In the autumn of 2022, cosmos stole my heart. I’d been growing vegetables with success for several years, but felt daunted by flowers, even though I’d always loved arranging them. In a midsummer attempt at starting a cutting garden, I had scattered some cosmos seeds. (Honestly, I wouldn’t have known a cosmo before this. I’d found them listed with sunflowers and dahlias as top picks for a cutting garden.) They grew strong over three months, then finally bloomed in early October. The mild autumn we experienced was more than I could have hoped for, as I was cutting flowers well into Thanksgiving. With native foliage that I foraged from behind our garden shed, I had bouquets every week. More than that, I had experienced the perfect union of inspiration and the right information at the right time. I began steadily planning what is now Hen House Flowers. I knew nothing about flower farming up to that point, so I tapped into my research skills as a former librarian to line everything up.

Looking back, this wild and artistic calling seems less like a new leaf and more like a plant lying dormant. My aunt Linda was a florist and I remember visiting her shop now and then. My mom and I would stop in, and occasionally we’d go into the back to chat with her and watch her while she worked. I would play around with the loose bits on the work table and observe all the snipping, the rhythm of putting bouquets together.

A little later, at eleven years old, I studied flower arranging in 4-H. The final requirement was to be judged at the county fair. I showed up with an assortment t of flowers my aunt had sourced for me at cost, along with some purple wildflowers I’d picked on the side of the road that morning. I was given a set amount of time to arrange, along with the other participants. When all was said and done, I came away with the first place trophy.

I didn’t pursue flowers any further until my early twenties, when I occasionally picked up flowers from the farmers market or grocery store  and mixed them in a vase. The past few years, though, it all came back. I hosted dinner parties and made the flowers, not the food, my main project.I was taken captive by the mystery of flowers that grew freely in my yard - lily of the valley, goldenrod, asters. They grew abundantly, as though they were waiting to be cut.

With all this history, it’s  a wonder I waited so long, and yet it feels like perfect timing. Hen House Flowers is now in its third growing season. We sell at the Mundelein Farmers Market, Corner Health Foods, and you can see our fresh flowers on the tables AREA Coffee. If you’d like to bring our blooms into your life, find us at the market, purchase a subscription, or just send me a message. I’d love to hear from you,