Flower Farming in the Wild West
Flower farming in the wild west can be a bit of a rodeo.
With harsh winter temperatures well below freezing. Abundance of wildlife attempting to graze on your crops. Springs that feel more like winters. Wind storms, hail, droughts, wildfires & tornado risks. Dry desert landscapes with soil lacking of nutrients. These are just to name a few of the challenges of being a farmer in Wyoming.
When you think of Wyoming “flower farm” is not likely what first comes to mind. Wild west, cowboys, cowgirls, cattle, buffalo, horses, rolling hills, & prairie land are likely your first thoughts. Wyoming is known as the cowboy state, where life is slower and people treat strangers like family. Towns are hours between each other with the beauty of wildlife and rolling hills of prairie grass only to watch as you pass by.
Two years ago my family and I uprooted our life in our home state of Oregon to move across the United States and plant our roots in Wyoming. We bought land & the house we dreamed about having for years. Embarking on a journey that would change our lives. We set out to build the business we had dreamed of since our wedding, inspire the world & change lives. McLean to Inspire LLC was born.
September of 2023 we began planting fall bulbs and creating a website that would host a variety of services and products. Our website started out as a platform for us to sell our photography prints and art with the goal to continue to add each part of the business as we grew. The Flower Farm would come to follow the next spring.
We started with what felt like nothing. A empty piece of land, nothing but prairie grass & sagebrush, a blank slate. For the first time in our adult lives we were living in a home that required much less upkeep to maintain a livable state. We were starting a new life in a new place, without the distractions of toxic people and endless home repairs. This allowed us to put our focus on our dreams. To work towards to what we had been called to for so long.
The work that goes into flower farming in Wyoming is a lot different then that in other more common farming areas. This last winter was spent hours shoveling snow off the ground in the fields in cold temperatures winter sowing seeds. Taking advantage of our unique cold temperatures and hardy early blooming crops that need cold stratification in order to germinate. To Bridge the gaps of our already short growing season. Although I am sure our neighbors got a good laugh at us wondering why we were shoveling snow in our entire field, it seems to be paying off. As the daffodils started to bloom almost a week into May we saw seedlings of those winter sown crops sprouting and growing everyday in the fields.
Our short growing season and cold spring temperatures hinder our ability to start a lot of our summer annuals in the greenhouse the same way many others would. The last 2 years our family has gone to the extremes of holding thousands of plants in our own home under grow lights for months before they could be moved into the greenhouse and then hardened off to be transplanted outside. Challenges of how to water thousands of plants in your home without causing water damage can be extremely time consuming. These are some of most popular varieties and the importance of bringing our locals high quality, super fresh, locally grown flowers makes the sacrifices and challenges worth the time and hard work we put into them. Seeing our customers eyes light up with happiness as they admire the unique colorful varieties reminds us why we do what we do.
Its no wonder cut flowers and floral arrangements in Wyoming are priced higher then so many other states. If you talk to local florist that do not grow their own flowers you’ll find the most of them have to order their flowers from wholesalers that are in neighboring states. Those wholesalers get there flowers delivered to them from all over the world then they have to ship those flowers more across state lines to the Wyoming florists. With wyoming’s low population and remoteness our state usually is not the first stop on the shipping route. Flowers that wyoming florists get are often lacking in freshness and quality compared to those in most other states. This is not the florists faults its just the chain of using wholesaler flowers in a low populated state. The cost of transporting flowers into Wyoming is also higher and these flowers usually are not organic or sustainably grown.
Locally grown flowers in Wyoming may cost more then those imported flowers but they are going to be the freshest highest quality you can get. Our farm goes even farther to use organic and sustainable practices. This can cost us more time and labor and is not usually the easiest way of farming, but its worth it in the quality as well as lack of harmful chemicals and substances in our beautiful flowers. Our flowers possess strong long lasting natural fragrance you wont find from imported blooms and have a much longer vase life. Each of our bouquets is handpicked and arranged into bespoke bouquets. Unique, colorful, wild, lush, organic & natural bouquets that truly resemble the artistic natural qualities of Wyoming’s beauty. These garden style arrangements have so much more life & character then the rubber banded bouquets you would get rom the grocery store or the cookie cutter bouquets a florist sells. Each bouquet is a piece of art, a custom creation hand designed by us here on the farm. These are not the bouquets copied from flower recipes that you may find elsewhere.
When using only local seasonally available flowers it changes the way you design. Your limited to what is blooming at that time or what you’ve dried for use later. This may seem like a limitation but once you embrace this uncoventional floral design approach you will see its actually can be so much more rewarding then choosing your exact flowers and creating repetitive designs. You may not know what a bouquet is going to look like until your creating it but that is what makes each one so unique and special. These bouquets hold a higher artistic quality and sentimental with value each being created for the specific recipient. Using the natural inspirations of the flowers and the moment while designing every individual bouquet.
Although flower farming in the wild west has its unique challenges our family is dedicated to continue to grow our business. This year we sowed well over 10 times the seeds we did last year. in addition to adding hundreds of perennial plants to our land. We are investing time and resources in learning how to restore and add to our lands and soil with the goal of giving back to the land more then we take. Researching how to increase our sustainability and positive impact on the environment is a continuous effort. This year we learned about the importance of restoration agriculture and are investing time and resources in learning how to transition our way of farming into this way.
Farming takes a lot of faith, hard work and long days. Most days in the peak of the season we are working sunrise to well after sunset, last year during the growing season we consistently worked 5am until 11pm at night. With me working on the farm all day while my husband went to work at his day job to them come home and work with me on the farm until well after dark.
Our first year was not very profitable and there surely were challenged but we did very well for what we had to work with and the challenges we were up against. Accomplishing things we were told were impossible. Although a outsider might not look at our first year as a success my husband and I surely do. We worked hard and accomplished a lot. Our roots have settled in and as we enter our second year farming were already doing much better with our crops then last year. With farming your never going to know what your up against. No matter how long you have been at it or how much planning you do your never going to be able to know what what nature, or God will throw at you next. Sometimes it will be the wildfires, droughts, floods, tornados and hurricanes. Other times it will be financial struggles, medical issues, exhaustion. The things about farming is you cant just stop. If you stop everything ends. You have to be resilient to be a farmer. You have to have faith. You have to keep trying, keep re evaluating your plans, get creative, think of new ideas when things don’t work. Most importantly you cant give up. Take a break, step back, rest, rejuvenate, recover and take it head on one more time, every time. Every time you get back at it you let that little seed of faith plant itself into the ground and you wait. You will never know what’s going to happen.
As a Farmer there is going to be years when things go better then you could have ever imagined and there going to be years were you feel like you failed terribly. This is part of the process, this is the farming life. It takes a special person to be a farmer working the long unpredictable days. Farming faith isn’t easy, but it sure is worth it. The seeds you sow will one day grow into specimens that have the power to change lives. Whether those seeds are the food that families put on there tables to cure their hunger or the flowers the will be passed around in vases at weddings, funerals, and homes in need of a little something to cheer them up. Farmers are the core of this world, without them we would not have are daily bread, the things we need to survive. Though looked at as a blue collar job the farming industry is part of our foundation and something we cannot live without. Supporting farmers and the unique resilient work ethic they bring to our communities is something we must do. Farming is not just a job description it is a way of life. Farmers have a chance to change the world and how they choose to farm can heal or hurt our planet and ourselves. That is a lot of weight on the shoulders of our farmers. Support from our local communities makes a huge impact on the local sustainable farming industry. Farming in the wild west of Wyoming takes a special kind of person to take on the extra challenges that are the rodeo of our state unique growing conditions. Farming and Ranching has been a way of the Wyoming lifestyle for generations. Although Farming flowers is not the typical product brought out of the Wyoming agriculture we believe this unique crop has a special purpose here and ability to change lives. Inspiring the community that you can grow things and yourself even in the face of most difficult and unusual circumstances. When working hard achieving your dreams is possible even in the wild west.
As part of our work towards growing our farm. Our family has added a farmstand & pickup location this year where locals can pick up fresh locally grown flowers, produce, handmade baked goods and find a variety of handmade artisan products. Farmstands seem to be uncommon in Wyoming and we have frequently been asked what a farmstand even is. Our little country store has gotten positive feedback since opening and were excited to continue to bring joy to our customers and the community with our products and services. Working also as a pickup location for wedding, funeral and event flower orders.
Written by; Acacia McLean
McLean To Inspire LLC
Flower Farm-Florist