I grew up with John Deere tractors and the rhythms and risks of farming 2000 acres of corn and soybeans. I am a teacher who left the classroom to join a community of eternal optimists: Minnesota farmers.

This leap into flower farming began with a vase of yellow tulips, a bright and much-needed gift that lifted my spirits in a week of gray March days. Happiness greeted me each time I entered my dining room.

I started planting flower seeds. Some grew. Some did not. My glorious plans of flowers! flowers! flowers! growing everywhere funneled down into a small 4×8 plot of zinnias, amaranthus, sunflowers, and cinnamon basil.

Later, in the summer of 2025, attending u-cut flower events at Minnesota flower farms became one of my favorite excuses to meet up with friends. I also stumbled upon a book by Oregon flower farmer Erin Benzakein called Cut Flower Garden. Between the book and yellow tulips on my dining table, I knew.

Not only did I want to grow flowers, I wanted to grow happy thoughts like the ones I had when my friend brought those yellow tulips to my door. I wanted to grow–and share–happiness.

And then, I had yards and yards and yards of mulch and dirt delivered. Flowers! Flowers! Flowers! would be planted in the spring of 2026.