Dream Acre Flower Farm

01/17/2025

Repeat after me: Decisions made out of fear are never going to serve you as much as decisions made out of faith...

Faith that you will find a way.
Faith that things will work out.
Faith that you will find the people you need.
Faith that there's "enough" for everyone. More than enough, actually.
Faith that no matter what happens, you will figure it out.

Fear keeps us small. It tells us we need to keep circling our wagons and keep in close, but that mentality usually only helps us in true moments of crisis and tragedy as we deal with the immediate aftermath.

Fear keeps us from investing in ourselves and our dreams. It keeps us from any kind of meaningful relationship, since those require vulnerability. And it keeps us from becoming the unique, amazing person we were truly meant to be.

Fear tells us we need to keep looking sideways at what everyone else is doing, as if that was somehow an indicator of our own progress.

Fear is a liar, my friends. And you should start--TODAY!--to root it out of your mind as much as you can.

Hope you have a weekend filled with big hopes and dreams and planning ahead and living right now, in this very moment.

P. S. The sweet peas have germinated and started to grow in our high tunnel in the past two weeks or so. Come June, we'll be swimming in fragrant, lush armfuls of them. If you want to make sure you get some in your own home come spring, we still have some spots open for our 2025 bouquet subscriptions! Link is in bio.

P. P. S. If you like receiving inspiration and motivational thoughts like this as well as occasional discount codes, make sure you're following our weekly Sunday newsletter! Comment SIGNMEUP, and I'll get you on the list :)

01/14/2025

Something I don't think is talked about enough is the power of being a beginner.

As a beginner, you often have all the enthusiasm and delight without the weight of the memory of past mistakes and failures, or even the tendency to always be looking for "best practices," which can sometimes lead to procrastination rather than actually doing. I like to say that the joy is in the learning rather than just in the results at this point.

As a beginner, you don't know what you don't know, so you sometimes are audacious enough to just try all the things out, only to realize...while some things do, in fact, come with a learning curve, everything is figure-out-able if taken one piece at a time. Sometimes if you get bogged down by "research," you scare yourself off even trying to go for something, putting it off until you're more skilled. The beauty of being a true beginner is sometimes you just go for it anyway, not realizing if something is "advanced" by other people's standards.

I remember hearing a story once on my mission about two friends who were ice skating on a frozen lake. One of them fell through into the cold water below and floated a few feet underneath the thick slab of still-intact ice. The other yelled frantically for help and then, realizing that help couldn't come quickly enough, promptly took off his ice skate and started striking the ice as hard as he could over the spot where his friend had floated underneath, eventually cracking it enough to create an opening and rescue his friend.

When help arrived soon after and firefighters came onto the scene, the people marveled at how such a young boy could have done such an impossible feat.

An old man spoke up, saying: "I know how he was able to do it."
"How?" everyone asked.
"There was no one around to tell him he couldn't."

If you find yourself in the position of being a beginner this year, own it, my friend -- there is a great power in just letting yourself embrace all you do not know and try for it anyway.

01/06/2025

Time to RUN--not walk--if you're planning on enrolling in our cut flower gardening courses for this year! Our beginner course on all things cut flower growing is TOMORROW (Tuesday, 1/7) at 7 PM and our intermediate course is this Wednesday (same time).

I only teach these classes one time all year (since I'm busy flower farming the rest of the time!), so now is your chance to learn all about everything to do with with growing flowers exclusively for cutting and using in floral arrangements. In addition to all the info you need for growing your own cut flowers, both classes also include a floral demo during the last class about how to actually pull it all together in an arrangement.

Link to register below:

https://www.snow.edu/community/continuinged/flower-gardening.html

Hope to see you in class this week!

01/03/2025

People come to growing for many different reasons. Some come out of a sense of duty for curb appeal, some for a desire to grow their own food, and some just because they like having an excuse to get outside and enjoy nature.

I came to cut flower growing out of a deep-rooted passion that I still can't fully explain. I've loved gardening and learning about growing things for as long as I can remember, but when I discovered the idea of growing flowers solely for the purpose of cutting to bring them indoors for arrangements, it was like something deep within myself woke up. As if a flame that had just been waiting for the initial spark roared to life.

It was literally all I could think about. I had a hard time sleeping, I was so excited.

I always wondered when I was younger if I would just somehow know what I was "supposed" to do with my life. I'm not going to say I'm totally there now, but I will say, growing flowers feels to me like it was always meant to be part of my story, and now that I'm doing it as my full-time career, I can honestly say that it's helped me to become more of the person I'd always hoped I'd someday be.

I don't know if flowers and gardening are that way for you, but if you feel yourself pulled to them (especially without necessarily knowing why), I urge you to take a chance on it this year and sign up for my Cut Flower Gardening class that starts next week. If you are local to Sanpete, you can come in person (it's held at the Snow Business Building in Ephraim), or you can take it remotely if you're further away.

I don't know all things, but this is one thing I do know -- if you are drawn to something, if you feel a spark of interest you can't fully explain, THERE IS A REASON. Sometimes we shut the door on our natural affinity for things, rationalizing them as silly or saying we don't have time.

But what if that ends up being the very thing that your soul has been longing for all along?

You will literally never know if you never give it the chance to come to light.

Time to take a chance on yourself:

https://www.snow.edu/community/continuinged/flower-gardening.html

01/01/2025

Ready to learn something that will light you up this year? Are you wanting to learn a new skill that will both feed our own soul AND allow you to better serve those around you? Great news! Both sections of my cut flower gardening courses are now open for enrollment, and classes start next week!!

I offer the classes through Snow College Continuing Ed, and they are open to anyone in the public age 12 and older. I am offering two different courses this winter. The first class I offer is a Cut Flower Gardening 101 class that covers all things to do with the basics of growing cut flowers (selecting plants, growing seedlings, harvesting, arranging, and more). This is meant for both people totally new to gardening in general AND for people with gardening experience already but who are new to growing exclusively for cutting.

I'm also offering an intermediate/advanced class for the first time this year as well for those who have taken my beginner class and/or who have at least one season of specific cut flower growing under their belt. The intermediate class will cover season extension, advanced planning for continuous blooms throughout the season, troubleshooting common issues, and more.

Winter can be a hard time for many, but something I hear a LOT from students who have taken it is that it not only gives them something to look forward to every week during the course, but that it brings a light and excitement to the rest of the entire winter as they excitedly work on their cut flower garden plans.

I would love to see YOU in the class this year!! You can sign up for either section of the class through the link below:

https://www.snow.edu/community/continuinged/flower-gardening.html

Farmer florist based in Manti, Utah. Bouquet subscriptions, custom orders, and wholesale flowers from April to September.

12/31/2024

Something I talked about in the farm newsletter that went out last night is that one of my favorite ways to reflect on what I want for a new year ahead is to think the following:

✅ What do I want MORE of in the new year?
✅ What do I want LESS of?

I did this exercise this week, and honestly, some of my answers kind of surprised me. Just for fun, here are some of the farm things I want in the new year--

In 2025, I'm wanting MORE:

👉 U-pick nights (this was such a fun new thing we tried in 2024!)
👉 DIY weddings/events (this combines all my favorite things about flower farming: planning out what to grow and then curating only the best of the best. If you're interested in sourcing flowers from us in 2025 for an event, check out our link in bio! The pic here is from one of our August weddings)
👉 spring-flowering blooms (cuz we're all in desperate need of color at that time of year! We planted an insane number of bulbs this fall to make this one happen. P. S. We've still got some subscription slots available if you're wanting to make sure you get some of our specialty spring blooms for yourself)

As for things I want LESS of, that list includes:

✂️ LESS weeds taking down crops (we'll be hiring our first part-time employee in the spring to help with this one!)
✂️ LESS flowers getting composted (we'll be streamlining our sales outlets for next year to achieve this)
✂️ LESS stress about things I can't control (weather, social media algorithms, etc.)

It's a useful exercise for sure, so if you have a chance now as we approach 2025, try asking yourself these two simple questions and see what comes up for you! You might be surprised.

P. S. If you're wanting to get on our farm newsletter list (which is where I try and share equal parts behind-the-scenes farm stuff and inspiration/motivation), go ahead and DM me your email address, and I'll get you on the list before the next one goes out on Sunday!

12/23/2024

Hey Sanpete County! Do you need a last minute Christmas gift?! Skip the lines at Walmart and get the women in your life what they actually want -- a whole season's worth of FLOWERS!! We've still got 2025 bouquet subscriptions up for grabs, and they're sure to make the loved ones in your life feel special and appreciated.

Check out your subscription options through our website linked below, or just DM me for details!

https://www.dreamacreflowerfarm.com/shop/subscriptions

Note: We have beautiful gift certificates that can be presented to the recipient on Christmas so they know what they are getting. Since there isn't time to mail them, you will need to stop by our farm to pick that up, or arrange to have us deliver it for you. We wish you and yours a very merry Christmas, and thank you all so much for your support of our family's flower farm this year!

12/22/2024

As we head into the most reflective part of the year for me, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU again for those of you who poured into our farm's pay-it-forward program this year in any capacity. There are many, many things I love about flowers. But perhaps the thing I love best of all is their ability to brighten the darkest days and the way that they are like light and hope made tangible -- reminders that better, brighter days DO come.

One of my favorite things we did this year from some of the funds of the pay-it-forward program was decorate the grave of my friend's son, who passed away at the age of 6 in June of this year. As we came up on the month mark of his passing, our family wanted to do something to brighten what we knew would be a challenging milestone for their family, and we woke up with the sun to create this display.

My dear friends, I don't know all things, but this I do know -- kindness matters. Showing up matters. Taking the time to lift others and say an encouraging word and be present matters.

I don't think I'll ever forget the sight of these flowers in the rising sun that day--the reminder that brighter days will come because of Christ, who came for us all.

I wish I could reach out and individually message each one of you who donated into the program this year to say thank you, and to let you know who your donation went to. I'm hoping in future seasons to be able to do that in some form.

But know this -- every nomination you made, every dollar you donated, every minute you spent helping me put together bouquets or deliver flowers, every time you shared a post to raise the word, YOU are saying again what kind of world you want to live in.

And I love sharing that world with you.

12/21/2024

You wanna know my favorite day in December?

Nope, it's not Christmas (although I love that day, too) -- it's actually today: The Winter Solstice!!

The older I get, the more I crave simplicity in my life, and the more I want to pare things down to the essentials, to the things that really matter. So much of December can feel like hustle and bustle, so much focus on STUFF, so many things to attend. Almost all of it is fun, of course, but still...it's a lot.

Or maybe it's just a lot for us introverts 😉

Several years ago, my family and I started celebrating the darkest night of the year--the winter solstice--with a special candlelight dinner. There are no gifts exchanged or any real big fuss made, but we instead eat a special meal solely by candlelight, and we talk about how Christ came to be the light of the world for us all.

It's actually one of the times I feel the REAL reason of the Christmas season the very most, probably because it's not being overshadowed by a million "louder" things.

It's just a night to be with those I love, pondering on what's most important, with everything stripped down to the most essential.

I also love knowing that after tonight, we'll be gaining just a little bit more daylight each and every day. It will seem like just a trickle at first, but wow, by February? It's like we'll notice the whole world start to come out of hibernation once more.

I'm sure there's a lesson in there, somewhere. Like how when you're in the thicket of the darkest nights of life, it can sure be hard to see those trickles of extra light coming in. But rest well, my friend, in knowing that they will, indeed, come for you, if you are indeed in just such a season.

So, happy Winter Solstice, everyone. I pray you find pockets of light and hope in the things that matter most this holiday season 💛

12/19/2024

Fun Fact: Matt and I got engaged 14 years ago today! It's a bit of a long story, but the short version is that Matt had "fake proposed" to me two years previously in the parking lot at Leatherby's to freak me out (I was leaving on a mission just a couple weeks later), and then when I came back from my mission, he ended up proposing in the exact same spot two years later (although we did get out of the car for the "real" proposal, and he got down on his knee in the pouring rain and everything).

Since weddings are on my mind today, here's another fun fact: while flowers like ranunculus and dahlias and lisianthus tend to get all the love for weddings, one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE flowers to use in wedding arrangements is actually cosmos.

They come in a gorgeous array of textures, sizes, colors, and shapes, and they add just the perfect amount of whimsy and charm to anything they're paired with. Because of the nature of the way they grow, they seem to "float" or kinda "dance" above everything else, and I especially love using the ones with the yellow centers for a pop of color.

If, like me, you find yourself (or someone you know) getting engaged in the wintertime with a spring or summer wedding, we invite you to check out our free downloadable PDF document that explains all about how our DIY buckets of blooms options works for weddings and other large events. You can find it at the link below:

https://www.dreamacreflowerfarm.com/diy-event-flowers

P. S. This year, we're actually also offering a la carte wedding options, meaning that for an extra fee, we're willing to do the actual arranging for you for things like table centerpieces, the bridal bouquet, etc. Message me for details if you want to know more!

12/16/2024

EXCITING NEW CLASS OPPORTUNITY!! Mark your calendars :)

You may already know that I've been teaching a beginner cut flower gardening class through Snow College Continuing Ed for the past few years. Well, after encouragement and inquiries from former students, I'm super excited to announce that in addition to still teaching the beginning Cut Flower Gardening 101 class that I've always offered, I'm now also offering an intermediate/advanced class for the first time this winter!

Some answers to FAQs:

Q: WHO IS THE INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED CLASS RECOMMENDED FOR?

We recommend that you only sign up for the intermediate class if at least one of the following applies:

- You've already taken the Cut Flower Gardening 101 beginner class already (or something similar elsewhere), AND/OR
- You have at least one season of cut flower growing under your belt.

Q: WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT ABOUT THE INTERMEDIATE CLASS VS. THE BEGINNER CLASS?

The beginner class does a broad survey of all the basics of cut flower growing, such as starting seeds, which flowers to grow, harvesting techniques, spacing, etc.

The new intermediate/advanced class will do a deeper dive into topics such as season extension techniques (including high tunnels and the use of frost cloth), advanced crop planning for continuous blooms, and growing trickier crops for our climate, such as lisianthus, ranunculus, and dahlias. There will also be a hands-on flower arranging class at the end, rather than just a demonstration by me (like in the beginner class).

Q: WHEN IS THE CLASS, AND WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE?

Both classes will start the second week of January (Tues. 1/7 and Wed. 1/8) and will run once a week for five weeks. Both classes are at 7 p.m. in the evening and will take place at the Snow College Business building in Ephraim.

Q: WHAT IF I DON'T LIVE LOCALLY? IS THERE A REMOTE OPTION?

YES, there is going to be a remote option this year! I've had enough people inquire about taking the class virtually that we are going ahead and offering a remote option this year for those who don't live locally.

If you have any other questions at all, let me know!

You can find out more information about the course (and register early) right here:

https://www.snow.edu/community/continuinged/lifestyle.html

12/14/2024

Just a friendly reminder that December is not a race :)

Have you ever stopped to think about how when you act hurried, you automatically feel more hurried, which just feeds the vicious stress cycle of never feeling like you have enough time or space to breathe?

I know you have a lot going on (hello, holiday season!), but take a minute and internalize the following today so that you can go into this weekend with a mindset that will set you up to be present and your best self rather than stressed and harried:

✅ "I have enough time today to do what matters most"
✅ "There are happy moments in store for me today"
✅ "I have time right now -- and every time I remember -- to stop and take a deep, calming breath"

Your weekend has some beautiful things in store for you -- now go out and find them!

Love you, friends 🩷

12/13/2024

True story: This custom order was delivered not only with a side of chocolate from Candies on Main, but also with my husband and I singing an impromptu two-part jingle of happy birthday on the customer's front porch as we made the delivery.

As we talked with the clients to see what they wanted to give, they gave us pretty free reign on color palette and flowers (always my favorite choice!), but hearing about how much love and affection they had for the beloved grandma they were giving these to for her birthday, we decided that extra love and attention needed to go in the presentation of the flowers as well. So we sang (in two-part harmony, I might add) a very dramatic version of happy birthday right there on her front step (and would be happy to do so again if asked, lol!).

And honestly? The experience proved just as much fun for us as for her, as we got to witness her complete surprise and feel her joy through her tears as she felt so loved and appreciated.

You might think that going into a 5th season doing this, some of the charm has worn off, but it really hasn't. There is nothing I love more than putting together something special with you or your loved one in mind. I think of what might add elements of surprise and delight, both through whimsy and beauty but also through fragrance. I think of what you might be going through, and as cheesy as it sounds, I put a lot of love into each arrangement and bouquet. YOU are my inspiration, and the flowers are just my medium for expressing the beauty I find in all of our connections with each other.

Thank you for letting us be one of your local sources for flowers meant for your dearest loved ones!

P. S. We don't have arrangements available currently as our season is over until spring, but we do still have a few bouquet subscriptions for our 2025 season left if you're wanting to gift one to someone special for the holidays. Check out our shop on our website to purchase one today, or you can DM me directly for details :)

12/08/2024

Here's the thing I've been thinking about -- no one else can appreciate beauty for you: it's something you need to take the time to notice and feel for yourself. Same goes for wonder, or awe, or gratitude.

And the thing about all those feelings is that they are some of the strongest predictors of life satisfaction and emotional well-being. But how often do we sometimes "wait" for them to happen for us? Perhaps for someone else to point them out or plan the trip or buy us the flowers?

I was thinking this week that too often, I wait for someone else to do for me what I can do for myself.

I wait for someone else to make the first (or next) move to deepen a friendship.

I wait for someone else to plan a fun event.

I wait for someone else to buy me something luxurious and beautiful, just because.

Something I want to work on in the new year ahead is to stop waiting around so much for someone else to do for me what I can only do for myself, really -- to sit up and look on with rapturous wonder at the beautiful life that's happening all around me, every day. To not only notice beauty, but to put more of it in front of me. To not only hope for friendship and deeper connections, but to do the necessary work to make it happen.

What's something you want to do more for yourself in 2025?

12/07/2024

We are humbled and beyond grateful to have found out this week that our farm has received a grant from For Farmers so that we can finally buy an industrial grade hand tiller! Matt has been hand tilling our entire farm for years with a super cheap, poorly made tiller we got from Amazon four years ago, and trust us when we say that we are THRILLED for this grant!

Many farmers often have been in it for generations, which means that many large, established farms have no problem getting access to the equipment needed to tend to their operation. Since we are a small, specialty crop operation only growing on about a half acre, it doesn't necessarily make sense for us to invest in something like a tractor yet. There's also the fact that neither my husband nor I grew up as farmers -- we not only had to teach ourselves everything we know, but we've also had to bootstrap every single leg of our flower farming operation in order to scale up.

In most every business, when you're about to grow and expand to another level, there will be a time when your business won't quite have the money to give you what you need, but you need that leg up in order to get to where you want. We have felt SO. MUCH. GRATITUDE. for programs like For Farmers, who make it possible for us to get the (relatively) small amount of funding that has made a HUGE impact on our growth.

I'm so thankful for the individuals, organizations, and opportunities that have made it possible for us to continue growing so that we can more fully start to actualize the big dream we have for our farm. Our farm might have initially started as a side hustle that I largely did for my own mental health, but it has grown into a dream so much larger than anything I could have imagined in the beginning. We have big plans for the ways in which we plan to serve our community now and in the future, and we're so appreciative of everyone who has helped us get to where we are. Thank you for being the good you want to see in the world ❤️

12/03/2024

The long nights and colder days are nature's invitation for us to rest and reflect at the end of a long, productive year.

While January and February tend to be much more of a "grit my teeth and get through winter" kind of thing, I love that in December, the idea of resting indoors is still very much a welcome one, and I also love that the end of the year is an organic opportunity to pause and reflect on all that I've learned and experienced.

Each year end, I've come to ponder a few questions pretty regularly:

✅ What am I proud of myself for doing this year?
✅ What really worked for me?
✅ What didn't?

Taking even just a few minutes to think about my answers to each of these is a valuable tool for going into the idea of a new year with fresh perspective, as well as a great opportunity to feel gratitude for all that I've experienced and the ways in which I've grown.

For me, I'm proud of myself for a lot of things this last year. I'm proud of myself for just running at my dream of flower farming full-time with all I had. There were times I was so tempted to just back off a bit because of how hard it was and how uncertain, but because we forced ourselves to just keep on pushing through, it was amazing how many doors opened up just simply because we kept pushing on.

I'm proud of myself for learning to just express what I really felt in most any situation, rather than on just always going with the polite, expected response (or sometimes no response at all). I'm proud of myself for consistently having the guts to have tough conversations and let myself feel hard things. I wasn't perfect at it (not by a long shot), but I'm so much better at it than I used to be.

Some things that worked for me were continuing to drastically minimize the number of possessions in our home and cutting out dairy and sugar on top of gluten for awhile so that I could get my autoimmune disease finally under control again. Another huge thing that worked for me was starting up our farm's weekly newsletter. I love having that outlet for sharing more of an in-depth look at what flower farming is all about, as well as my headspace about it all from week to week. I love how many people it's allowed me to connect one-on-one with, and since I love writing, it's been a good way for me to do that in longer chunks, too.

I'll perhaps share what didn't work for me in another post, but I'm curious to know -- how would you answer the first two questions? What are some things you're proud of yourself for doing this year? And what are some things that worked for you?

Please do share! I love hearing from you so we can all learn from each other :)

11/29/2024

2025 BOUQUET SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE NOW LIVE!!

It's the gift pretty much every woman wants, and it's available for purchase now! The actual flower subscription starts in April and goes through September, but we give you a beautiful gift certificate to present the recipient so they know what they have to look forward to. We have both monthly options and twice-monthly options available, and we can't wait to surprise you with the beautiful varieties we've chosen for next year!

Our subscription slots are limited, so order soon to reserve a spot!!

https://www.dreamacreflowerfarm.com/shop/subscriptions

Send a message to learn more

11/28/2024

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

- e. e. cummings

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)