Do a Little Dance
I did a little dance last night. And maybe pinched myself. This dream of mine is becoming a reality.
To give you a little background, I am an emergency nurse and have been for the last 10 years. I've also been gardening since I was little. My earliest memories are of picking strawberries from my grandmother's garden - one went in the basket, the next in my mouth, and so on. She didn't seem to mind. To date, those were still the best tasting strawberries ever. Growing up, I learned gardening from my mother but the obsession hadn't quite taken hold yet. When my husband and I bought our first house in 2006, I started my own small vegetable garden, along with some flowers. My neighbor, Toni, was a master gardener and would teach me tips and tricks along the way. I fell in love with roses while living there, planting six rose bushes. Toni taught me how to prune and deadhead them for the best second flush of blooms.
Fast forward to 2018, when we outgrew our house after having two daughters there, we moved to Champlin. It is in this house that my obsession for flowers bloomed, and after reading Floret Farm's book, Cut Flower Garden, I became hooked. The spark of light that is a dream was ignited. I spent 2020 expanding flower beds on our property and continuing to dream but not moving that forward into reality. One day, at lunch with my friend Jessy, I began talking about my idea. She became so excited, and encouraged me to pursue it further. (Jessy has been my cheerleader throughout this entire process - love you girl!) The more I talked about it, thought about it, dreamed about it, I couldn't stop it. It was already in motion.
The name. I agonized for weeks over it. Lists and lists of ideas, none screaming "that's it!" to me. Until one day, I was reading an article talking about Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. It was talking about her love for flowers and how she had a pressed flower collection (currently with the Royal Horticultural Society). Her favorite flower was the foxglove, also one of my favs! I just knew in that moment that Nightingale Flower Farm was born.
This spring has been a flurry of starting seeds, tending to seedlings, breaking new ground, and becoming a business owner. Scary but exciting! I hope you'll continue to follow me on this journey. My husband, Steve, thinks I should start a YouTube channel... anyone know how to edit videos?
Xoxo flower friends,
Sara
**By the way - bouquet subscriptions are still open for purchase (and Mother's Day is coming up)! Grab one today!**
