US: Cultivating beautiful flowers and greenhouse vegetables at Castle Hayne Farms
Growing up in the Netherlands, Mark Hommes was raised on horticulture and a love of Dutch iris. Current co-owner of Castle Hayne Farms, Mark always knew he would become a commercial-flower grower, learning the trade from his father, but what he didn’t realize is the amount of rich history both his farmland and his family legacy would carry in Castle Hayne, North Carolina.
Mark’s family raised him on a bulb farm in the Netherlands where he learned the ins and outs of the horticulture industry. It wasn’t until Mark’s dad started an export business to the United States that Mark decided to visit and fell in love with the land. “My father and uncle bought the farm, originally named Coastal Bulb Farm, in 1978,” Mark said, “and when my friend and I decided to visit in 1989 we both fell in love with the land and the amount of opportunities presented to us here.” Mark and his friend became co-owners of the farm in 2004 and have grown it to 7.5 acres plus four acres of commercial greenhouses.