About Our Farm
Storybook Cottage Flower Farm
Life can be fun, creative, whimsical, beautiful, and out of the ordinary, so why not create that?!
Meet the farmers
Kathryn and John Plett came to Yamhill County over 20 years ago and have loved the rural lifestyle and their small 2 1/2 acre farm which they named Storybook Cottage Flower Farm. They have always enjoyed touring gardens, estates and old world settings where flowers, shrubs and trees play a major part of each settings appeal.
We’ve only recently become flower farmers. John served as an officer aboard surface ships in the US Navy. Following retirement from the Navy he found a second career in community colleges culminating as Dean of the Yamhill Valley campus of Chemeketa Community College. Kathryn, a stay at home mom, homeschooled their four kids. Enjoying the blessings of seven grandchildren and farm activities give us plenty to do. Kathryn has always had gardens and grew flowers wherever we lived however, developing our acreage to grow flowers was a late coming inspiration. We realized we finally had time to commit to the adventure and we just decided to go for it.
Kathryn was drawn to the flower growing business when she discovered a Washington couple, Erin Benzakein and her husband were pursuing flower dreams on their small acreage and created a business called Floret. Erin decided to share her experience and expertise in flower growing through an online course and Kathryn quickly signed up to learn all about “growing flowers for market”.
Both Kathryn and John’s family heritage have strong roots in farming. It has been an adventure of discovery to learn the many aspects of farming ourselves. There has always been an appeal to country life and the rewards in honest work.
Part of our vision in creating Storybook Cottage Flower Farm was to remodel our tired ranch style home house to achieve an old world look. We chose to use a half timbered exterior of German houses to transform our house. Much of the exterior design comes from places we visited in Rothenberg, Eisenach, Lubeck and Frankfurt and others. We wanted to add whimsical interest to the landscape along our country road of Baker Creek where our flower farm is growing and make the land work for us.
Our Farm Values
- No-Til Farm
- Organic in Practices
- Family worked
No Til method of farming is a method of growing without disturbing the soil structure through tillage. Instead adding compost, and natural amendments to layer the soil such as leaf mulch, increase the soils biological health and productivity. We believe using the No-Til method is our best method.
We use Organic Practices, which means no imitation fertilizers, only natural fish products, and plant matter, no chemicals are used to combat insects, and we respect the pollinators and ecosystems. We are working toward organic certification.
We are the workers of this farm, we are small, on a small scale, attempting to do our very best to create lovely flowers for homes, for everyday beauty, and the needs of our customers. We occasionally hire young people to help us with some tasks but primarily it is the two of us. We love what we do, we enjoy the daily challenges and the work, which is a gift to be able to pursue.
Memberships in ASCFG and Growing for Market
Two professional associations for flower growers that we are a part of and value. Membership enables us to have further resources for growing, learning and discovering the most efficient growing methods, marketing, troubleshooting and to share with other farmers who are near us.
We are delighted to have these resources, and connections with a expansive flower farming community.
Floret connection
As a Floret graduate, we continue to have access to continuing education and learning about the best practices and the unique flowers and their attributes for the floral industry on the local level. We have made connections with many other small flower farmers across the country. We have resources through our Floret connection that keep us informed and confident in the way we pursue growing flowers locally.
