12/19/2024
Big News from Linda at Harvest Moon Flower Farm
December, 2024
Hi Everyone-
When one is an entrepreneur and has successfully created, owned and operated a business for decades, the time inevitably comes when you start to consider different solutions to enable retirement with, hopefully, a succession plan for your little gem of a business.
I spent the first half of my sixties creating my second flower farm and custom-built home a mere couple of steps across a gravel road from my original flower farm and home of 45 years. The intention for Flower Farm #2 was to create a slimmed down version of the first farm: Not as much farmland to manage, not as much profit needed, much less time spent farming. I would say from the perspective of 4 years down that road that these goals were amply met, with a great deal of hard work initially, but then the evolving joy of witnessing my new vision of a downscaled efficient and beautiful flower farm come to fruition.
I’ve been abundantly lucky and fortunate. My 36 years as a flower farmer have all been so kindly and generously supported by my local farmers markets, business accounts, and special-order customers. Some of you have been customers all those 36 years. Wow!
I have hired many an employee over these years. Some of been 1 month-ers(!), single season-ers, or gems that stay for enough time to really get good at the craft. Fortunately, Harvest Moon Flower Farm has been blessed with several of those and several amazing mentorees. Anna, Carmen, Gay, Ayla, Hannah, Jesse, Christine, Jessica Mary, Kuenzi, Sarah, Maggie and Megan- You have all been amazing stewards of flower farming, great employees, and for some of you, (eventually) wonderful flower farmer colleagues. Thank you, thank you.
This has been an amazing career that I have absolutely loved. I have loved the strategizing, the architecture and the beauty of running a flower farm. But, it’s really hard on the body. I’m retiring at the end of this season so I can use some of my remaining (still good) vitality in some entirely different pursuits. Successful, profitable farming takes up a LOT of real estate in one’s brain. I want to switch channels and get some open space between my ears. I’m scared and excited. Mostly excited at this point!
So, several months ago, I sold 2.7 acres of my 8-acre property to 2 of my long-term highly-appreciated and loved staff persons. They bought the shop, machine shed, greenhouse and production fields that form the back part of my property. They will bring a new vision to flower farming with a more contemporary manner of running a farm business than this ol’timer cared to commit to in the last few years. I look forward to witnessing the evolution. Lucky me, I still get to live next to a flower farm without having to work it!
Even so, I still have 6 acres with horticultural product all, all, ALL around me. So, my gardening itch will easily be satisfied. Plus, I still own 1 30x72 heated hoop house. That’s 6 beds, 60’ long- lotta space for a ‘retiree’ to manage. So, I’m experimenting with different notions about how to use growing spaces creatively for new markets that will align with travel and adventures. The goal is to fit flower farming into my life instead of fitting my life around the workaholism of flower farming, as I have done most of my working life.
So, there you have it. Harvest Moon Flower Farm is still alive and well, and will remain so indefinitely. But it’s no longer an active farmers market farm come December 22nd, 2024. However, it IS still a flower farm- the 3rd one(!) I am amused that as a direct descendent of Johnny Chapman Appleseed, I too have (unintentionally at first) fashioned my flower farming journey as a series of 3 different flower farm sites, developing each to the best of my horticultural and profit striving abilities before selling each iteration to new stewards.
Now, I travel, I swim, I dance, I read and more fully enjoy family and friends as I imagine a new concept of farming that brings joy and beauty to others while I still exercise my passion for moderate farming AND my excitement for new growth and opportunities unrelated to farming. It’s going to take a bit of time to visualize what this 3rd abbreviated farming chapter looks like, but I can at last exercise patience about this as ideas percolate and eventually germinate.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for all the amazing love and support so many of you have shown me and my staff through all these bouquets, straight bunches, weddings and wreaths and YEARS on all my farms! It has been such hard, gratifying work and it has been so very, very fun and awesome! I am deeply blessed by so much. Thankyou.
Love,
Linda Chapman
Harvest Moon Flower Farm
Spencer, Indiana
