March 16, 1997
Roanoke, VA Times
Wildflowers Grow Into Dream Come True For Couple
CHY AND RAY Allen weren't sure it could be done, but they were willing to take a chance. Back in 1981, fed up with the big-city rat race, they packed up their two young sons and moved to Vermont where they had honeymooned years before.
To create their own jobs in the country, the Allens turned their favorite hobby into a family business. The hobby? Wildflowers.
That's how The Wildflower Farm was born. The Allens converted an old commercial building with six acres around it into "the place we always wished was there" -- acres of wildflowers with meandering pathways and signs that tell the legends of the flowers, the Indian medicinal uses and, most importantly, how to grow them.
Today, the Allens and their "farm" welcome over 35,000 visitors every May to October and reach hundreds of thousands more wildflower fans through their national seed catalog. "We've met and helped more home wildflower gardeners than any other company in the country," says Ray Allen, who was an advertising executive before the move to Vermont. "And when we started, it was just a dream; we had a blind hope that other people would enjoy growing wildflowers as much as we do," Chy Allen, a former teacher, says.
They needn't have worried. According to the National Gardening Association, home wildflower gardening is one of the fastest-growing segments of America's fastest-growing hobby -- gardening. Wildflower gardening has doubled in the last five years alone.
And this year, The Wildflower Farm has done a lot of growing on its own. The "farm's" full-color catalog has expanded with over 30 new products.
Individual wildflowers, around 50 varieties from daisies to poppies, are hand-packed.
"Wildflowers really are one of the best buys in gardening," says Allen, "and of course, they're easy to grow and require much less work than other kinds of landscaping.
The catalog also contains "how-to" information, including photos of customers" blooming meadows, all over the country. "We think it's great that our customers share all these great photos with us, and of course, we love to see their success with our seed," Allen says.
New plant collections from the farm this year include wildflower favorites like purple coneflower, black-eyed susan and the common, old-fashioned orange daylily so many people love along country roadsides.
The Wildflower Farms sells its own custom meadow seed mixes for each region of North America in sizes from one fourth pound to 10 pounds.
For more information call 800-424-1165 or write The Wildflower Farm, Rt. 7, Dept. N7, Charlotte, Vt. 05445.