Mike and Polly Hutchinson
at Robin Hollow Farm in
Saunderstown. The farm has
been in business since 2005.
robin hollow farm
T
hose instagr a m im ages
many people conjure when picturing a flower
farm — the lush, colorful fields undulating
with blooms as the gentle farmer works her
way through each row, a basket on her arm
and clippers in her hand — isn’t quite reality.
At all.
“It is hard. One hundred percent,” says
Polly Hutchinson of Robin Hollow Farm in
Saunderstown. “People have no idea what’s
involved.”
Flower farming is not gardening and,
while beautiful, it’s not all dainty and deli-
cate. Flower farming is just that: It’s farming.
It’s a year-round business that can entail
fifteen- to seventeen-hour days during peak
season and hours of planning, prepping and
networking in the off-season. “We like to
joke that we go down to a fulltime job in the
60 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l
APRIL 2020
winter,” Polly says. (Another fun fact: Water
weighs eight pounds a gallon, and flowers
— whether in the field, in the studio or at
market — need a lot of water.)
While it’s physically and mentally taxing,
Polly and her husband, Mike Hutchinson,
love what they do. “Why whine when you
get to work outside and you get to be around
beauty all week long?”
The Hutchinsons established Robin Hollow
Farm in 2005, but their farming history goes
even deeper. The couple began in the early
’90s at Casey Farm, when they launched its
CSA program and were certified organic
vegetable growers.
“When Mike and I started, organic veg-
etable farming was super uncommon,” Polly
says. “Also, it was one of the first CSAs in the
state and it wasn’t | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 66