Charlotte Holden, 15, is a sophomore girl at Hopkinton High School. She is very busy with her sports, golf, basketball, and softball as well as taking care of her pet bunny, Clementine, whom she has had for 7 years.

Holden has a special hobby though. For 3 years, she has owned Charlotte’s Peonies where she sells peony bouquets with the help of her mom.

It all started when her mom planted a couple of peonies three years ago in their backyard. Mrs. Holden encouraged Charlotte to tend to them and sell the flowers. The rest is history.

Most people all over town have either seen, heard, or bought from Charlotte’s Peonies. They make great gifts for Mother’s Day, anniversaries, or just to have in the house. People like to buy peonies from Holden rather than a florist because she is a young student in town who does most of the work for her business.

Holden does her marketing through her mom’s Facebook page. “She has a lot of friends on facebook who buy from me,” Holden said. This cuts down on a portion of the costs. Each bouquet was sold for $12, but Holden and her mom bumped the price to $15 this season because of increased popularity over the years.

Holden cares for the flowers herself. She grows, cuts the flowers from her backyard, and then puts them in glass bouquets with ribbon. “I’d say it’s about 2 hours per week,” Holden said.

Holden’s busiest season is in the spring. “There’s usually a lot of orders because my mom has a lot of facebook friends,” Holden said. “It’s a bunch of bouquets a day,” Holden said.

The hardest part of owning her own business is managing her time between sports. Holden still likes it though because it is a good distraction from school and athletics.

When asked about whether Holden will continue this as a career, she said “No, but I will do it when I am home.” It is something Holden enjoys doing on the side and will like to keep as a hobby.