I think this is probably true for many of you because it’s certainly true for me.

My mother was an avid vegetable gardener. Along the arch where the sugar snap peas climbed, she would always tuck in sweet peas.

I still remember walking out to the garden to pick peas for dinner and catching that heavenly scent drifting through the air. To this day, whenever I smell sweet peas blooming on the farm, I’m instantly transported back to those moments with my mom.

That’s one of the reasons I’ll probably always grow sweet peas here at the farm.

Flowers have this quiet ability to hold memories for us.

Maybe for you it wasn’t your parents who gardened. Maybe it was your grandparents, an aunt, a neighbor, or someone else you loved. But I think most of us have certain flowers, fragrances, or even seasons that immediately bring someone to mind.

When my children were little, I didn’t have the energy or time to grow a garden the way my mother did. Steve and I were consumed with building our business and simply trying to keep up with life.

Sometimes I wish I had created more of those gardening memories for them growing up.

But I’m not giving up on that dream just yet because I already have plans for when the grandchildren eventually start arriving.

The other day, one of my bouquet subscribers stood looking out over the field with this expression on her face that immediately caught my attention. When I walked over, she said softly, “Oh my… I wish my grandmother could see your farm. She was such an avid gardener.”

And that’s exactly what flowers do for people.

There’s this idea that flowers are a luxury. An extra. Something indulgent.

But I don’t think that’s true at all.

Flowers bring color and beauty into our lives, yes, but they also carry emotion.

Their fragrance can bring back people we haven’t thought about in years.

They remind us of kitchens, gardens, weddings, childhood summers, and loved ones we miss deeply. Other than food, I can’t think of anything else that so instantly evokes memory and feeling the way flowers do.

That’s one of the reasons I decided to open the farm this season for our Public U-Pick program.

When you step back and think about it, not many people get the opportunity to spend time on a flower farm, see how flowers grow, wander through rows of blooms, and bring home flowers that were harvested just hours earlier.

There’s a common saying that we should know how our food is grown, and I think the same should apply to flowers. Unfortunately, most flowers sold in this country are imported from overseas, so if you ever have the opportunity to visit a local flower farm, I strongly encourage you to do it.

Start creating memories tied to flowers and the people you love. They’re the kind that stay with you forever.

You can check out the links for more information about our Public and Private U-Pick experiences here at the farm.