On a quiet country road in Deerfield, Kristine Wells is cultivating a beautiful future on a historic farm.
When Kristine, a nurse, and her husband Chris, who works as a semi driver, bought their 113-acre farm and hundred-year-old fixer-upper farmhouse, it allowed several dreams to begin growing, including opening the Grove Flower Farm.
Specializing in peonies and dahlias, the farm is a business, as well as a place to raise their five-year-old son Cashton and one-year-old daughter Kenna amid natural beauty and the importance of hard work.
Kristine shares more.
Please tell us about the role farming has played in your life.
I was born on a dairy farm and lived there until I was four, and then we moved to Cottage Grove. My dad has a degree in dairy science and worked for UW Ag for almost twenty years. We always lived in the country and many of my friends had farms, so it was always a part of my life. My husband grew up in Marshall working for a neighboring farm from the time he was quite young. We own 113 acres, so besides my flowers we grow many acres of hay, corn soybeans and wheat.
What led you to where you live now?
I needed to be within thirty minutes of the hospital and Chris’ work is based in Edgerton. My parents also are only about five minutes away, so it is the perfect location for us
And tell us about your farmhouse! Is it really 100 years old?
Our farmhouse has a brick with “1921” etched in it. I absolutely love the character of our house. I would never be able to live in a brand-new house. I love remodeling projects and our house has amazing bones. My husband, on the other hand, does not love remodeling projects and would have been just fine if we had knocked the house down, but in all reality the house was way too nice to knock down. I love the history. Last summer, I had a man stop who said he lived there as a kid.
How, when and why did you become a flower farmer?
I told my husband we should diversify our crops because commodity crop prices were at an all-time low. I looked up many things that you could make a profit farming, and flowers came up. I have always had an eye for designing (interior decorating and projects) and flowers really sounded fun. I think it is amazing outlet after working in a hospital for the last twenty years
What kind of flowers do you specialize in? And why?
Dahlias and peonies. Because dahlias don’t ship well, it is a great flower for wedding work and lots of designers love them.
People probably think growing flowers is really dreamy. Is it, or what’s the reality?
It is definitely not dreamy! It’s very dirty, sweaty, back-breaking work and I rarely get to bring flowers in the house and enjoy them.
What are the best parts?
I absolutely love designing for weddings and events — that is what I love the most. It has the most pressure involved because you want to make sure your brides or customers having an event are ecstatic about their flowers.
How do your kids get involved in growing flowers?
My son loves helping me with just about everything. He actually gets mad if I tell him it’s not really a job he can help with. He helps packaging up dahlia tubers for shipping, potting tubers, filling seed trays — just about anything, he does it.
What do you hope your kids get from seeing you do this work?
I love instilling hard work in my kids and the time spent outside on the farm — we are hardly ever inside!
How can people buy your flowers this summer?
I have bouquet subscriptions listed on my website, and my roadside stand at our farm is open most weekends. I always ask people to reach out if they have an event or special occasion they need flowers for.
Aside from farming, what are your favorite things to do together as a family?
We do a lot of hunting, which we really enjoy, and we snowmobile a lot in the winter.
What do you like about living in Deerfield?
We love living in a smaller community. That’s what we are both used to.
Why have you chosen to raise kids in Wisconsin?
I have to be close to my parents. I hate being too far away and my husband is very much a hometown boy; he never has been big on travelling too far.
There’s not enough time for everything, but what do you prioritize as a family?
We always eat together as a family at night and basically we really strive to instill good work ethic in our kids.
What’s next for you and your business?
I am hoping at some point I can put up a hoop house so I can grow more cool-weather annuals and get a head start on spring flowers. And I would love to do more event work.
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
No snow and enjoying the summer as much as we can with our kiddos!
– Katie Vaughn
Photos, top to bottom, from Karlyjo Photography, the Grove Flower Farm and Tumbling Sparrow Photography.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.