From Air Force Nurse to Flower Farmer...a little about me

Hi! My name is Ruth Ann; your unlikely flower farmer. No, I did not grow up on a farm, I did not grow flowers as a child, I did not go to school for agriculture…I did however, graduate from Calvin College with a nursing degree, and then joined the United Stated Air Force at the age of 22 and spent the next 7 years working as a nurse in the USAF. In my 20’s I worked in the Air Force living in Virgina, Alaska and Texas. During this time I met my husband, and we had our first child in 2015 while stationed in TX. Then we very quickly added our second child, a daughter in January of 2017. Later in 2017 we moved to Michigan, as I had separated from the Air Force and was thus free to live wherever we wished. As we looked for a place to live we began to wonder if we could get any amount of land, as the housing market at the time was moving quickly. But we providentially found a blank 2 acre lot in Dorr, MI, formerly a corn field. It was perfect, surrounded by fields, and with good sunrise and sunset views.

My first real cutting garden…summer 2019

We build our house and moved in 2018. That spring we did not yet have a yard and I have great video futage of my then 2 your old son having a great time playing in our mud yard…. But we did plant some grass and then I staked out a grarden area with the help of my father. Growing up my dad had always had a large veggie garden. He brought in the produce and my mother would can and preserve it. My mom and I and other siblings helped turn this into canned beans, salsa, stewed tomatoes, and our family favorite: pizza sauce. At this time however, I was pregant with our third child in less than 3 years and feeling a bit overwhelmed. I told my dad that the plotted out garden space was too big. Oh was I wrong!!!

As we built our house I drove past a small flower farm , Three Acre Farm (you should check Lori out) on the way out to our land, and at the same time I came across something on Facebook from Floret Flower Farm in WA state. So I thought that I was going to grow flowers the next summer. So in 2019 with a baby, a 2 year old, and a 3 year old, I started growing my first cut flowers. But then I starting dreaming of my own flower farm and sharing my flowers with my community and welling to local florists as well. Well the next summer my babies grew, and my flowers bloomed! I could not believe it. I sold a few at a farmers market through a friend, and I gave away lots and lots of flowers. Then the rest is history.

Today I grow on about 1/3 an acre and sell retail through a flower subscription and to local florist in Byron Center and Grand Rapids. I now have another little baby girl, so this summer, 2022 should be great fun farming with another baby. Today my days are filled with lots of mom things, like dirty laundry, cleaning up items I don’t ask what they are, teaching kindness and selflessness over and over, and realizing so many times that I need the same help that my children need. I listen to baby giggles, wash tiny feet, and lots of dishes, clean the same things over and over, and watch my children build castles in the sandbox. But I also start crazy amount of seeds, transplant flowers, burn holes in landscape fabric, move compost, rip out old beds, and plant sunflower houses for the young and old alike to enjoy, oh and write blog posts, track business expenses, and market and sell my flowers.

A few other random facts about me:

-I bake almost all of our own bread, and grind my own wheat

-I enjoy reading, and quilting (though I have little time for either)

-I homeschool my children

-we read a lot of books aloud and I sometimes share my most favorite children’s books on my social media pages

-I am a bit like a hobbit and mostly have a love for green things and things that grow like Sam

-I say my life with 4 small children is an everyday adventure, and this could not be more true

-I live by the grace of God, and I am so thankful for my husband, family, and friends far and near

-I greatly enjoy quiet moments alone…this is very hard to find at my home though