Life on a flower farm is a mix of beauty and grit.  Really, if I’m being honest, it’s about 95% grit and 5% beauty if you’re the person doing the farming.  It can be hard to see all the “pretty” when there’s sweat in your eyes and your body is screaming with sore muscles!  But once in awhile, if you’re lucky, you get a glimpse of your life on a flower farm through another person’s eyes and you gain some perspective.  That’s exactly what happened earlier this spring when the talented Regina Miller from Origin Photo came to spend an evening with me on the farm.  She was able to see all the beauty in this life on a flower farm that I sometimes have a hard time internalizing as I’m focused only on overcoming all the challenges Mother Nature is throwing at me.

Life on a Flower Farm | Jennie Love, owner of Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia with no-till beds | Photo by Regina Miller

In this photo above, you get a glimpse at our no-till flower beds at various stages.  Read more about how Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is using no-till farming practices this season in this previous blog post

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

This is a new acre of ground we just brought into production this season.  These rows of black fabric will be planted out with thousands of flowering shrubs that will be the backbone of the farm’s future.  

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

It seems cats are always in charge of life on a flower farm, including ours.  This is Tigre, chief mouser. 

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Jennie Love, owner of Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

The baptisia was especially dreamy this season.  I love how each flower takes center stage and becomes a favorite while it’s briefly here. 

Life on a Flower Farm | Baptisia growing at Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Coolest photo I’ve ever had taken of me!  Regina did some fancy double-exposure footwork to make this magic happen.  

Life on a Flower Farm | Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Life on a Flower Farm | Jennie Love, owner of Love 'n Fresh Flowers in Philadelphia | Photo by Regina Miller

Seeing these photos makes me realize why I love this place so much and why I love sharing it with others!  The day after these photos were taken, we hosted a workshop where are those beautiful peonies were put to good use.  So, yeah, maybe all the grit is worth it and life on a flower farm is pretty dreamy after all!