Helen Skiba - Artemis Flower Farm

Helen Skiba is a Colorado native who owns and operates Artemis Flower Farm. Helen grew up as a poet in Denver, migrating to New York City to pursue an English degree at Barnard College. After learning what she could from the city, Helen came home to start a combined Masters of Agriculture and Peace Corps service program at Colorado State University. Helen started farming at a small vegetable farm in Colorado after completing her Peace Corps service working with cacao and indigenous farmers in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She started as an intern and quickly became a part-owner in the business. Helen grew the business into a strong flower farm and design studio, executing up to 100 weddings per season with mainly farm-grown flowers.

In 2021, Helen and her partner Nelson signed a lease at the current property, leasing land in common with the Treehouse Farm Collective. Artemis Flower Farm currently operates on about 1.5 acres, with plans to expand to twice that over the coming years. They grow more than 100 species of flowers, from annuals to perennials and biennials, with many varieties within those species. Some of their big hitters are dahlias, lisianthus, ranunculus, zinnias, sunflowers, and soon, peonies. But they especially love all the strange delightful things they can offer the local market, like African daisies, monarda, nicotiana, and gaillardia. They offer flower subscriptions (CSA), occasional farmers markets, on-farm workshops in growing and floral design, wedding arrangements, and bouquets at their on-farm store. They are pushing their business toward wholesale offerings, selling through their local collective and to independent florists. Nelson’s family is Dutch and has been importing specialty bulbs for over 70 years, so they especially enjoy selling tulips, narcissus, hyacinth, and more in the fall. In addition, Artemis sells and ships their home-grown dahlia tubers throughout the US.