Tom Bart stood next to the vast field of mums on his flower farm and pointed to his well-worn work boots. He joked that if he didn't get a new pair soon, his foot would be exposed on the bottom. Early mornings and 10 to 12 hours in the hot sun, planting, down on your hands and knees getting rid of weeds, and walking a farm overseeing thousands of flowers, will do that to your feet.
"I asked my son Tommy if he had ordered the new boots yet," Bart said with a laugh. "He said, 'No.' I said, 'Well, you better get them soon.' He's the one taking over; I'm on my way out. He handles all the wholesale and all the organizations and everything. I'm the hydro-engineer. AKA, water boy." The Bart family owns Bart's Flowers, off Creek Road in Delran. They are third-generation flower farmers and have some 19 acres on their farm, located behind their homes off Creek Road.
A flower stand is positioned at the front of the farm along Creek Road, where people stop and purchase plants and flowers, but much of their business comes from landscapers and other retailers. They also attend local farmers' markets, such as the Burlington County Farmers Market on Centerton Road.
"We actually did absolutely phenomenal at the start of the pandemic," the elder Bart, often referred to as "Big Tom," said. "Everybody was home. At the retail stand, everybody was buying flowers to do their yards. This place really seemed to take off during the pandemic. One person was telling another person was telling another person. The customer base just exploded."
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