between two candidates, Ms. Collins and Rusty Gordon and Sarah Crittenden, who proposed a vegetable farm.
Ms. Collins plans to grow lilies, zinnias, bok choy and salad greens.
Tea Lane Farm could soon be home to pick-your-own strawberries or fields of thousands of lilies and zinnias. Finalists for tenant farmer of the historic 18th century farm presented their plans to the Chilmark selectmen this week.
The three finalists — Rusty Gordon and Sarah Crittenden, Krishana Collins and Allen Healy — were interviewed at a joint meeting between the selectmen and Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank town advisory board on Tuesday night.
