Flower Shop Blooms On Main

Farmer Lena Xiong-Perez is happy to be a part of the downtown Merced community and is excited to create a community hub for local flower farm lovers. 

Humble Rice Farmer began as a roadside flower stand in Winton, right outside their flower farm.

With plans to sell wholesale, Humble Rice Farmer is gearing up for a blooming spring.

Known as the go-to roadside stop, Humble Rice Farmer began offering handpicked flower bouquet services in 2019, selling right outside the doors of their countryside flower farm in Winton.

Five years later, after expansion and growth, the local seed-to-table flower farm has just opened its first flower shop in downtown Merced, at 534 W. Main St, inside the building that previously housed Merced Tattoo and Piercing Co.

The space is a new opportunity for Lena Xiong-Perez, the owner of Humble Rice Farmer, who hopes to grow into a wholesale location this coming spring. She is excited to create a community hub for local flower farm lovers.

“We created this shop for wholesale opportunities,” Lena said. “We want to build a place where people can purchase six to 10 stems and build their own bouquet to their liking. We wanted to have flowers available to our customers — something like what you would see when you walk into Costco or Trader Joe’s.”

She explained that selling wholesale is what will set her apart from other florists. Humble Rice Farmer will no longer just be a bouquet store or provider, but also a supplier. With an abundance of seasonal flowers coming in the spring, she hopes to supply local florists with farm-fresh flowers grown specifically in Merced County.

While Lena works to create a strong wholesale and community presence, she also hopes to inspire and educate the community on the realities and challenges of farming.

“The biggest negative and positive about farming is Mother Nature,” she explained. “Today you can cut your flowers, and tomorrow they will not look the same. That’s just how flowers are.”

According to Lena, flower farming comes with great difficulties. While the reward is an abundance of blooming crops, the risk is significant as Mother Nature is unpredictable, and the supply is limited to what’s in season — especially when customers are often shopping for specific flowers that are unavailable.

“People kind of just expect all flowers to be here,” she continued. “They’ll say, ‘What do you mean there are no peonies right now? You’re flower farming; you’re supposed to have them!’”

While most people have become accustomed to getting anything and everything in a single trip to the store, Lena reminds us that the natural process of farming through the seasons doesn’t work that way.

“Besides not having what is out of season, the crops sometimes move in small waves. One crop will come in lush, and then it’ll stop. And then, all of a sudden, they all come in lush. And then they all stop. It’s kind of unreliable.”

Despite these challenges, Lena continues to move forward and hopes to enter a new era of flower farming and education by hosting workshops, private events, community gatherings, and offering box subscriptions to the community.

“We wanted our own space for workshops and our own private events. We thought we might as well get our own spot and have our own rules, collaborate with in-store vendors, bring in the community, and still have the space to do multiple things.”

Since their grand opening in late October, the flower shop has hosted and collaborated on several holiday workshops and vendor events, including wreath-making workshops, sugar cookie decorating classes, and a 21+ cannabis terrarium-making class, with more classes and workshops planned for the future.

“We have to constantly hustle and find new ideas and new plans,” Lena said, explaining Humble Rice Farmer’s subscription boxes. “The ball is always rolling.”

Flower subscriptions are available for anyone to purchase and are especially recommended for businesses, restaurants, and individuals who want fresh, colorful flowers in their spaces but don’t always have the time to stop, pick, and buy flowers. Humble Rice Farmer is happy to do the job for you!

In addition to workshops, vendor events, and subscriptions, HRF is also available for private classes and events such as birthdays, bridal parties, and team outings.

For more information, you can find Humble Rice Farmer on Instagram at @humble_rice_farmer, where they regularly post upcoming classes, or contact them by phone at (209) 658-8392.