Photo by Howard Owens.
When Daniel Riggs was nine years old, he helped Joanne Olson dig up her gladiola bulbs just before winter cold set it so they could be replanted in the spring.
That started the Elba resident's passion for flowers, particularly gladiolas.
"I guess the entrepreneurship in me was instilled at a young age," Riggs said. "I discovered at that time I could grow and raise Gladiolus and sell them at a market. At that time, I was also selling vegetables we planted on our land, and the gladiolas seemed to be a hit right off the bat, so I grew them and sold them at the market until I was 29."
Then he moved to California, working in Palm Springs as a real estate broker for 20 years.
"Throughout that 20 years, I missed the farm," Riggs said. "I missed gardening and being home in the summers."
A year ago, he returned to Elba and started a new business this year. Flours Market, a name he says hints at the idea that a bakery and flower shop might be a good pairing someday.
He planted 60,000 bulbs this spring and has been selling them from a flower stand on the family's property on Batavia Elba Townline Road, as well as other locations.
"It's kind of come full circle, and there are a lot of exciting plans that I have ahead," Riggs said.
Photo by Howard Owens.
