ABOUT US

We love hand-making dried flower art that make you happy. In the beginning, our blooms are planted from seed by hand on our Greenacres, Washington flower farm. Our seeds are natural, organic, and grown without chemicals. Inspired by the sweet colors of Nature’s flowers and greenery, for months we nurture a diverse cultural showcase of blooms with utmost respect for the sustainability of Earth. Then, our flowers are air-dried or organically preserved, embracing the beauty of everlasting botanicals and Nature’s choice of flowers to represent the Cycle of Life beyond the Cycle of the 4 Seasons. Welcoming the differences of our world and each flower, all of our creations have a special, unique identity, are handmade with love - and celebrate Nature's Art of Dried Flowers where no two items will be identical.

Enjoy!

A painting by Kirk Larsen featuring the founder of VanCortlandt Farms, Francena Chalfant, creating arrangements in her home flower shop.

AN AWARD-WINNING dried flower artist and founder of VanCortlandtfarms.com, Francena Chalfant studied at Parson's School of Design, New York, and in England with Amanda Docker and Jane Packer. Her floral arrangements have been commissioned for presentation to celebrities including Audrey Hepburn, Richard Dreyfuss, Hugh Grant, Daniel Radcliffe, opening night of The Producers on Broadway, and President George H.W. Bush. Two arrangements honoring the early-American/Swedish-instigated Flax Industry of the Old Brandywine Village/ Beaver Valley/Chadds Ford area are in the collection of the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia. Born to parents passionate about the creation and conservation of architecture, urban design, interior design, painting, sculpture, landscape design/gardening, and textile design and who were also connoisseurs of the culinary arts and classical music, Francie "grew up in an art school" but came into her own as a Rotary Exchange Student to New Zealand for her junior year in high school.

CHALFANT WRITES: "The fun of being an artist has been the unconfined range of mediums that receive a "smile." My entire life has been spent helping artistic ideas go into production for selective audiences. Whether it was customizing my father Richard Chalfant's designs for condominiums and townhouses, creating "SymFunnies Concerts for Kids" for my husband Stefan Kozinski's dream of expanding symphonic audiences, or transforming flowers grown to be bunches in a craft store into rings of dried flower art for most of the major home accessory catalogues in the U.S., the thrill of creation is the smile on the recipient's face. It is an honor to be considered a part of the Chalfant Artistic Legacy."

The Breeders Cup
2003 - 2011

Everlasting Potpourri Under Glass
2024

Arrangement created in honor of the Swedish women who, in 1650, started the flax industry, propelling Pennsylvania to be the leading producer of flax in the U.S. until the Civil War.

American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia
2024

Floral Cloud
2024

A GLIMPSE AT OUR FARM

Achillea Yarrow Summer Berries
Free flowering yarrow grows in pinky and yellowy shades that dry to a dusty mauve.
Shop Dried Yarrow
Gomphrena Globosa
Our dainty blooms of globe amaranth are one of the most attractive flowers to pollinators. The bees and butterflies love it here.
Shop Dried Gomphrena
Calamagrostis x Acutiflora
Whimsy sprouts dancing with the wind. This ornamental grass is a natural occurring hybrid species that grows in abundance on our farm near the pond.
Shop Dried Feather Reed Grass
Ammobium Daisies
Our perfect little blooms loving in the sunshine.
Shop Dried Ammobium Daisies
Papaver Somniferum Poppies
These pretty lilac blooms produce dried birdseed pods that dry to a natural beige.
Shop Wreaths with Poppies
Avena Sativa Oats
Lovely grasses crowd the fields. One of our forever favorite crops.
Shop Dried Avena Oats