Edible Notable
“We felt like there wasn’t a better way to make a living than growing plants, especially plants that someone can buy from us and, in 10 years, we can drive by and see them harvesting from it,” says Amelia Blake. The we refers to herself and her husband, Robin Knutson, the founders of Lily of the Field.
Since 2020, Blake has combined her passion for growing with her dedication to preserving access to food. Lily of the Field provides Flagstaff residents with high-quality heirloom and perennial plants, trees, and shrubs native to the area and therefore specifically adapted to its challenges. All are grown naturally, without the use of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals, on less than a quarter acre.
“A lot of the native seed and plant varieties aren’t available commercially because they are difficult to grow,” she says. “They don’t germinate as consistently as cultivated plants and often don’t live well in containers. They also take a longer time to mature to a size that is sellable. If we were unable to provide the way we currently do, they just wouldn’t be available in our community.”
She focuses on both annual and perennial edible and medicinal plants, including elderberry, wild roses, wild hops, milkweeds, chokecherry, native currants, and gooseberries. All of her garden starts are heirloom varieties chosen explicitly for their hardiness and ability to produce despite the short growing season.
Though not as popular as spring, October is the perfect time to plant perennials in Northern Arizona. “When I plant something in the fall, it comes up larger in the spring than when I first planted it,” says Blake, “because it’s had more time to establish a root system and didn’t have to survive during the hottest, driest, windiest period of the whole year.”
Blake sells year-round, directly to the public by appointment and at Flagstaff Community Market. Visit flagstafflily.com to learn more and schedule a visit to the nursery.
