Paul Matalucci

Paul is a cut flower farmer in Hood River, Oregon. He began growing flowers at the age of 10 and was hybridizing tall bearded iris as a teen. He became a University of California–certified Master Gardener in 2015 and recertified as an OSU Master Gardener in 2020. (For his farm workshops for WildCraft, Paul presents as a cut flower grower only and not on behalf of the Master Gardener program.)

For twenty-six years, Paul was a corporate communications consultant, helping to build bridges between employees and leaders of large corporations. In 2018, Paul and his husband Tom purchased a small Christmas tree farm in Hood River with a dream to grow cut flowers and heirloom apples. Paul’s toddler nephew Marcus couldn’t say Uncle Paul so it came out Apple Core. When Paul and Tom named the farm, Apple Core Farm seemed a perfect fit."

Paul is an alum of the Floret Workshop and grows a wide range of annuals and perennials on roughly an acre of his farm. You can find him sharing blooms and daily life on the farm on instagram @applecorefarm