Hello From Golden Hour Flower Farm
Let me tell you a little bit about myself... My name is Heather, and I am a farmer.
I grew up outside and in gardens. My mother landscaped our double lot in Niles all by herself; rambling berry patches, curated flower beds, bushes, vines, and flowers everywhere. My grandparents lived on a modest vineyard in Buchanan; maintaining the gewurztraminer, pinot gris, and riesling that previously existed and planting their own 1/2 acre garden for annual canning and freezing. Between these two very different but very magical havens, I learned how to be outside; how to plant, how to weed, how to dress properly for any weather, how to hydrate and take breaks, how to focus on mundane repetitive tasks, how to prune and trellis, how to be quiet and listen and think and observe.
I came to have a garden of my own with Concord grapes and asparagus and berries and my first dahlias. Several years into college at Saint Mary’s I happened upon a flyer advertising for an internship with Unity Gardens in South Bend, IN, and I jumped at the chance to create a community garden with the vision of feeding the campus. For a season I assisted 50 community garden locations (plus building my campus garden), weekly preschool garden classes, a farm camp for children, and helped maintain and expand a 2-acre pick-for-free food farm. I struggled with weeds and groundhogs and hives of all sorts and car problems. I giggled with children, met hundreds of new people, ran through fire hydrants, and grew into knowing that growing things was what I would do, in some capacity, for the rest of my life. I was in love with farming and food and people.
From there, I spent 4 more seasons working for organic vegetable farms in southwest Michigan: Blue Star Produce in Buchanan and Granor Farm in Three Oaks. Harvests and packaging and CSA’s and markets and events: the farming season can feel so quick! 2016 was a big year for me. My mom passed away suddenly from an aneurism in her brain, and at the same time, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to build and manage a trial production farm to supply a local brewery with vegetables for their three separate culinary kitchens. I learned how to run heavy machinery with tractors, how to take care of goats, how to manage a few employees myself, how to plan and prep, and prepare and track and collect data. I learned how to be flexible, how to use my imagination, and how to be patient with myself if something didn’t work out. I learned how to work with chefs and how food can be creative and pretty and surprising. Running that 4-acre farm was amazing and scary and fun and difficult and taxing. I’m sad that it didn’t work out to be a long-term project, but grateful for the opportunity to experiment and play and build skills that would help me in the future.
I spent several more years farming and gardening. Lending an extra hand in wedding set-ups for a local flower farm. I kept chickens and plotted a small cut flower garden in memory of my mom. In 2018 I moved to South Bend, IN for my present job at the Purple Porch Co-op as purchasing manager. I knew that I needed to find a place to grow—desperate to find a space for myself—and I only wanted to grow flowers to supply myself and friends with flowers. I didn’t feel like I had space or wherewithal or motivation to grow food. The Co-op planted me into a rich community full of endearing people, and a Member-Owner who ran an urban farm sprawled across 5 vacant lots in different parts of the city was just beginning to seek retirement. He allowed me to set up two small beds in a lot two blocks from my house. I used only seeds that I had saved. I still save seeds.
My garden expanded from those two wee flower beds into seven in 2019. I planted and grew for a dear friends wedding, I made and pinned my first boutonnières and greenery garland, and opened my first birds of paradise and used a bright red bike trailer to cart around bouquets to different farmers markets. I used flowers and plant material that I grew to make floral imprints and dye fabrics and yarns. My gut told me that the next year, 2020, would be the year of the great expansion: I would use the agricultural skills and experience that are so ingrained in my personhood as a way to interact with my community in a way that is good and feels right.
I have developed a successful micro/urban farm model using limited water and resources which annually builds organic matter in the soil and attracts enough insects to excite any entomologist. What started as a meager 2-bed personal cut flower garden has now grown into a 16-bed micro urban farm with all sorts of delicious and enticing marvels. I am tickled and proud and excited to offer a weekly bouquet subscription and delivery service this year!
There are so so so many beautiful humans who have helped and tended to my growth throughout the years: family, friends, colleagues, coworkers, partners, and the wonders of curiously wise children.