Graystem Farm began as a dream that became a plan and is now a reality.

Bring Beauty Home

Flowers are present for every milestone of our lives – weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and even at the end of life. But flowers aren’t just for special occasions, they elevate the everyday, enhancing an office, home, garden, or table setting.

There are so many scientific studies to confirm what we already know in our hearts; flowers make us feel good. Even the youngest child knows this instinctively. If you’re a mom or dad, your child has likely gifted you a little bunch of wildflowers. Maybe a friend or partner has given you a surprise bouquet. Do you remember how that made you feel? Even a floral fragrance triggers memories of special life events, loved ones, and romance.

This is exactly what we want to do with our farm. Help spread those feelings of love, joy, and appreciation with flowers, in an eco-friendly and sustainable way. We even open our farm to you for a few special days each year, creating a welcoming escape where you can unwind and enjoy a peaceful stroll among the blooms — picking flowers, capturing memories, and reveling in the delightful scent of lavender!

It is our pleasure to share the farm and its flowers with you!

Trudy

My mother was a teacher with a passion for spring flowers. During the school year I would spend the days with Grandma C. By the time I came along she was living in an apartment and had a huge collection of African violets. It still saddens me that we were unable to keep them alive after she passed, though we tried very hard. Aside from the violets, her apartment was filled with the scent of lavender – and lemon from the dish of candies she kept in the living room. These are still two of my very favorite scents.

Once I was in elementary school, I spent time after with an elderly neighbor, Asta. She would make the most fabulous toast with butter and lingonberry jelly that we would eat at the little iron table set in her kitchen garden.

Asta was an avid gardener who focused on garden architecture. Her garden was set up in a series of outdoor rooms including two arbors festooned with climbing roses and clematis. It all felt like a secret garden to me. I credit Asta with my love of historic gardens and large landscapes; she would have loved Virginia’s Garden Week! To this day I am still inspired by historic gardens when we travel.

John

My ancestry is 75% Italian so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I love food. I especially love tomatoes – eating them, cooking with them, canning them and growing them. Some of my favorite memories are of me and my grandfather Frank inspecting my tomato patch. As I proudly showed him my plants, he would produce a salt shaker he’d grabbed from the kitchen, pluck a tomato from the plant, sprinkle it with the salt and pop it in his mouth, finishing with a satisfied smile. At the end of our tour he would congratulate me on a job well done. We left behind a much smaller crop, but that didn’t matter, because that is what gardening is all about; sharing the harvest and bringing joy to others.

I was so happy when we bought our farm. I had just planted a veggie garden and my first patch of corn when the Deep-Water Horizon disaster occurred and I was shipped off with my unit for a cleanup operation. When we returned home, I was transferred to a deployable port security unit and sent to the desert. No veggie garden for a while.

When you deploy on a mission you expect to miss your family and friends, especially during the quiet times or when you have to say goodbye on Skype. What I didn’t expect to miss was GREEN – the color, the moisture of a temperate climate, even the smell of green. Yes, green has a smell!