They say, "I wouldn’t take back any of my past. It’s my past that led me here." And while that’s true, if I could go back and change one thing about building my flower farm, I absolutely would.

Let me take you back.

I was all in. Planting perennials. Filling an annual field. Adding raised beds. I even had peony roots lined up for the fall. I was growing, literally and figuratively, and business was booming. My community was incredible—one I built through Facebook and truly valued. Sales took off in mom-to-mom groups, and momentum seemed unstoppable.

As fall settles in, it’s time to look back at your season to see what worked and more importantly, what didn’t. While it can be quite humbling to acknowledge your flubs, it’s essential. (And we all have them!) It is through owning them and finding ways to improve, that we can improve our operations and, ultimately, the experience we offer our customers.

As the summer draws to a close, flower farmers often find themselves exhausted and worn out. The relentless heat, constant battle with bugs and disease, and the necessity to work in all kinds of weather take their toll. It's no wonder burnout is a common challenge in our field.

There are all kinds of tips and strategies out there to help with burnout on the farm. Take a day for yourself. Go for walks. Schedule time off. While these are all great ways to help you get through the rest of the season, they don’t address the root cause of the burnout. They’re simply a band-aid.

As a flower farmer, giving up growing annuals feels like a radical move. After all, annuals are the backbone of many flower farms, providing the vibrant blooms that fill bouquets and bring in a steady stream of income throughout the growing season. But after dismantling an ingrained belief that I had to work myself to the bone to be successful, I set out on a mission to streamline my business and prioritize what truly mattered to me. And in that process, annuals ended up on the chopping block.

Running a successful flower farm takes a mix of passion, hard work, and the right tools. Over the years, I've come to rely on a few trusty tools and resources both in the field and in the office that have made my job easier and my business more efficient. From apps that streamline daily tasks to tools that keep my field in top shape and flower varieties that never fail to impress, these are the apps, tools, suppliers and varieties that have earned a permanent place at Muddy Acres Flower Farm.

Can we start breaking the unspoken rule we inherited from our grandparents and start talking about making money? I think it’s beyond time to expose the underground world of numbers, sales and profit and utilize this data to show what is possible.

Now that I got that off my chest, let’s get into what this article is all about - how I generated over $250k in sales in one year from my flower farm, Muddy Acres Flower Farm. And did I mention that I had just one (incredible) very part-time employee?