Have you ever dreamed of having a rose garden? Felicia Alvarez of Menagerie Farm and Flower wants to help you make those dreams a reality. 

Born and raised on a small farm in Sutter County, Felicia Alvarez’s family grew prunes, rice and a handful of other crops. Felicia spent her childhood helping out on the farm, learning to grow various crops and hand-harvesting fruit, but her most cherished memories were of growing roses with her grandmother. 

Eventually, Felicia said goodbye to the family farm and set out to make a life of her own. She studied crop science and agricultural business in college. Then, she pursued a career in the wine industry after graduation – ultimately founding a winery with her husband. She still visited her Sutter County home regularly. In fact, Felicia even helped her aging grandparents to manage the farm. Then, one day, as Felicia drove down the farm’s driveway, something changed. Felicia suddenly realized that she wanted to move back home. In 2014, Felicia and her husband sold their successful winery and returned to her family’s farm to raise their own small family. 

An accidental flower farmer

After moving back home, Felicia spent much of her free time in the farm’s flower garden. Tending to the roses made her feel connected to her mother and grandmother. One day, a friend of her husband’s came out to visit the farm. A florist, this friend was particularly interested in Felicia’s old-fashioned roses. He asked Felicia if she would be willing to sell some to him so that he could incorporate them into his floral designs. Inspired, Felicia began her journey from rose gardener to flower farmer, growing garden roses for cut flower production. 

A growing menagerie

Felicia christened her farm Menagerie, a nod to her diverse business. Today, Menagerie Farm and Flower is a rose, fruit, and flower farm with an on-site nursery.

Felicia smiles, noting, “We grow a little bit of everything here. We sell bare-root garden rose plants in the wintertime. We have potted garden rose plants in the spring and summer. We also have a variety of other garden products and cut flowers that we grow for the wedding, nursery and event business.” 

Menagerie also provides continuing education for aspiring green thumbs and rosarians. Felicia’s book, Growing Wonder, is both an excellent starting point for beginners and a good read for advanced growers.

For flower farmers and more experienced hobbyists, Felicia offers an online learning academy. She explains, “It’s perfect for flower farmers interested in diversifying into garden roses.” Felicia hosts in-person classes at the farm a few times a year. Previous topics include how to grow garden roses for cut flowers, how to prune dormant roses, and floral design classes. 

Shop Menagerie online

Menagerie offers a variety of items for sale online, from bare-root roses to soil amendments. Felicia adds, “January through June, we offer our bare-root rose plants that we can ship all across the country. In the summer months and spring months, we offer our potted rose plants, which are available for purchase online, but then you have to pick them up here – at our nursery, we do not ship our larger five-gallon potted roses. We also have gardening tools, soil amendments and all the things that you need to make sure that you have healthy, thriving roses when you plant them in the winter months. We offer fresh seasonal wreaths and pre-chilled tulip bulbs for warm-climate growers in zones 9 – 11.”

Felicia’s Best Tips for Growing Roses

• Pick a location that has six to eight hours of sun each day
• Get your soil tested and amend the soil accordingly before planting
• Choose varieties well suited to your area
• Make sure that the height and shape of the rose are appropriate for the location

Felicia Farms in Zone 9b. Some of the varieties she recommends for beginners in similar climates include Princess Charlene de Monaco, Moonlight Romantica, Francis Meilland, and Wollerton Old Hall – all of which are available online. 

“Sustainability starts with your team.” 

As a third-generation farmer, Felicia understands the importance of sustainability and preserving the land for future generations. She places particular emphasis on creating a healthy workplace for her team. Felicia explains, “I think that sustainability really varies for everyone. For me, it’s making sure that I have a healthy farm, healthy soil, a healthy climate and a healthy workplace. I think sustainability starts with your team. I focus on how I treat my people here as my number one form of sustainability. We make sure that everyone has a comfortable workplace, has the time off they need, has flexible work schedules for family and children.” 

She pauses, gathering her thoughts, and concludes, “The reason we’re here three generations later is because we take care of the people, we take care of the land, and we make sure that economically, we can keep going.”

Why is Sutter County a great place to grow flowers and fruits?

Menagerie Farm and Flower is located in Sutter County, near the base of the Sutter Buttes, North America’s smallest mountain range. The Sutter Buttes are actually the remnants of a dormant volcano, and the surrounding area boasts rich volcanic soil. Felicia adds, “This area is a great place just because of our growing climate and our soil. We have really rich soil, especially where I’m located at the base of the Sutter Buttes. Our growing season extends beyond most of the country – a very rich Mediterranean-style growing climate. So I can grow things here pretty much year-round.”

Why is it important to choose CA GROWN flowers? 

Felicia encourages everyone to choose California Grown flowers whenever possible. She explains, “I think it’s important for consumers to choose California Grown and American Grown flowers, because it supports the local community, and they’re just better than the imported flowers. They’re farmed with less chemicals, and we provide a workplace that is safe and comfortable for our employees – which doesn’t always happen in other parts of the world. I believe in making sure that people know that their flowers were grown locally – and they should choose them, when they can, over imported flowers.”

How to find CA GROWN flowers

The easiest way to find California Grown flowers is to look for the California license plate!  Felicia adds, “If you shop at Albertsons, Vons, Gelson’s, Bel Air, Raleys – any of those wonderful California supermarkets, you can look for it there.”  If you’re planning a larger event or looking for something more unusual, Felicia suggests visiting The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers or Certified American Grown. She shares, “If you search by the state of California, you can see local growers within your area, like me.” 

Explore Menagerie

Ready to take your garden to the next level? Explore Menagerie’s stunning assortment of seasonal offerings, including bare-root roses and tulips. You’ll also find everything you’ll need to ensure your gardening success – from soil test kits and pruning shears to fertilizer and gardening gloves.

If you want to learn more about growing roses and other specialty cut flowers, visit Menagerie’s website for the latest information about in-person events or to purchase Felicia’s book, Growing Wonder. 

Visit Sutter County!

If you’re headed to Menagerie for an in-person class or to pick up roses, why not make a weekend of it? Sutter County is located between Sacramento and Chico – and less than an hour’s drive to either destination. Felicia shares, “People should visit the Yuba Sutter area because there are so many wonderful things to do here. I love having people come visit in the fall season because it’s the return of all the migratory waterfowl, and you can see them at Gray Lodge, which is not far from our farm. I love taking my kids to local pumpkin patches. Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland is great. We take the hayride and my kids pick out pumpkins every year. You can also do u-pick and tastings of everything from citrus to peaches and plums in the summer. It’s just a beautiful region to experience all of California’s bounty.”

Article and photography by Hilary Rance. Image of CA GROWN floral bouquet courtesy of Alycia Moreno.