I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I knew I wanted to be a mother and I knew I wanted to be a stay outside mom with a side hustle. At the time, I enjoyed collecting and reselling antiques, but I knew there could be something more. My husband and I decided to start our own garden. We grew green peppers, jalapenos, herbs and lots and lots of tomatoes. I just adored being outside with the kiddos, getting my hands dirty and smelling the fresh air.
I purchased some wildflower seeds to plant in the corner of our garden bed to attract pollinators. I figured while I was at it, I would spruce up our shed by planting zinnias along the side of it too. And while I was at THAT, maybe design a flower bed in the front, then repurpose a file cabinet and turn it into a flower box, and so on and so on.
Little did I know, growing flowers would become my favorite all-consuming passion.
Every room in the house had a vase with vibrant flowers in it. I knew that the more I picked them, the
more they would grow, so I had to find some alternative ways to use them. I made homemade sugar
cookies with flowers decorating the tops. I pressed flowers to preserve them for artwork. I dried
flowers and made wreaths out of them. I also learned about flower pounding, hammering flowers into
fabric. Working with nature brought me joy, and apparently clarity too.
My face lit up when the realization slapped me in the face. I immediately told my husband what I wanted to be…
“I want to be a flower farmer”.
Jamie was more than supportive of the idea. “I will grow the veggies!” he said.
I started following every farming account on Instagram that I could find. The Instagram algorithm got to
know me well because that’s when it gave me Hannah’s account. I watched her farming content for
months, learning about where I want my food to come from. One day she posted that she wanted
someone to introduce her to some local thrifting spots. “Well, that’s right up my alley” I thought, sending her a quick message. “I love thrifting, I am also pregnant, and I live in Rock Hill too!” I said.
We went thrift shopping that same week. Our friendship grew to taking turns hosting dinners and playing a few good rounds of Rummikub. Hannah learned about my love for flowers and was kind enough to take a chance on me.
So now, here I am! I feel incredibly grateful to be able to share our flowers with the community and the
lovely events to come. I spent the winter prepping my growing space and planning out several rounds of cut flowers, and I can’t wait to finally start planting next week!
I am a flower farmer.
-Abbie
