Our Story
Ash Canyon Flower Farm is a labor of love knitted together from the connections we have to one another as a family with nature and a desire to help others discover beauty & happiness .
We are a small family owned flower farm located in the heart of Carson City, Nevada! To the west of the farm is our beloved Ash Canyon sprawling down the eastern slope of the Sierras. Ash Canyon is the backdrop to our flower farm, and it’s ever changing landscape we call home.
Flower farming all started for our family as a homeschooling entrepreneurial project for our daughter and two of her friends. Our goal was to help these girls learn how to grow, arrange and sell fresh cut flowers but so much more was experienced. We took an online flower farming course through Floret Flowers and received help and advice from local flower farmers ( Yellow Petal Flower Farm & Sierra Flower Farm) and the Greenhouse Project. The girls sowed and trans-planted hundreds of seeds only to watch half be decimated by a late frost/windstorm in June. But something unexpected happened! Those girls chose the higher road of a good attitude and to chalk it up as a learning experience all on their own! Ten days later to all our surprise those amazing plants set new buds and began to grow… again. They grew so much we actually had to find people to buy them! We were amazed by the support of our family, friends, and community. Our local farmers market welcomed us with loving arms and continue to support and encourage our little project!
2020 Youth Flower Farmers
2021 Youth Flower Farmers
The big picture of Ash Canyon Flower Farm that is naturally evolving is to be an avenue to teach the youth of our community how to bring happiness into the lives of others through something as simple as a flower. A flower is tangible beauty that effects all the senses. That beauty had to be earned through hours of hard work and sacrifice of time. Both leave a mark on the heart of the grower and the receiver. It is our hope the mark flower farming leaves on these kids hearts will inspire a life long desire to not only create beauty but to share that beauty with others. In essence, share happiness.
BEAUTY = HAPPINESS
Lori & Farmer John
Interestingly, everyone has a flower story of some sort connected to a memory. Mine is connected to my mother and grandmother. I spent countless hours every summer walking through my grandmothers iris, peony and rose gardens learning all their names. Yes...they all have names and grandma knew them all! Every time I see one of those flowers I instantly think of her smile and can almost smell the uniqueness of each bloom by her side. Flowers have the amazing ability to transport us, bring beauty into our world and happiness to our lives, and I have always been drawn to their power.
Farmer John’s memory lies in a tiny purple flower atop acres of alfalfa on his families ranch on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation paralleling the Truckee River. Countless hours of his childhood was spent on a tractor in these fields when the dew was just right for harvesting. ‘White Top’ also evokes a lot of memories but more pyrotechnic from burning it out of the ditches each spring!
Flowers trigger the senses and memories come flooding back. The common thread that runs through these memories for us is family. We hope to share the same connection of family and nature with our own children, sprinkled with the desire to create beauty in all that they pursue in life and to always look for opportunities to share happiness with others. Not because it’s something they should do but because it is who they have become.
Myakoda
Who wants to be a flower farmer? Well, Miss Myakoda does! It was her homeschooling project that started our flower journey, and her love of all things beautiful that keeps our noses in the seed catalogs!! She arranged countless bouquets that left the farm last summer, and she surprised her momma with her ability to dig deep when things got hard.
Jaxen
Meet our animal whisperer! Nature is part of his genetic gene code. He came hard wired to be in the dirt growing, discovering the unnoticed, caring for animals, and exploring the details of the outdoors. No class was needed to inspire this boy to get out into nature, because he naturally has been drawn to it since he could crawl!
Tallulah
This is Tiny Talu! Don’t be fooled by her sweet smile. This girl has SPUNK! She demands to not be left behind! Therefore, she has her own pair of snips, and is given complete access to the farm to harvest at will for whomever she pleases! She blesses our home with a daily reminder of the sunshine and happiness that surrounds us all if we will slow down enough to take notice.