Tip Top Orchard is a 14 acre farm in Buckland, MA that uses no-till, human-scale and organic methods to grow vibrant, premium cut flowers. We focus on supplying the local floral industry with the highest quality, freshest, most unusual and beautiful blossoms we can sustainably produce. Our flowers are available to the public through local retail partners as well as DIY buckets straight from the farm (please check out our “Shop” section.)
We love growing at the intersection of scrappy and sophisticated: cold-hardy perennials that are well-suited to our climate, yet produce interesting and unusual blooms for stunning seasonal arrangements. We grow some annuals too, because some of them are pretty irresistible. What we grow evolves from year to year as we listen to the land, our bodies, our customers and our ever-evolving tastes and interests.
Tip Top is located on a south-facing slope at the top of a hill (colloquially known as “snow mountain”) on the ancestral land of the Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, and Abenaki peoples. The fields are framed by heirloom apple orchards and hardwood forests that are home to abundant wildlife. Currently about half an acre is in cut flower production, and the farm grows a little more every year.
OUR MISSION
We envision a local flower industry that enriches the world by growing chemical-free plants, paying workers living wages, and bringing beauty to people’s lives. Our goal is to help make high-quality local blooms a feasible alternative to the multi-billion dollar conventional floral industry.
OUR VALUES
Listening
This farm project is intended to be a conversation with this land we are stewarding: what can we do to make this land healthier and more vibrant for all of its current and future inhabitants?
Sharing
From cohabitation with flora and fauna to making our land a welcoming space for others— including and especially other people of color and black and indigenous people — we are committed to sharing the beauty of this place with others.
Living Wages
Though we’re not big enough yet for employees, we have incredible part-time help. We are committed to financial transparency with employees and paying a living wage.
About the Farmer
Maya Nayak has worked with ornamental plants for almost 20 years as a professional gardener. An artist of many mediums, she has an inescapable love and undeniable talent for making spaces beautiful. Maya sees beauty as central— rather than supplemental— to the cause of liberation and situates all of her work as a farmer inside the larger pictures of land access, social justice, and ecological sustainability. She approaches everything she does with thoughtfulness, compassionate critique, and a razor-sharp wit. She lives on the farm with her partner George, kiddo Asha, and dog Pippi.
The text on this page was written by a true friend and inspirational farmer, Abby at Foxtrot Farm.