Our New Hoop House: Extending the Growing Season for Year-Round Local Flowers
- Lindsey Walsh
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
We're excited to share that we've just completed our third hoop house at the farm! This 50+ foot structure joins our existing greenhouses and represents a major step forward in our ability to provide locally-grown, sustainable flowers for weddings throughout the year.
What is a Hoop House?
A hoop house (also called a high tunnel) is an unheated greenhouse structure made of metal hoops covered with greenhouse plastic. Unlike heated greenhouses that require significant energy input, hoop houses use passive solar heating to create a protected microclimate for plants. During the day, sunlight warms the soil and air inside the structure. At night, that stored heat radiates back, keeping temperatures several degrees warmer than outside—even in the depths of winter.
Inside our hoop houses, we use landscape fabric combined with drip irrigation—a system that significantly reduces our environmental impact. The landscape fabric (visible in the photos as the black material covering the beds) suppresses weeds naturally, which means we don't need herbicides or constant cultivation that would disturb the soil. Underneath that fabric, drip hoses deliver water directly to plant roots rather than spraying it into the air. This targeted watering approach reduces water loss to evaporation by up to 50% compared to overhead irrigation, and because water goes exactly where plants need it, we use less fertilizer—the nutrients aren't washed away or diluted across bare soil. It's a simple system that mimics how plants naturally receive water in forest environments: steady, direct moisture to the root zone with minimal waste.
You'll also notice in the photo of our newest hoop house that our growing beds are built as raised wooden boxes with walking paths between them. This design serves multiple purposes beyond convenience. First, it allows us to build custom soil blends using our own brown-green compost—a mixture of carbon-rich materials (the "browns" like dried leaves and wood chips) and nitrogen-rich materials (the "greens" like fresh plant matter). This compost feeds the soil ecosystem naturally, creating the rich, living environment that produces healthy plants without synthetic fertilizers. Just as importantly, the raised bed system means we never step on the growing medium itself. Foot traffic compacts soil, crushing the air pockets that roots need to breathe and that beneficial microorganisms need to thrive. By keeping our feet in the paths and our plants in the beds, we preserve the soil structure season after season—the fluffy, well-aerated texture that allows roots to penetrate easily and water to drain properly while still holding moisture where plants need it.
Look closely at the photos and you'll see vertical support systems running through many of the beds—stakes connected by horizontal netting or wire that creates a trellis structure. These supports are essential for vining flowers like sweet peas, which can grow 6-8 feet tall and produce their most abundant blooms when trained vertically. The netting (visible in several images) allows the delicate tendrils to grab and climb without damaging the stems, maximizing both the number of flowers we can harvest and the length of those elegant stems that make sweet peas so prized for wedding work. Growing vertically also improves air circulation around the plants, reducing disease pressure in our humid climate, and makes harvesting easier—we can walk along the paths and cut stems at eye level rather than bending or kneeling. This same system works beautifully for other climbers we grow for weddings, including clematis and climbing varieties of snapdragons. The hoop house structure itself provides the framework for these trellising systems, with the metal ribs serving as sturdy anchor points that can support the weight of fully mature vines heavy with blooms.
While hoop houses excel at capturing warmth in winter, managing heat during Virginia's humid summers is equally critical. Our hoop houses are designed with roll-up side panels that we open during warm months to create cross-ventilation. Combined with circulation fans, this airflow system prevents the interior from becoming a sauna—temperatures inside can easily reach 120°F+ on a 90°F summer day without proper ventilation. The moving air also reduces humidity and fungal disease pressure, which is essential for growing healthy flowers in our climate. During peak summer heat, we often have the sides rolled up completely, essentially creating shade structures that protect plants from the most intense midday sun and heavy thunderstorms while still allowing maximum airflow. It's a constant dance of opening and closing the structure based on weather conditions, but this active management is what allows us to grow delicate flowers like delphiniums and sweet peas through the challenging mid-Atlantic summer.
Why Hoop Houses Matter in Zone 7a
Here in Northern Virginia, we're in USDA hardiness zone 7a, which means our average annual minimum temperature ranges from 0°F to 5°F. While this climate supports beautiful flower production during spring, summer, and fall, winter can be challenging for tender varieties that couples love in their wedding florals.
Our hoop houses extend our growing season in both directions:
Early Spring Production: We can start cold-hardy annuals like sweet peas, snapdragons, and ranunculus 6-8 weeks earlier than field planting would allow. In the photos, you can see our ranunculus already establishing roots while there's still frost risk outside.
Late Fall/Winter Growing: Heat-loving flowers like zinnias and celosia can continue producing well into November, and we can grow cool-season crops like anemones, hellebores, and brassicas through the winter months.
Seedling Production: Perhaps most importantly, our hoop houses give us the protected space to start thousands of seedlings each spring. Those tiny plants you see in the propagation trays will become the delphiniums, poppies, and dianthus that fill summer and fall weddings.
From Seed to Bloom: The Journey of a Hoop House Flower
One of the most rewarding aspects of growing our own wedding flowers is watching the complete lifecycle—from tiny seeds to full, abundant blooms ready for harvest. The photos here show that progression through our hoop houses over the course of several months.
Starting Seeds Indoors (Photo 1): It all begins in late winter, when we start thousands of seeds under grow lights in our propagation area. The seedling trays sit on metal racks with water trays positioned underneath—a bottom-watering system that encourages roots to grow downward while keeping foliage dry to prevent damping-off disease. Under controlled light and temperature, these tiny plants get their start while it's still freezing outside. Each variety has specific germination requirements—some need warmth, others need cold stratification, some need light to germinate while others prefer darkness. This is where 30 years of experience really matters; we know exactly when to start each flower variety to have it blooming at peak wedding season.
Hardening Off (Photo 2): Once seedlings develop their first true leaves and strong root systems, they move to the hoop house for a process called "hardening off." These trays sitting outside in the protected structure are gradually acclimating to outdoor conditions—more intense sunlight, temperature fluctuations, and wind (even the gentle airflow inside the hoop house). This transition period typically lasts 7-10 days and is critical to preventing transplant shock. Rush this step, and you'll lose plants; skip it entirely, and seedlings that thrived under grow lights will simply collapse when exposed to real growing conditions.
Transplanting and Protection (Photo 3): When seedlings are hardened off and outdoor soil temperatures are appropriate, we transplant them into the prepared beds. In this photo, you can see white row cover fabric draped over the newly planted beds—a lightweight, breathable material that protects tender transplants from late frosts, intense sun, and wind while still allowing water and air to penetrate. This "blanket" comes off once plants are established and the weather stabilizes. The white fabric is also visible in winter photos where we use it as an extra layer of frost protection for cold-hardy crops, sometimes adding it inside the hoop house on nights when temperatures are expected to drop below 30°F.
Full Production (Photo 4): And this is what it all builds toward—a hoop house in full spring production, with tall spikes of delphiniums, masses of sweet peas climbing the netting, and early poppies just beginning to open. The horizontal netting you see running through the beds serves double duty at this stage: it supported the plants as they grew, and now it prevents heavy blooms from flopping over, keeping stems straight and strong for cutting. The flowers you see here will be harvested over the next several weeks for spring weddings, each stem cut in the early morning when blooms are most hydrated and will last longest in arrangements.
This entire process—from seed to wedding bouquet—takes 12-16 weeks for most flowers, sometimes longer for perennials. It requires daily attention, constant monitoring of weather conditions, and deep knowledge of each plant's needs. But it's how we ensure that when you choose Growing Wild Flora for your wedding, you're getting flowers at their absolute peak—grown in healthy soil, harvested at the right moment, with minimal environmental impact and maximum beauty.
The Science of Passive Solar Growing
What makes hoop houses so effective—and sustainable—is how they work with natural systems rather than against them:
Thermal mass: The soil inside the hoop house acts as a heat battery. During sunny winter days, the soil can warm to 50-60°F even when outside air temperatures are in the 30s. That stored warmth keeps roots active and plants growing slowly through the cold months.
Season shifting: A hoop house doesn't change what we can grow in zone 7a, but it shifts when we can grow it. We can start spring flowers in February instead of April, and keep fall flowers producing until December instead of October. This gives us 4-6 additional months of local flower production each year.
Microclimate control: The plastic covering protects plants from harsh winds, heavy rains, and frost damage while still allowing ventilation on warm days. We can roll up the sides when temperatures climb and close them when cold snaps threaten.
What This Means for Sustainable Wedding Flowers
Every flower we grow in our hoop houses is one we don't need to source from a wholesaler importing from California, South America, or Europe. Local, seasonal flowers have a dramatically smaller carbon footprint than imported alternatives, even when those imports are certified "sustainable."
Our hoop houses allow us to grow an extensive range of wedding flowers that thrive in Northern Virginia's climate:
Lavender: These fragrant purple spikes bring both color and scent to arrangements, and they dry beautifully for keepsake bouquets. Most common in shades of deep purple and soft lavender, with occasional white varieties.
Eucalyptus: Prized for its silvery-blue foliage and distinctive aroma, eucalyptus adds texture and a modern botanical feel to wedding work. The blue-gray leaves are versatile in both fresh and dried arrangements.
French Carnations: Not your grocery store carnation—these heirloom varieties feature ruffled petals and incredible fragrance in shades of burgundy, blush pink, coral, cream, and bi-colors. They're romantic, long-lasting, and surprisingly elegant.
Lisianthus: Often mistaken for roses or peonies, lisianthus offers delicate, ruffled blooms with exceptional vase life. Available in white, cream, soft pink, lavender, deep purple, and increasingly in apricot and champagne tones.
Ranunculus: These paper-thin petals layer into perfect rosettes that couples absolutely love. Colors range from pure white and butter yellow to coral, pink, burgundy, and even chocolate brown. They require cool temperatures to establish, making hoop houses essential.
Anemone: Striking blooms with dark centers surrounded by silky petals create dramatic contrast in bouquets. Most commonly seen in white with black centers, but also available in deep burgundy, hot pink, and soft lavender.
Snapdragons: Tall spikes of flowers in an incredible color range—white, pink, peach, yellow, orange, burgundy, and purple. The blooms open sequentially up the stem, providing weeks of cutting from a single plant.
Dahlias: From small pompons to dinner-plate sized blooms, dahlias are summer wedding showstoppers. Colors span the entire spectrum except true blue: white, cream, yellow, peach, coral, pink, red, burgundy, and almost-black varieties.
Chicks and Hens (Sempervivum): These succulent rosettes add unique texture to bouquets and boutonnieres, and they're especially popular with couples wanting a modern or desert-inspired aesthetic. Colors range from green to burgundy to blue-gray.
Sweet Peas: Impossibly fragrant and utterly romantic, sweet peas are a spring wedding favorite that simply cannot be shipped long distances—the blooms are too delicate. Colors include white, cream, pink, lavender, purple, and burgundy, often with ruffled or bi-color petals.
Icelandic Poppies: Crepe-paper petals in saturated colors—bright orange, coral, pink, yellow, white, and peach. These cheerful blooms signal spring and add a wildflower meadow feel to arrangements, though they're far more refined than field poppies.
Scabiosa: Also called pincushion flowers, these airy blooms feature distinctive stamens that create texture in bouquets. Most common in shades of deep burgundy, lavender, and white, with a delicate, garden-fresh appearance.
Celosia: Available in two main forms—plumed (feathery) and crested (brain-like texture)—celosia brings bold color and unique form. Colors are intense: hot pink, magenta, orange, yellow, burgundy, and deep red.
Cosmos: These cheerful, daisy-like blooms are workhorses in summer weddings, producing abundantly with minimal care. White, pink, burgundy, and the increasingly popular chocolate cosmos with its deep maroon petals and subtle chocolate scent.
Zinnias: Perhaps the most productive cut flower we grow, zinnias bloom continuously from summer through frost in every color imaginable except blue—white, yellow, orange, coral, pink, red, burgundy, green, and bi-colors.
Delphinium: Tall, dramatic spikes that make a statement in ceremony installations and large arrangements. Classic shades include true blue, purple, lavender, white, and pink. These are challenging to grow in hot, humid climates, making our ventilated hoop houses essential.
Stock: Intensely fragrant spikes of flowers that fill arrangements with both color and scent. Available in white, cream, pink, lavender, purple, and burgundy. Stock prefers cool temperatures and is one of the first flowers we harvest each spring.
This diversity means we can create cohesive wedding palettes using entirely locally-grown flowers, whether you're dreaming of soft pastels, bold jewel tones, or sophisticated neutrals. We grow what thrives in our climate and book weddings based on what's in season—which means you get flowers at their peak, not imports that traveled thousands of miles.
30 Years of Growing
This hoop house represents our continued investment in sustainable floristry. My mother started Growing Wild Floral 30 years ago with a commitment to growing flowers the right way—working with our climate, soil, and seasons rather than relying on imports flown in from around the world. Each hoop house, each season, each wedding teaches us more about what grows best here in Northern Virginia and how to provide couples with beautiful, locally-grown flowers.
The photos show the progression from winter prep through early planting to full summer production in our existing structures. It's a lot of work—preparing beds, starting seeds, transplanting seedlings, managing irrigation—but it's work we love. And it means that when you choose Growing Wild Floral for your wedding, you're supporting real local agriculture and reducing the environmental impact of your celebration.
Planning Your Wedding Flowers?
If you're planning a wedding we'd love to talk about how our farm-grown flowers can make your day beautiful and sustainable. We grow what thrives in our climate and book weddings based on what's in season—which means you get flowers at their peak, not imports that traveled thousands of miles.
Contact us to schedule a consultation, or check out our venue guides to see how we've worked with your specific location.
