“One winter while planning for our planting season, the idea of a roadside flower cart came into my head,” says Chantal Alexy, who runs Peace Garden Farm. Situated on the edge of the Catskill Mountains region in New York, the flower-focused venture’s name was inspired by the original 1969 Woodstock festival, which took place in the nearby town of Bethel.
Since initially starting out growing a garden, Alexy and her husband have built up Peace Garden Farm. Here, visitors and customers delight in picking seasonal blooms and bouquets from their upcycled roadside flower cart.
We spoke to Alexy about her gardening roots and the joy of summer blooms. We also touched on the bliss of sunset moments in the garden.
Getting into Homesteading
View this post on Instagram
“Growing up, my parents always had a huge vegetable garden where they grew most of their own produce,” recalls Alexy of her interest in gardening and homesteading. “My mother was an avid flower gardener. So growing things has always been in my blood.”
Alexy adds that her family’s hobby fam has evolved naturally over time. And one of her children being diagnosed with severe food allergies served as partial insipration.
“Feeling unable to trust the industrial food system, we planted our first vegetable garden so we had a little control over the safety of the food we were eating,” she explains. “It just grew from there!”
Read more: Check out these garden tips and tricks for each season.
Focusing on Flowers
View this post on Instagram
Flowers play a central role at Peace Garden Farm, which includes a roadside flower cart that displays the current blooms. Alexy says the roots of the flower focus came after her husband planted “a massive amount of sunflowers” which he’d cut and sell at weekend farmers markets and local small businesses.
“Meanwhile, I was growing lots of other flowers in my gardens and saw the potential of selling mixed bouquets,” she explains. “Every year we increased our planting to sell more.”
After Alexy had the idea of starting a roadside flower cart, she says “I knew it was something we had to try” due to the fact “there wasn’t anything like that in our area.”
Spotlighting Sunflowers & Zinnias
View this post on Instagram
When it comes to customer favorite flowers, Alexy says that cheerful “summer blooms like sunflowers and zinnias” are always a hit. “They are arranged to put smiles on peoples’ faces with a variety of bright colors,” she adds.
Read more: Grow these old-fashioned flowers for something new in the garden.
Seeking Sunset Serenity
View this post on Instagram
“Every year there are struggles like bugs, weather or crop issues,” says Alexy of running Peace Garden Farm. “It’s a lot of hard, back-breaking work. But it is so very satisfying and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
To balance out the work, you’ll find Alexy spending evenings walking through the flower field and garden. “It’s how I relax, where I find peace in the chaos of this world and stay connected in my faith,” she says. “Just being around the plants that are growing—especially at sunset—can turn a bad mood around.”
A Homesteading Life
View this post on Instagram
“Homesteading, for us, is just what we do,” says Alexy, summing up the most rewarding part of her family’s lifestyle. She says they find joy in winter days spent planning and preparing the rest of the year’s food plans.
“There’s the orchard we planted and the many berry bushes,” she explains. “We have our own fresh eggs from the chickens and enjoy the bug control and entertainment we get from our flock of Guinea hens. We really can’t imagine living any different way.”
Follow Peace Garden Farm on Instagram.
