The Wave Crew Wave Petunias | Cool Wave Pansies
Tell us a little bit about your family, farm, and your history with agriculture.
I am a flower bulb farmer in Central Washington. I ship dahlias, peony roots, and ranunculus in the spring and fall every year. My farm is a first-generation farm, but my family has been involved in agriculture for over 100 years! My husband and I run our businesses together and are raising five awesome kids.
I have worked in the farming industry most of my career, and when I realized I was going to have to think outside the box to build a farm that would be profitable, I started growing flower bulbs, and it has just stuck. I really love what I do, although at times the growing pains feel really overwhelming.
I am a lifelong learner, and gardening and growing flowers lets me experiment time and time again. I think it is so important to remember there is no wrong way to plant your flowers or set up your garden. Just make sure that you love it!
Do you find ways to keep the joy in gardening rather than it just being a job?
My flower pots are my pride and joy. When being a flower farmer isn’t fun anymore, I go back to the basics and spend time working in my yard because it is my creative outlet and what brings me to true joy with no expectations from anyone other than myself.
Describe your garden.
I have a large backyard full of garden beds and flower pots on our farm here in Royal City, Washington. My first love in gardening has been annuals, specifically petunias. Now that we are in our forever home, I am working on planting perennials for yearlong color and to keep our yard looking well-manicured! I have many pots all filled with colorful annuals. I think I am getting close to 35-40 pots, so I really like to change things up and keep them fun.
Tell us about the first time you ever gardened.
My first times gardening were spent with my mom where I remember vividly every year planting the pathway to our front door with red geraniums. I didn’t realize back then why we always had to water flowers, but in my adult life now I want my mom to know… “I get it! :)"
If you could have one gardening superpower, what would it be?
Pulling weeds in my sleep! The work is never done. Some days I don’t mind it, and other times I get behind and have a hard time keeping caught up.
Share your secrets! What’s the best gardening hack you know?
FEED YOUR FLOWERS! If you want the big full flowers you see in magazines and online, put in the time to feed with bloom booster or some type of water fed fertilizer. It is a game changer!
Would You Rather… water your garden one cup of water at a time or only have one month of your flowers in bloom?
One month of flowers in bloom! Central WA is a hot desert!!
Would You Rather… do without gardening tools for a year or do without plant food for a year?
This is so hard! Do without gardening tools, but I know I will regret this!