Aunt Willie’s Wildflower Farm is tucked in on the side of hill off of Airport Rd. in Blountville, TN. I never would have known about it if I didn’t overhear someone talking about it when I went to visit the Midfield Lavender Farm in Bulls Gap. After looking at the website for Aunt Willie’s I decided to go on a farm tour. They have other offerings as well, classes and such, but I figured the tour was the best place to start. And, while you’re touring you get to snip a few flowers here and there to make your own bouquet.
The tour starts with the owners of the farm, Linda and Roy Doan, telling you about the history of the farm itself, the different buildings, and how they got started.
I won’t ruin the whole story if you decide to go yourself, but I will tell you these two things: the farm is named after Roy’s aunt, Willie Doan Deakins. You get to see her house on the tour as well as “The Homeplace” that has been there for over a century. Some of the plants that were in her gardens became the starters for Aunt Willie’s Wildflowers. They’ve even tried to duplicate where and how some of her flower gardens were planted based on journals that she kept from the 1930’s and 40’s. The history really grows deep on this farm.
Linda also told us that when she first started selling flowers at the farm, she put a stand out at the end of the driveway with flowers on it. There was a box out there that people could put their money in and it was all based on the honor system. At the end of her first day, she went out, excited to see if anything sold, and the stand was gone, but all of the flowers had been left behind.
I wanted to share this little bit because it speaks directly to the very heart of perseverance in doing what you love and enjoy. Linda could have given up at that point. Decided that it wasn’t going to work, that she tried and it failed, that people were awful and she didn’t want to bother. But she didn’t. And now, they have an entire business built around their beautiful wildflowers. It’s still a lot of work and trial and error, but the bouquets and arrangements that she makes give people a smile. And she’s doing what she loves each and every day.
I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I wanted to because I was self-conscious at first.
I took this tour right around the time that I started trying to do more things alone. Not because I had to, but because I want to get better at it. There’s not always someone available to go do the things I want to do (either because of scheduling or because no one else is interested in certain things) and I didn’t want to keep missing out because I’m afraid to go alone. So I started scheduling certain events and trips specifically so that I can go solo and get more used to the experience.
The tour was the second outing that I took by myself, so I was self-conscious at the beginning because I was the only person there that wasn’t in a couple or a group. It felt a bit like being the new kid at school, standing with your lunch tray staring out at a cafeteria filled with people who have been friends for years, trying to decide where to sit. Linda was very kind and inclusive the entire time and once we started the tour it wasn’t such a big deal because our attention was on what she and/or Roy were talking about.
By the time we got to the flower field, I was feeling much better, but was then distracted by picking out which blooms I wanted to take home. Haha! It was nice though, to be able to be present in the moment and not feel like I had to document everything. (Another thing I’ve been working on. Balance between my love of sharing photos of the places I’ve been with simply being there and enjoying the experience.)
My favorite spot, other than the field of flowers of course, was the chicken coop.
It was originally used as a chicken coop, but was turned into a workspace for creating the stunning flower arrangements that Linda and her crew put together.
Part of what I love about their arrangements is that they use a wide variety of different plants – including some that most people would think are weeds.
The “Homeplace” farmhouse had a room with dried plants…which was a close second for my favorite spot.
They were preparing to do a dried flower workshop in the weeks following, so they had lots and lots of different kinds of plants hanging up to dry. I saw some pictures from that event on their social media page and there were several pretty arrangements that were created that day.
These are some of the pretties that I got to bring home with me after visiting Aunt Willie’s Wild Flower Farm.
If you’re interested in taking a farm tour, or one of their many workshops, visit their website.
They have growing workshops, where you can learn how to grow your own beautiful flower gardens. Design workshops that will teach you how to arrange your flowers and make everything from bouquets to wreaths. And then their farm tours, where you get to see a little bit of everything and take home your own hand-picked bouquet.
They’ve also had U-Pick events before as well, but they aren’t a regular thing.
And if you don’t live close by you can always follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see the lovely creations they are making each season, some gorgeous sunsets from their farm, and get ideas for creating your own arrangements at home.
It was a lot of fun walking around the farm, learning about the history of the farm and property, seeing how they grow and care for their plants, and getting a peek behind the scenes.
Hearing Linda’s story about how she came to start her business reminds me that following our curiosity, seeking those things we enjoy and looking to expand them, can lead us to our “purpose” in life. It can lead us to living a life that is filled with doing what we love. And along the way, we can always seek to put more beauty and light into the world.
(All of these pictures were taken in August 2024)