Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Roth.
Hi Brenda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell my story! When I built my home in 2007 (on farmland that has been in my family since 1923), I put in a small greenhouse and garden. As a senior university administrator, gardening was an activity that helped me to decompress, especially during the six-year period of time that I was both completing a doctoral program and my mother was suffering through Alzheimer’s. As a farm kid, I grew up begrudgingly completing garden chores so I would laugh as adult-me kept gravitating back to the same. I built my current greenhouse (#TheDrsOffice) while my mom was still alive and she delighted being in there with me. She was a creative who found inspiration and peace amongst her flowers and these are some of the qualities I most value having inherited from her.
I’m not exactly sure if I was destined to leave academia for farming or if the COVID era created a unique moment of self-analysis. But in 2021 and after 23 years in higher education, I just knew. My hobby had grown into something bigger and more core to a need in my soul. Some people were really surprised at my choice, especially since I had completed a doctoral program in higher educational leadership a few years prior. But to me, the degree was never just about some professional necessity – it was about personal growth and the educational journey helped me to understand some really important things about how I was wired. I have always been a curious person (another characteristic inherited from my mother!) but I just thought that was a personal characteristic. As I became exposed to the deep well of research on the topic of curiosity, I discovered its pivotal role in supercharging learning, but also, it’s unique capacity for helping us to embrace the unknown and thrive during times of ambiguity – and the COVID era certainly provided an opportunity to test and apply these concepts.
I loved my job and think i was good at leading the campus community but rather than helping people navigate the uncertainties of institutional life and the challenges of education and career exploration, my own curiosity became too strong to ignore. What if I took the leap? I had discovered that growing flowers was restorative for me, but over the years I had invited a lot of people onto the farm and had seen the impact that it had on others as well. Could I actually move this from the periphery to the center of my life? Seeing the joy on someone’s face after handing them a beautiful bunch of flowers or watching them exhale with relief when they step into #TheDrsOffice compelled me to try and find out. For the first three years I did a LOT of experimentation. I didn’t know at first what my business plan was, what my products and services would be, or what my infrastructure requirements were but so many people reinforced my attempts. Family, friends, and neighbors supported me (especially my dad), clients rewarded me, and opportunities I couldn’t have predicted kept presenting themselves. Had I not taken the risk to step into the unknown, none of this would have occurred.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve always been someone who figures things out as I go. I am always most comfortable with I have a clear vision and plan and I am big on building systems and mental scaffolds but I have also learned that those things do not design themselves, nor do they emerge quickly. I knew that I wanted to grow and sell flowers and I knew that I wanted to create a space that would cultivate community and others’ creativity. Although I wasn’t sure what that would look like, I began experimenting. Understanding more about the power of curiosity has empowered me to embrace opportunism; I believe I will find unseen currents that align with my ideals if I am brave enough to take risks and be adaptable. The downsides of this approach is that you make a lot of mistakes (which can translate into wasted time and money) and you can’t always explain your vision in a way that makes sense to others – these things not only undermine your own confidence but can put you out of business. I’m fortunate to have a part-time job with a non-profit that is rewarding on a personal level and enables me to pay the bills – But it is challenging to juggle schedules and switch between two really important sets of priorities. I regularly feel like I’m letting down either the farm or the non-profit.
Financial stresses are also a constant. I absolutely could not do this without the support of my dad, who not only does some tasks for me (he mows my lawn and drives tractor for me on occasion), but who has also funded some critical infrastructure improvements, particularly related to irrigation.
Another big challenge is the physical toll farming takes on your body. In one way, I’m healthier than I’ve been in years but as an almost 60-year old, I try and be as careful as I can to minimize injury. I’ve incorporated a number of self-care habits into my daily routine but should do more.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Five years of trial and error has helped me to refine my identity and the programs and services that I offer tend to fall into three buckets: DIY events; farmstand/bulk sales, and holiday greenery.
DIY events are open-registration opportunities that vary from year-to-year. This year’s offerings included workshops on pressed flower art, dried flower wreaths, kokedamas and beginning watercolors. Throughout the growing season, I also host regular DIY bouquet-making events. The farmstand is a self-service opportunity to purchase bouquets, flower bunches, flower and vegetable starts, and pumpkins in the fall! I work with a lot of DIY brides and event hosts who purchase buckets of blooms for their events. Although I do bouquets and table arrangements for many events, I refer out for those looking for a wedding florist – and I have a couple of great local partners! What I love to do for brides, however, is press and make a memorable work of art from their bouquet. Holiday greenery events include both DIY sessions where people can make wreaths or a variety of other holiday greenery decor. I also make and sell wreaths for farmstand sales and to a small group of corporate clients.
As small farmer, I get to grow things that the big chains can’t source. This means that when you purchase flowers from the Hollyhock farmstand (or from any local flower farmer for that matter), you’ll find a selection of flowers and greenery that are unique to that farmer and their growing zone. My mission is to cultivate happiness through beauty and generosity (and lots of cats!) and I am fortunate to receive consistently positive feedback regarding this ambition.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I truly delight in providing people with more than they expect. Whether it’s taking the time helping someone with a gardening problem, inviting them to come sit in my beautiful greenhouse for some personal R&R, or thoughtfully creating an event environment that helps enrich their work/friend/family group, I feel like the people who come to Hollyhock leave with a greater sense of calm, fulfillment, and/or satisfaction. While I tend to look around and see what’s broken, messy, or unfinished, it seems like Hollyhock guests see something else and I think/hope that this is a result of feeling cared for. It occurs to me just now that as someone who spent most of their professional career in the arena of student and employee development, it has been only natural for me to apply those instincts to this context – a mashup that catches people off guard in a very good way.
Pricing:
- For those local to my area, I am happy to provide a price list but I’m not sure what’s relevant in this context
Contact Info:
- Website: https://HollyhockAcres.com
- Instagram: Hollyhock.Acres
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollyhockAcres2021
