How does one become an accidental flower farmer? With God’s help, to be sure! This is the story of how two years in a row now God has provided our farm with hundreds of gorgeous volunteer flowers. Only, it was this year that I decided to create more beauty from those already stunning blooms.
One seed packet, many years of blooms
How does one receive years worth of blooms from one packet of seeds?
Sow and let bloom one year. Allow some flower heads to die and fall to the ground. Leave the soil alone. Then allow those seeds to germinate the next spring. God does the rest.
I sowed zinnia and sunflower seeds in 2021. Every year since I have had volunteers sprout up. This year has been wild! One sprout came up in the mulch around a fruit tree! Definitely didn’t have any zinnias near my fruit trees nor in the mulch pile I use. God is amazing!
Usually each spring I will pick off those new flower sprouts as they are generally in the path ways of my big garden bed and just in places I don’t want flowers competing with my vegetables.
I’m a vegetable farmer! Not a flower farmer.
When intentions don’t work out in your favor…
But I thought I could be a flower farmer at one time.
In 2023, I decided to intentionally plant a flower farm at my grandmother’s house next door. The goal was to be a you-pick flower garden. I even crafted a “sunflower room”.
My husband and I tilled the yard, fertilized the soil, sowed many packets of seeds. We had high hopes!
And it flopped, big time.
The sunflowers grew only about knee high despite the mammoths we planted. And that was more than half way of the summer before they began to bloom.
The other wildflower patch didn’t do much either. It was very disappointing.
Meanwhile, over at my house, in my enclosed garden bed, I let nature just do nature things. It got a little out of hand.
And I allowed it!
I chose not to plant nearly as many vegetables there as I usually do and just let the flowers flower.
It was a JUNGLE! And I loved it.
But I didn’t do anything with it. I maybe made 4 bouquets the whole summer.
Then this year in 2024, when they started sprouting all over again, I decided to be a little more strategic so that I could actually walk through my garden bed this year. I picked out sprouts coming up in unwanted areas and allowed the rest to flourish as they wanted.
I did nothing else. No fertilizer, no weeding. Many grow right in the pathways’ mulch that is decomposing into a fine soil.
God does His thing.
Accidental Flower Farmer wasn’t in the dream
I’ve been saying for years to any locals who will listen that our small rural “farming” community needs more FOOD GROWERS.
Produce stands, roadside markets, etc.
After some big life changes at the beginning of the year, I had more time, attention, and energy to put into gardening.
My first goal is always to grow enough food to preserve for my own family. The rest I give away like most backyard gardeners.
And so the seed was sown in my heart: start your own roadside stand.
In middle of July, I hosted my first Farm Shelf offering extra tomatoes, jalapeños, herbs, and flowers. No prices. Just a love offering of whatever the patron thinks is fair and it’ll go right back into our small scale homestead. We even accept bartering which has been a hit.
Beautiful. Blessings. Blooms.
This year I decided to bless others with these beautiful blessings from the Lord for free. I’ve been asked a lot why I’m not selling these flowers.
The answer is simple: God provided them to me for free, I’ll give them away for free.
And so the “Free Flower Friday” was born.
On Fridays, I harvest flowers in buckets and leave jars, clippers, and water for folks to come Build-a-Bouquet for free.
My only ask is for donations of old spaghetti jars, jam jars, any size or style to use for bouquets.
Wednesday Farm Shelf days I will also snip flowers and create bouquets in those donated jars for folks to take too.
It’s been a success by my definition…
I live out in the middle of nowhere and I also don’t want to publicly announce where I am to the world of social media. A few neighbors and church friends are regulars. A few have driven from 30 miles or more away to come visit. Farm Shelf Wednesdays are more successful than Free Flower Friday.
So, why don’t I sell my flowers? If I can hardly give them away, how will I actually sell them?
Testing the Accidental Flower Farmer Seller waters
With that said, we are winding down in the year. It is end of September as I write this.
The sunflowers are gone now but the zinnias are still alive and well. Oddly enough, many are at the field’s edge and are doing fantastic despite being sprayed by only Lord knows what as the field contains peanuts farmed with commercial farming practices.
These were the plants I pulled up from 2023 jungle garden and threw into the field! They came back ready to go. And go, they have.
Again, God did that.
Just this week, I reached out to a farmer friend who in July of this year also decided to start a roadside produce stand in my town! God listens!!
We have agreed to partner together to see how well a few jars of Johnson Home grown flowers do on his produce stand since he is located right on the highway. The price is super affordable. The visibility is great. If this works out, we are in talks of a bigger partnership next spring.
Where do we GROW from here?
So my dilemma is now this: intentionally plant a variety of flowers next spring or allow God to do what He wants again? Or a combination of both?
All in all, I accidentally became a flower farmer this year because God’s plan is way better than I could ever dream or imagine or attempt to craft for myself.
The calm that has come from snipping flowers, learning more about when a zinnia is ready to harvest, stripping leaves, arranging blooms is more than I could have realized I needed in my life.
I am in no way a florist. I have not a clue what I am doing when it comes to arranging flowers except trying not to have too many twins stand beside one another in the same jar. Still, I try.
A millions dreams…
There’s a million dreams living in my head and on my heart.
At one time, a few were namely to be super successful, run a profitable business, and “retire” my husband from his job.
Now it’s more like: raise babies, keep a house, raise and keep a garden, chickens, and maybe one day more land for animals and a market garden with a thriving produce stand.
Or maybe God has a different plan.
Maybe it’s one where community is involved. Farmers work with farmers to serve our local community. Maybe it’s a way to provide fresh local food to people. To meet a need and desire. Maybe it’s to steward the land and animals to provide clean, wholesome, healthy nourishment to the ones we love. Or maybe it’s be a flower farmer who has the ability to brighten someone’s day with a recycled jar of vividly colorful blooms whispering the promise that Jesus loves you more than He loves these flowers yet He provides them just as He provides for you.
I don’t know what next year holds anymore than I know what tomorrow holds.
I do know I’ll continue to be faithful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’ll continue to TRY to sit in the still and listen for Him to speak. I know I’ll continue to steward the land and husband the animals He entrusts me with.
Stay tuned for a 2025 update on this accidental flower farmer’s journey!
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