Spring is almost here and I CANNOT WAIT!

Spring is my favorite and spring flowers are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE flowers! Give me all of the ruffly, double-bloomed goodness that is spring flowers! They’re extra sweet after a long cold, gloomy winter too.

I thought I’d take some time to share a little bit more about me, our farm, and why I began farming in the first place.

It all started in 2020 when the world changed for a lot of people. It changed drastically for me! We welcomed our first son, Finley on March 11th of 2020- the official day the WHO announced a global pandemic. I know this is a controversial topic for most, but I will say that having a brand new vulnerable baby when there was a looming virus floating around that no one knew much about was a terrifying experience. However, a lot of good came from that time of life as well.

After having Finley, I cut back on my work schedule as a Physical Therapist Assistant to part time so that I could have more time with him at home. More time at home also meant more time in the yard, going on walks and contemplating how I wanted our new life to look with this amazing new family member.

I have always had an interest in flowers. My mom gardened when I was a kid and allowed me to grow in a small space in her garden. I got to choose whatever plants I wanted in that space and to this day I still remember it so fondly. At the time, my favorite flower was snapdragons. I loved “making them talk.”

My interest in flowers took off in 2020 since I was home more than ever before. And as are most interests go with me, it quickly became an obsession. That year I was gifted Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden book and I. Was. Hooked!

I began experimenting with indoor seed starting, different plant varieties, and learning everything I could about gardening. I had no intention of it becoming a business venture, especially given the smaller space I had to work with.

We live on ¼ acre of land (including our house). And it is anything but flat. I started with a few beds on the little bit of flat land we had around our house. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

In July of 2021, my sweet husband, Zack, suggested we excavate into our hillside above our rock retaining wall to allow more growing space. We went back and forth several times. Me saying “no its crazy, that would be too much work. We don’t even have a way to access it.” And him saying “I bet it wouldn’t be that bad. And we could build some stairs somehow to get up there.”

Those were his famous last words.

I don’t think he realized at the time what he was getting us into by getting the ball rolling. We now have excavated beds all throughout our hillside as well as built two sets of stairs into the hillside to access all of the growing beds. Was it easy? Not in the slightest, but it has absolutely been worth it. Over 3 years we have done more and more to get the hillside in full production. I’m so excited that this upcoming season will be the first year all beds will be put to use and I can’t wait to see it all come together and be in full bloom!

I’m so grateful he nudged me to take the chance in developing more of our land to make it possible to grow more in our small space. By doing that, we added enough to take the leap of starting a flower farm.

My incredible parents so graciously offered some of their land for me to grow on as well, so we developed a garden space at their home so that I can grow a larger volume to increase our offerings. It will also be in full production for the first time this year, which is very exciting!

By having both spaces developed, we have been able to expand our offerings to join the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market this season, as well as increase our wholesale to florist offerings. We are also able to take custom orders for weddings and events.

I am so thrilled to be entering our third year as a business and have more flowers than ever!

Thank you for following along with our adventure. I’d love to hear what you are most excited about this year!

Shelby