On the Blue Ridge
On the Blue Ridge features conversations with people shaping the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hosted by Asheville-based journalist Jon Page, the show explores the ideas, creativity, and vision driving Western North Carolina forward.
Through long-form interviews and on-location storytelling, each episode captures the evolving story of these mountains. The conversations focus on people doing meaningful and inspiring work across the region, from conservation and outdoor recreation to the arts, agriculture, food and beverage, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
On the Blue Ridge
Loretta Ball of The Never Ending Flower Farm on the Joy of Cutting Your Own Flowers
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Loretta Ball is the owner and operator of The Never Ending Flower Farm in Barnardsville, North Carolina, where visitors can wander through rows of flowers to create their own, fresh-picked bouquets.
A Western North Carolina native, Loretta transformed family land into The Never Ending Flower Farm. She lives on the property with her husband, Kurt, and their two children. Now in its 10th season of you-pick flowers, the farm has become a beloved destination where visitors can wander through colorful rows of flowers framed by mountain views. Just 20 miles north of Asheville, it’s a wonderful outing for families, a gorgeous backdrop for proposals and very small weddings, and a gathering place for picnics and seasonal suppers.
In this episode, Loretta shares her earliest memories of picking wildflowers on walks to her grandmother’s house and the winding path that eventually led her to start a flower farm of her own. She discusses the joys and challenges of growing flowers in Western North Carolina, how the farm has evolved over the past decade, and what it’s like to run a business that’s constantly at the mercy of the weather.
We also talk about family and how she’s navigating life on the farm following the loss of her mother earlier this year. Along the way, Loretta explains what visitors can expect at the farm, introduces a few lesser-known flowers worth seeking out, and offers some practical gardening advice for anyone hoping to bring a little more color into their own backyard.
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The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.
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You know, you give flowers for all different occasions, and nobody's ever sad when they are around flowers. If they're having a bad day, or you know, things are going on in their life and come out and pick flowers. I'm like, I mean, it is like a it's like a therapy to me.
SPEAKER_00Today, on the Blue Ridge, our guest is Loretta Ball, the owner and operator of the never-ending flower farm in Barnardsville, North Carolina, where visitors can wander through rows of flowers to create their own fresh-picked bouquets. I'm your host, John Page. Let's begin. Loretta Ball is a Western North Carolina native who transformed family land in Barnardsville into the never-ending flower farm. She lives on the property with her husband Kurt and their two children. Now, in its tenth season of You Pick Flowers, the farm has become a beloved destination where visitors can wander through colorful rows of flowers framed by mountain views. Just 20 miles north of Asheville, it's a wonderful outing for families, a gorgeous backdrop for proposals and even very small weddings, and a gathering place for picnics and seasonal suppers. In this episode, Loretta shares her earliest memories of picking wildflowers on walks to her grandmother's house and the winding path that eventually led her to start a flower farm of her own. She discusses the joys and challenges of growing flowers in western North Carolina, how the farm has evolved over the past decade, and what it's like to run a business that's constantly at the mercy of the weather. We also talk about family and how she's navigating life on the farm following the loss of her mother earlier this year. Along the way, Loretta explains what visitors can expect at the farm, introduces a few lesser-known flowers worth seeking out, and offers some practical gardening advice for anyone hoping to bring a little more color into their own backyard. We spoke via Zoom in late March when she was beginning to start seeds for the season.
SPEAKER_01I'm a native of the area, so grew up here in Flat Creek, went to the high school, you know, all the schools, North Bunkham, and just grew up in a family that always gardened. We grew tobacco, lots of summers, like terrible summers of raising tobacco and stringing and breaking five-gallon buckets of green beans. Like that was that's my childhood memory. Not not all terrible, um, but not all great. Um and yeah, just grew up in a family that always gardened. So that was just part of I guess getting started.
SPEAKER_00So you didn't you didn't grow up wanting to be a tobacco or bean farmer?
SPEAKER_01No, no, I wanted to be a veterinarian. And then the older I got, the more I realized and learned I can't do blood and guts. Um, I have a very weak stomach. So that's why I like to play in the dirt. Um, yeah, I love being outside. My first job when I was 16 was at um Rims Creek Nursery, which is the local nursery here in Weaverville plant nursery. And I started out working after schools and was the water girl and ran a cash register and then just worked there for several years. And just that's kind of how I learned, you know, the the more um deeper dive into horticulture.
SPEAKER_00And and so when you when when did you move to the farm that you're on now?
SPEAKER_01Yes, so we're on family land. So me and my husband, Kurt, we actually will be married 25 years in May, May 19th.
SPEAKER_00Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_01So yes. Um, so when we got married, we were gifted one acre on the family property where we're at now in Barnardsville. And um, so when we moved up here, you know, that first year, we you know, started a garden and just did all those things you do when you get on, you know, property. And uh at that time I was still working at Rims Creek Nursery, so this would have been 2001, and worked there, you know, several years, and then just kind of struck out on my own, wanted to do my own thing and more retail um greenhouse kind of bedding plants, you know, vegetable transplants, that kind of thing. And then we had a little um farm stand on Barnersville Highway. That was in I think 2009, and um I did retail sales with the plants there and sold produce and the boys. We have two children, Quinn and Ledger. So at the time they were they were small, three and six months old. So that was kind of a not a very smart move as a mom to start a new business like that, but there again, um that's just how I am. And um, so we did that for a couple years, and so 2015 is when I really kind of got bit by the flower farming bug, and I had a neck injury in 2015 that kind of took me out of everything for about two years just to kind of heal. And so we closed down the um retail greenhouse, our little farm stand, just because just physically I couldn't do it, and um, and just kind of had to reset and then healed, and in 2017, really, you know, I was feeling better and and vamped up flower farming here on our property in Barnardsville.
SPEAKER_00And what was it about flowers specifically that that hooked you?
SPEAKER_01I just I just love them. I mean, they're just they make you happy, they make you smile. Um, the nostalgia of flowers uh growing up at where I lived in Flat Creek, you know, we lived on the same road that my um granny and papa lived on. And so I was visiting them, like we just walked to their house all the time, you know. So in walking down the road, I would just be picking daisies or the wild roses or any kind of flower and taking it to my granny. And um she she actually passed away this January. So this it was, you know, it's just kind of been a tough year. Um, but just having those memories of taking her flowers and she'd always call me her flower girl, and I would always pop the heads off the flowers. Like I wouldn't ever pick a stem, I would just, you know, kind of raise your fingers through the stem and pop the heads off. So she'd just have them floating in cups of water or a bowl. That's just, you know, one of those memories that just makes me smile and makes me happy thinking about that. And yeah, flowers are just, you know, you give flowers for all different occasions. And nobody's ever sad when they are around flowers. And just I just love it. And I have, you know, pretty good green thumb. So I was able to grow them pretty easy.
SPEAKER_00And I have to say the the popping off the hedge really resonates with me because we have a five-year-old uh daughter who loves to do that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Just float them in a bowl. Yeah, beautiful.
SPEAKER_00Uh and so when you when you really started to like kick into flowers in in in 2017, was it with the idea that you were you were going to be doing a lot of floral arrangements? It didn't from going back through like your Instagram history, which I did a deep dive on this weekend, uh, it didn't look like the you pick kind of came in until later. So it kind of, I'm guessing it just kind of snowballed.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah. So I, after the retail greenhouse, which again grow, I think I just I love growing things. I love just starting with dirt and seed. And um then I started dabbling in weddings, uh floral design. And I would get asked, you know, by family members, oh, it's so-and-so's birthday. Can you just throw together something? Um, so in our garden spot at, you know, here at the house, I just started with the the simple stuff, Xenia's, sunflowers, cosmos, and then that kind of, you know, again, snowballed, like you said, and I started doing more floral design and using a few, few of my flowers. You know, a lot of the weddings you still have to order in flowers. So just that was when I started growing more dahlias and more of the, you know, specialty cuts and sold to a few florists. Um, and that was just again, it just kept snowballing. And then we had a field full of flowers, not a field, like a garden spot full of flowers. And they were just sitting down there, you know, because I wasn't really picking them unless I had something to pick them and use them for. And so that's what I mentioned to my husband, let's try UPIC. Um, at the time, the only UPIC farm around was um Lady Luck, uh, my friends Mike and Katie that are in Sandy Mush. And so I figured I thought they're far enough away. I'm not, you know, we're like an hour from each other. And so I thought, well, let's just open and see what happens. And that was 2017 that I was like the official open date. And um, you know how it is, your first year of anything, you don't make any money, and I made enough to, you know, pay for the seeds and uh not even my time. Just, you know, I think I made a couple hundred dollars. And then fast forward uh to 2020 when you know COVID hit and everything shut down except outside things. So that COVID really um it really boosted our business because people could get out and do things. And so that was, you know, we'd have people coming up from Charlotte and Atlanta and just to, you know, to be outside, get outside of the city. And so that really um got our start a whole lot quicker than what I was expecting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it only took a global pandemic.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I know. Oh, who would have all? So yes.
SPEAKER_00And so what what what would you how would you describe how to someone who hasn't been, how would you describe how the farm looks today?
SPEAKER_01Yes. So I and I'm actually going through photos um uh of trying to get the, you know, the stages when we moved on the property and just it was just bare field, you know, cattle pasture. And um, you know, we've got we're growing on about a half an acre, which is if you think about it, it's not a lot, but it, I mean, you can put a lot of flowers in there, and it's uh it's enough to keep me busy and um and somebody else. Um actually, my mom, this is actually terrible. Say my mom passed away uh February 13th. Um, so I lost her. She was just my right hand go-to. She helped me with everything. So this season's actually been pretty tough. Um losing my grandmother, my mom, and then an uncle all within four weeks. So it's been a pretty bad start to the year, but um, it's getting better. So not having mom with me now, I'm thinking, oh my gosh, this half acre, this is a this is a whole lot just for myself. So I am bringing in some extra help. But uh yeah, so you're gonna drive up to our property. We're on a family, um, family land. So there's a couple other houses. And you're thinking, oh my gosh, where am I going? Out in the middle of nowhere in Barnardsville. And then, you know, whoa, it's like the heavens open up and you come on our property. Um, and don't give me like, don't let me paint the picture that it's perfect because we are a working farm and we do have stuff like everybody else. But I try to keep all that stuff in the background. So when you you park and then you got a turn, and then you get the mountains and the flower field, and you just get that, you know, this it's beautiful. I love it.
SPEAKER_00How many different types of flowers uh do you grow throughout the year now?
SPEAKER_01That's a good question. Um, I should know this, but I'd have to like mentally go through the list. So let me just start off in the spring. Um, May we'll start our peonies. And those are not in the UPIC, just because um you can only cut so much off the peonies before you kind of deplete it. So those we will go ahead and have cut and ready-made bouquets, and then have those at our flower stand, which is a different little location that we have for um bouquets that are available to pick up. So let's see, the spring, the peonies, and then in the field for you pick will be snapdragons, nigella, oh my gosh, ammy, larp spur, um there's probably about 10 varieties in the spring. So that would be May and June. And then June is gonna start, mid-June will start our summer blooms. So that will be, you know, your zinnias, sunflowers, silotia, all those heat-loving crops. And those pretty much are mid-June, are the same flowers that are gonna be through the end of the year through October. And then we'll add in the dahlias, and those will start blooming mid-July, August, really just depends on the weather. So, all in all, we probably grow about 25 different varieties. And then I have a perennial, um, perennial beds that have just a ton. It's a hodgepodge of perennials that I just throw in there. It's kind of like cottage garden when you walk through the perennial beds, just a little bit of everything in there.
SPEAKER_00And uh what are the most popular ones that you see like at the UPIC? And then also, is there an underappreciated flower that that you think people should be thinking more about?
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's funny you asked that because I was just going through seed um starting that I should have started a few weeks ago, but life happens. So I'm starting them this afternoon. Um, the most popular, of course, are the dahlias. Everybody just loves dahlias. So we're actually gonna grow a whole lot more of those um from now on. I think just kind of do a little bit more dahlias than anything else. Sunflowers, everybody loves a sunflower, but the only downside of a sunflower is they're so big when you're picking them in your cup, they take up a lot of room. So, but some people will just pick, you know, a whole cup full of sunflowers and they're happy. I love them. Um, let's see, dahlias and sunflowers. And then that's probably the most popular ones just because they're big and showy. The most underrated ones are the little filler flowers that we grow. Um, so that will be like your gumpfrina, which is globe amaranth, and the aduradium uh floss flower. So those little like daimy flowers that people are just, you know, they they tend to go towards the more bigger blooms, the zinnias, dahlias, and sunflowers, and those little tiny ones, it's like, oh, they're cute, but I don't want to waste my time picking those things.
SPEAKER_00So I I have to admit, so that question was for my wife who uh and and this reminds me also, you know, we we grow, she grows some flowers in the backyard and like a you know, a couple little planner boxes. And so it does make me wonder for somebody who is thinking about doing something like that in their backyard, what do you recommend for folks like that to start out with to try and grow?
SPEAKER_01Yes, just do like the simples your sunflowers, Xenia's, Cosmos, um, and then you know, just get a couple little packs or grow a few plants of the the smaller things, your aduratium, gumpfrina, let's see, marigolds are wonderful. You don't get the short bedding plant ones, get the tall ones. Uh, you know, that's gonna get like three foot tall. Marigolds are wonderful. Some people don't like them because they they're a little smelly, but I like them. Um rude Becchias, any of those rude beckia, the black-eyed Susan family, those are great. Oh my god. There's so many. The there's just so much. Oh, I will put in a plug. I will have plants of all these, the same stuff that we grow. Um, I do sow extra plants to sell so people can, you know, just have a couple little packs to plant at their own um garden.
SPEAKER_00That's all that's really awesome to know. Um for four people coming out. Um I was looking, it looks like your website has a really good page on um how to prepare to visit. Um, but what are what are kind of the top few things that you'd want people to know before they come?
SPEAKER_01Well, no dogs. Please don't bring your dog. And um I actually have everything set up. The only thing that I've I feel like people don't think about is like a hat. Because I mean, if you're you know, coming in June, July, August, those hot days, even in the morning, it gets hot. And I always encourage people to come in the mornings before like 11, before it gets hot. It's just more enjoyable. Or later in the afternoon, like six o'clock. So, you know, sunscreen, we have bug spray available. Um, sometimes the bugs are bad, sometimes they're not, but that's just part of being outside.
SPEAKER_00That's life, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um we've we've only had one person get bee sung that I know of, and bless his little heart, he was like a little two-year-old toddler, and he just grabbed a flower that had a bee on it and his first bee sting. And I felt terrible, and we did Benadryl and the ice pack, but the parents were so sweet, and you know, they're like, uh, if you're at a flower farm, what do you expect? So that is one thing people are like, oh my gosh, there's bugs and there's bees. So, you know, if you're not a bug person, flower picking may not be your your best thing, you know. But um, let's see here. We have the vases, we have pruners. Um, and the cups are sodium cups are just big 32-ounce drinking cups. So they fit great in your cup holder. If you get a vase, those are a little bit more bigger, bulkier. So, you know, you're gonna have to kind of wedge that in your car or put it somewhere. Um, and yeah, so we have everything. Um, we even have a bathroom. So, and it's not a porta potty, it's an actual bathroom.
SPEAKER_00That's fancy.
SPEAKER_01I know we are fancy. And let's see, your shoes, your footwear, you know, high heels and flower fields are not a good match, um, especially after it rains. And then um, yeah, so I feel like we have it set up, but just those simple things, you know, think of the sun, a water bottle, even though we do sell bottles of water, but you know, it you're gonna get hot and thirsty. Bring a snack. We have picnic tables set up um where you can just sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery.
SPEAKER_00And you you all also do uh like you you you have some like picnics available, but you also do supper clubs. Uh walk me through a little bit of of what someone could expect. And obviously, I'm not trying to say that it's not that people can show up and get a picnic. It's like you gotta you gotta set that up in advance. Same for the supper club, right? Like, but what's what is what is what is that side of the business like and what can people expect?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so our supper club dinners, this will be I'm thinking our fourth or fifth year. I'll have to go back and remember. So those are just a it's just a night of fancy outdoor dining. Um it's a ticketed event, so you know you do have to purchase the tickets. We do have wine pairings with the the dinner. Um, so you just start out, uh grab you a little cocktail, go to the flower field and pick flowers. We have, you know, that's for about the first 45 minutes just to enjoy the property. And then we'll move up to the covered shed uh where we've got the setting, um, you know, got everything you need. You just sit down and you're just gonna get served for the next three hours. Um, so it's usually a four course meal, and uh our chef dean, uh Dean. Boskowitch. He's just he's wonderful. He's been with us from day one. And he has a great staff. So each table will have um, I think we're we're at 36 guests. So we have three tables of 12. And so you've got your own server, you know, for your table of 12 that keeps your wine flowing and keeps the food coming. And then it's just a great time. Just uh, you know, one of those things to celebrate a special event or um a girls' night or an anniversary, your birthday party, or um we've had um, let's see, cancer like um people that have rang that bell and are like cancer free, like just those celebrations that you wouldn't do, you know, every day, of course. It is a little expensive, but um, it's just it's just a magical night, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it sounds hard to beat that setting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Beautiful flowers, sunset, even if it rains, you know, we're still covered, but it's it's just beautiful, just a really special night. Um, yeah. And then the all-inclusive picnic. So that's gonna be new this year. I was just trying to think of different ways um to bring people on the property to just enjoy the property and um not be in a rush and just, you know, like have those special occasions to celebrate. So those are are new, and um, we've had them, we've had picnic uh companies come and do that, and they still do that. So you can you can book with another picnic company, but this is just something we're offering this year too. Okay. So yeah, so you will book your date and then however many guests you have. So you're just gonna show up. We will have the the picnic set up, your little your food, whichever you know, package you prefer. And then, you know, you've got two to three hours you can just sit and enjoy, and that's included flower picking. So go pick your bouquet, then come back and eat a little bit more and just relax. So and you don't even have to clean up, you just take your flowers and leave.
SPEAKER_00Oh, nice. I know. Uh and you and you're also you're you're dabbling with some like skin and hair care products, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I love tallow, beef tallow. So my not that I'm gonna get detail about my skin, but you know, when you're 40s and you know, you your acne-pronged skin, even in your 40s, um, I just, you know, kept hearing about tallow. And then, of course, the way I am, I'm like, oh, I'm not gonna buy it, I'm gonna make it because why could I buy it from somebody if I can just, you know, make it? And then so I went down the rabbit hole of tallow. And we have um three farms that we get our beef suet from. Um, all farmers that I know here in the area, you know, they take really good care of their cows. So, you know, I know where that the the tallow, the suet is coming from. And um, yes, I've had really good results with that for my personal use. And then what we've been selling, people um are coming back and wanting more. So just yeah, I love it. It's just finding the time, especially now, the spring, the season is hitting, you know, to stop and and get that restocked.
SPEAKER_00And I I think I saw on your on your Instagram like that's like a crock pot situation, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes, small batch crock pots, yeah. So we do, yes. I don't have any big uh commercial uh kitchen stuff, so everything is definitely small batches and um the herbs uh I order in from um Starwist Botanicals and Rose Mountain or Mountain Rose herbs. I get that one confused, so you know, very good quality herbs, and then some of the herbs that we grow ourselves, you know, um the calindula and comfrey, which is more for salves, rosemary. So it's it's nice that I, you know, I know where the herbs are coming from that I'm putting in the products and doing them organically.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Is that something people can buy at the farm, online, anywhere else?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So at the farm, um, I'm actually in the studio this week getting, you know, the next set all um made. And then we will start selling also at um tiny threads consignment, children's consignment shop in Weaverville. So she's gonna start carrying our products also. And um we will have them for sale online, but it's I like just having more control of having it stocked at Tiny Threads Consignment or here on the farm.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. What's something about running a flower farm that that might surprise people?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's not always fun, you know. It's a lot of work. Um you know, we're always at the mercy. We have no control over the weather, over the deer, which have been terrible this winter, um, bugs. You know, there's just there's just no control with those elements uh with nature. So that it makes it really hard. But um let's see here. And it's it's an everyday thing, even though, you know, we take Sundays off. We don't try not to work on Sundays, uh, try not to work on Saturdays, but I'm still present, you know, down there at the farm. So, and it's um it is it's constant through the season. From March until I would say November, you know, we're I'm down there working constantly. It's not a plant at one time and then just enjoy it till frost comes.
SPEAKER_00It's not just a never-ending flower farm, it's it's a never-ending uh work.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's why it's called the never-ending flower farm because it's never ending, you know. Even in the winter time, there's there's no downtime because there could be, but I choose to make, you know, tallow products, herbal products, resin joy, you know, I'm just I'm busy. I love to be busy and um yeah, so but I do I I love growing flowers, I love being in the dirt. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
SPEAKER_00No, no desk job for you.
SPEAKER_01Gosh, no. For you to sit down with me for this, you know, podcast. I'm like, okay, I can do this. I can sit down and and be on this computer. No, just kidding. No, you wouldn't want to you wouldn't want to do it. It's a privilege. But yeah, I I am an outside person. I um I mean my house is a mess because I would rather be outside weeding than you know, folding laundry because yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's a good way to look at it. Um are there are there other challenges that you face throughout the year, like other things that that pop up in in those winter months?
SPEAKER_01Winter months, well, the snow, the freezing temperature, you know, this winter we've had some really low temperatures. And you can only cover so much, you know, put so much frost fabric on there. And then if you get the wind, you know, that takes all your fabric. So it's just um, yeah, you're just at the mercy of the weather. And then you just kind of have to pivot and be like, okay, I lost, you know, a whole row of snap dragons or a whole crop of ammy, and then you just be like, okay, what can I, what seeds can I sow really quick to pop back in there, or what plugs can I order that's already, you know, ready to pop in? Um, so that's kind of where we're at now is just catching up on weeding, assessing what we lost during those last um couple freezes, and like, okay, let's just see what we can pop in there and and have some flowers.
SPEAKER_00What time of year do you kind of like allow yourself to uh feel good about no more freezes happening?
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness. Freezes, um you would think March. We should be safe from these, you know, low teens. But um usually about mid-April, hopefully no more freezes, but we're still gonna get the frost. And everything in the field that we've got planted now is is frost tolerant. So everything's, you know, kind of hardening off and putting out new growth. And we still have the frost fabric down there, so it's you know, just you gotta kind of keep an eye on the weather. If you're gonna dip down in the 20s, you're gonna have to start covering because that's gonna be, you know, our May blooms. That's gonna be our opening season bloom. So we need to keep those looking good.
SPEAKER_00And now I'm that after mentioning my wife earlier, I'm thinking of my sister who has told me about her problems with planting with deer. So, what have you found to be what's the solution for the deer?
SPEAKER_01Well, if you you said you looked on my Instagram and you seen my video of me making this hodgepodge deer fence. So that is what we had to do this year. And every year the deer population gets worse. Um, I think there's just there's less hunters um around, and then and my husband's a fisherman, he's not a hunter, and um, and I love seeing the deer, but I don't want to see them eating my flowers. So this season we put up um it's terrible, it's such an eyesore, this fence, but it works. There's like eight strands of electric fence, and they're anywhere from six inches to eight inches apart where the deer can't squeeze through them. And um, it's working, and I will take that down. I'll wait until probably we get ready to open um to take that down. But could and usually by the time May comes around, the deer, there's plenty of vegetation that the deer aren't seeking my flowers, so they're and you know, they're off having their little their little babies, so they're not gonna come around as much. Yeah, so deer fencing, and I've tried, you know, the Irish Spring Soap. I've done human hair from my hairdresser, sprinkled that around, and I think when for home gardeners, you could probably get away with that, the smaller, you know, um, the deer, the smelly stuff that you spray around. But since we have such, you know, um a half acre, which not all of it is planted now, but we just have we have too much of a buffet for the deer to keep them away without doing that fencing.
SPEAKER_00You you mentioned your mom earlier. Uh how are you approaching this season without her? And and are there ways that you're feeling her presence on the farm, or ways that you expect to to feel that presence as the season goes along?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I I have good days and bad days. I haven't, and everybody said grief is weird, and you don't I you would hear that term, grief is weird, but until you experience it, you don't know, you don't understand it. And now I understand it. So um she passed away February 13th, and everything that I'm doing now, like picking the tulips, me and her planted those. Um everything in the flower field, every every single thing me and her have done down there. And so it is, it's hard. Um, just knowing she's not here. But then it's also, I don't know, I have a piece about it because of course she's in heaven and I'm just like so thankful. But, you know, just all the good, the good things that I had with her and the times we've had together, um, it just it makes me smile and then I get sad. I went to the dump last week. We always went that was like, you know, a couple times a year. We load up all the trash and go to the dump. And she would, you know, she has her bungee cords. I don't know, my mom loved bungee cords and like tying the tarps down. And just when I went to go do that, I was like, oh man, mom's not here to help me with this. And and I wouldn't, you know, we always would go to Sonic and get her strawberry fruit slushie after we went to the dump. You know, just silly little things like that. That kind of brings back, I don't know, it just makes me sad. And um, and then it yeah, so I'm dealing. I think it'll I think this year, I mean, everything I go to do is it's gonna be hard, but um I just I don't know, hold on to those good times and those precious memories that we have and that you know I had her for so long, and um the times we did have were great, and I just I love her and I'll miss her for sure.
SPEAKER_00Did she did she have a f a favorite flower? Do you have a favorite flower?
SPEAKER_01Well, she was kind of like me. She loved anything that was blooming the most at the time. Um, but probably the peonies were one of her favorites. They're actually planted behind her little house, her grandma house that we built for her. Uh, she was diagnosed with dementia in 2018. So we built her a little grandma house right beside us. So she was just always here. And, you know, I was pretty much her caretaker, even though she was living independently um just up until you know she passed. But um, yeah, the peonies are just right there in their backyard, and she just would weed them and you know, they were kind of like her little babies. And now that she's gone, I'm like, oh my gosh, look at all these weeds. Mom's not here to weed off this. So because I could, yeah. But she did, she loved the peonies, those were her favorite.
SPEAKER_00When when someone comes to to the never ending flower farm, what do you what do you hope they feel when they leave?
SPEAKER_01Um, I hope they have enjoyed their time. I hope they feel at peace and that they just I don't know. When you when you're down there in the flowers and you look up at the mountains, I don't know, it's just calming. It's just it's hard to explain it in words. It's just one of those feelings you're like, ah, you can just let out a deep breath and just feel relaxed. I don't want to say one with nature. I'm not a woo-hoo kind of person, but I'm, you know, uh, God created all of this. And it's it's his creation. And I I hope people will leave and just be like, man, this is so good. God is good. And that's what I want people to feel. And when they come, if they're if they're having a bad day, or you know, things are going on in their life and come out and pick flowers. I'm like, I mean, it is like a it's like a therapy to me. I hope that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00It does well, it does. And I I was gonna, you know, you mentioned earlier that it's it's not always as like beautiful and wonderful as it looks. And I I think about uh in in a in a past job life, I uh wrote and talked to craft distillers, and the thing that they would always say that I heard over and over again is that it's not like the that job is not the sun shining down on you in a barrel room and you're taking a sip of this whiskey and it's it's the best thing ever because 99% of it is basically janitorial work. But for you, a lot of it is you're you're walking through these beautiful fields of flowers with this mountain view out in front of you. So it it is like this beautiful place that you get to to be at every day.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I know. We we are blessed, that's for sure. Very blessed. And it does make the job a little easier when you're weeding and you've got birds chirping around you and the the you know, cows are in the field, and you've got you know, beautiful mountains. So it makes the the not so fun times a little better because you're at least you're in a pretty place and you're not stuck in a you know an office doing that.
SPEAKER_00Oh so you're you're kind of you're like about a year away from like 10 years of of UPIC, right? What is what is the never-ending flower farm look like 10 years from now?
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. Some days I want to say, I'm just gonna be down in Florida on a beach, you know, but I doubt that will happen. Um so my husband Kurt will probably be retiring in the next year or two. So we're trying, we're kind of at that point of like, do we want to grow the farm more or just kind of keep it as is and you know, just the upkeep of it? Because, you know, you're getting we're getting older, and you know, my back isn't what it used to be. So I'm also thinking 10 years down the road, what's what's my back gonna be like? And um I I do believe we're still gonna be growing flowers. Um, I might bring back wedding floral design just because if Kurt's gonna be here on the farm with me, you know, I can kind of pass along a lot of the work to him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was gonna say, how how is Kurt's back?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, hey, I have a sticky note on the the thing behind me on my cabinet that's to call the uh physical therapist for his back. So that yeah, that's probably not gonna he let's just say he'll do more tractor work, you know.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um, but yeah, that is something that we've talked about, like, you know, 10 more years, you know, we're gonna be in our 50s. He'll be, I don't want to say it, but he will be 60. And um, yeah, so I I'm not sure. That's a ask me that in five years and I'll tell you another plan. But I definitely still see growing flowers. Um, but then you know, our boys will be out of the house, we'll be empty nesters. So, you know, I do want to spend my winters down in Florida a little bit, and um we'll just see, see how it goes.
SPEAKER_00Is there anything we didn't talk about about the farm or about your work that you'd want people to know?
SPEAKER_01Well, I just want everybody to, I mean, they're welcome here. They're welcome to even if they're not coming to pick flowers to bring a picnic and enjoy the property. Um, it is just like we mentioned earlier, a beautiful space to if you just need some uplifting time and away from uh town. Um and you know, we're here for every occasion for anybody that needs flowers or just to, you know, that just needs some a bit of nature, a bit of flower therapy. And um, we just I love I I'm a people person. I love seeing everybody down there. I love seeing the people picking flowers, I love seeing the photographers down there. Um, I don't know how many engagement sessions we had last year, but uh, you know, I would have never thought the 10 years ago when I started UPick that we would have uh couples getting engaged, weddings, um, you know, the supper clubs, and just how many family photos that's taking place down there on our property. And um, I just love it. I just love seeing people out here.
SPEAKER_00Do you have a sense of how many people have gotten engaged on your property?
SPEAKER_01I think last year we've had about 15 couples um just like proposals.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and some of those I didn't even know happened until I was tagged in the photos. And I was like, oh my gosh, these people got engaged last week, or somebody who would, you know, be like, oh yeah, so and so I know got engaged at your flower farm. And I was like, oh, how cool, you know. So, and I'm not down there all the time because it's you know, it's run on honor system and um and I do have cameras so I can keep up with people, but um, you know, pretty much everybody's does pretty good paying. Uh, so I do hate that I don't get the interaction with all the customers every time. But if I was down there, you know, the whole time we were open, I just well, that's not gonna happen. So I do hate that I don't get to say hey to everybody that's down there. And, you know, I try to come up to the house about 4 or 4:30 and you know, turn into mom and wife, you know, and have supper. But um, yes, I just want everybody to know that that we appreciate them coming out and supporting us and and we just I love having people on the property and hearing all the the laughs and the kids running around and everybody enjoying it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I I've got to think that's like a a nice like pat on the back for you that you've like created this place that like people choose to like have this like big life moment there, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I know. So it is makes me feel good, and it's funny. Um, so our house sits up on the hill, so we look down on the flower field. So most evenings during the summer we eat supper out on our front porch, and we can just sit out there and just watch people. Uh just people watch down there, and it is it's just the best. I just love it. I love seeing it.
SPEAKER_00That's all for today. Huge thanks to Loretta Ball for the conversation. My family has always enjoyed visits to the Never Ending Flower Farm. We visited recently and brought home a stadium cup full of beautiful flowers, and after dividing them into a handful of smaller arrangements, we ended up with fresh flowers in several rooms throughout the house. You can learn more about the farm at theneverendingflowerfarm.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram where they're at the Neverending Flower Farm. Loretta regularly shares updates there, and it's also a good idea to check out the YouPick page on the farm's website before your visit for hours, bloom conditions, and other details. If you're enjoying this podcast, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen. Consider leaving a rating and a quick review, or just share it with a friend, as it really helps more people find the show. You can find OnTheBlue Ridge on Facebook and on Instagram at OnTheBlue Ridge and online at on the blueridgepod.com. Our theme music is the song Goa, written by Lindsay Pruitt and performed by the John Stickley Trio. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on the Blue Ridge.