Growing happy flowers.

August 2023 How it all started. When I was little, I was 100% sure that I was going to be a professional ballerina. As I gained a little life experience, I knew I was going to be an architect like my dad. In college I was going to be the most successful business woman on the planet, I was going to completely shatter that glass ceiling… Fast forward 30 years and I am still deciding what I want to be when I grow up. I dabbled in the corporate world, then I became the CEO of our household (no pay but the benefits were fabulous!). At 40 I decided to go back to school to become a special education teacher. That was fun, 2 years of classes at night, juggling 2 active boys’ schedules, trying to be the good wife AND working full-time at my paying job in the school system. Teaching was great, all the other stuff was not so I ended up back in the corporate world working for a small start-up company. Hmmm, I am seeing a pattern. The corporate world on TV is much different than in life- go figure! Truth be told, I am envious of all those who knew exactly what they wanted to do from a young age and are in love with the career they chose. So here I am at 53 reinventing myself. About 5 years ago my husband and I bought a house on 11 acres. At the time I thought this was going to be a quiet place to live and entertain. (Plus, our grown boys would be more likely to visit if we had 4-wheelers- still waiting on those.) The previous owners had an affinity for flowers, different varieties were planted all over the place. Flowers have always been a passion; It is really hard for me to leave bouquets in stores rather than my shopping basket. Something started rumbling in my head about what I am supposed to be doing and why we chose to live on so much land. So, I planted a small flower garden. The garden grew (literally) into an obsession. I started reading books on how to grow them, arrange them and yes, sell them. I never thought I would get excited over seedlings, but I did! They became my babies. I would diligently turn on and off the grow lights (now I use a timer…) and spritz with water when needed. It was euphoric when the seeds erupted! The greatest thing since sliced bread! I was hooked. Each season my garden would get a little bigger, I learned so much those 1st few years. Like it is not a good idea to directly plant your precious seedlings in the ground without letting them get acclimated. I have since learned that they must be ‘hardened’ first. Another biggie is to test the soil BEFORE planting. Seems so obvious now. Now that I am an official grown-up, I know what I am going to do for a living, become a flower farmer! And you are on the adventure with me as I write about my successes and failures of starting and running my own farm. Hang on folks, this may get a little bumpy! My farm is called Bountiful Blossoms and my mission is to educate and spread my love of flowers to anyone willing to listen.