A Whole New Type of Chaos Gardening: Starting a Home Grown Flower Farm
One thing nobody really prepares you for when starting a flower farm out of your home is just how quickly plants take over absolutely everything.
What started as “a few seed trays” somehow turned into 2 full grow shelves, lights, soil bins, stacks of pots, seed organizers, watering schedules, and a constant rotation of plants being moved around to get fan time.
And that’s before factoring in four cats, four kids, a future dog, a full-time 9-5 job for me, and Ashley somehow managing all of this while also being a full-time mom.
Safe to say we’ve taken “chaos gardening” to a whole new level.
The Great Cat-Proofing Project
Very early on, we learned that cats and seedlings are apparently natural enemies. At first, we thought building cages around the grow shelves would solve the problem.
It did not.
Somehow, our most determined kitty Jinx still found ways inside, leading to emergency reinforcements involving zip ties, window screens, elaborate barriers, and us regularly saying things like: “How did you even get up there?”
Our poor seedling now live locked away in cages, but we assure them it’s for their own safety. Certain rooms stay closed off, toxic plants are monitored carefully and kept completely inaccessible to pets, every setup decision now includes the question: “Can a cat somehow find a way to destroy this?”
The answer is probably yes.
Growing Carefully and Responsibly
As funny as some of the chaos has been, pet safety has always remained extremely important to us. Ashley has 4 human kids, but I’m the cat lady who considers my kittens my children. If anything happened to Edgar and Maude because of my carelessness, I would be beyond devastated. I’m know Ashley feels the same about her cats, Jinx and Luna.
Part of growing responsibly means understanding which plants may be toxic to pets, storing seeds and fertilizers safely, and making sure curious animals can’t access anything dangerous.
We’ve spent a lot of time researching the pet friendliness of plants and keep a log of symptoms and toxicity levels. We’ve reorganized spaces, and figured out how to balance growing flowers indoors while still keeping the house safe for the animals that lived here first.
Honestly, we’ve learned a lot along the way, which is why we happily label out plants and want to answer any pet friendly gardening questions you might have.
Gardening as a Family
One of the nicest parts of this whole experience has been watching my niece and nephews become involved in the process too.
They’ve helped water seedlings, fill pots, move trays, ask questions about pollinators and plants, and learn where flowers actually come from before they arrive at a market table or bouquet.
Starting the Marigold Market has definitely created more work and more chaos in the house, but it’s also created a lot of small moments we probably wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Late Nights, Early Mornings, and Learning as We Go
Between Ashley raising her little ones and me working a full-time job, this entire first season has involved a lot of learning how to manage time, communicate well, and adapt quickly.
There have been many late nights spent seeding trays, repotting plants, reorganizing shelves, troubleshooting problems, and trying to remember whether something was watered already or if we only talked about watering it.
Starting a flower farm while balancing normal life responsibilities has been challenging at times, but also incredibly rewarding.
Not because everything is perfectly organized (it definitely isn’t) but because we’re childhood friends building our dream together, learning constantly, and somehow making it work one tray of seedlings at a time!
