About | The Bountiful Prairie

Our story

Hi! I'm Amy, the farmer behind The Bountiful Prairie.

I'm so glad you're here! I'd love to tell you a little about myself and how this little flower farm came to be.

Believe it or not, I didn't grow up on a farm or even know any farmers. To me, farming meant sitting on a tractor all day in the middle of an enormous cornfield. What I did know was that I loved being outside, thanks to my mom and dad, who encouraged that from an early age.

I'm married, have four children and, so far, two grandchildren. When my kids were young, my biggest goal was to stay home with them whenever possible. Over the years I've worn a lot of different hats, including kitchen designer, realtor, personal trainer, nutritionist, and personal chef. One thing stayed the same through every chapter though: I've always loved building something of my own. I'm constantly dreaming up new ideas.

Several years ago, I took a deep dive into nutrition and became fascinated by where our food comes from, especially how animals are raised. That curiosity eventually led me to spend three days at one of Joel Salatin's farm intensives. At the time I was a nutritionist, surrounded by experienced farmers, but I completely fell in love with his philosophy and the way he approached farming. For the first time, I felt like I'd found my people. I even cried when it was time to leave.

That experience stayed with me.

Fast forward to 2024. After spending a year in a tightly packed neighborhood in South Bend, Indiana, my husband and I started looking for a home with land. Every time we toured a property with acreage, he'd ask, "What are we going to do with all that?" My answer was always the same:

"Whatever we want."

We moved onto our 2.5-acre property in April 2024, and I wasted no time getting started. I dug up the lawn for a vegetable garden while completely redesigning the landscaping, all at once, which I wouldn't recommend to any rational person.

That first season produced more vegetables than we could possibly use. I canned more tomatoes than I care to remember and, unfortunately, about 65 watermelons ended up in the compost pile. But tucked among the vegetables were a few packets of flower seeds... and they absolutely thrived.

I'd always loved landscaping, but growing flowers to cut and bring indoors was something entirely different. As the vegetable season wrapped up, an idea started to take shape. I wanted to make good use of our land, and since my husband wasn't exactly on board with raising cows, I thought...

What if I grew flowers to sell?

I started reading everything I could find about growing cut flowers. Before long, my husband, despite having virtually no woodworking experience, built the flower stand that still welcomes customers today.

I figured the first year would simply be an experiment.

It worked.

Every season I learn something new. I try new varieties, make plenty of mistakes, and somehow fall even more in love with this work. It's far more demanding than I ever imagined, but I genuinely enjoy hard work... unless it involves running. Then you can count me out.

One of my favorite parts of this journey is something I never expected: meeting the people who stop by the flower stand. Watching someone light up as they choose flowers to brighten their home or give to someone they love never gets old. I've met people from every walk of life, and they've reminded me that most people really are good.

Almost every morning, I pause for a moment to watch the sunrise, listen to the birds, and breathe in the fresh air. There is something deeply satisfying about working the land that I simply can't compare to anything else.

When I'm not outside, you'll usually find me hosting family for good food and great conversation, tackling another home remodeling project, or reading one (or three) books at the same time. I've painted nearly every wall in our house, as well as the kitchen cabinets. Pro tip: don't paint your own cabinets. Hire someone.

Life has taken me on quite a journey, and I can't wait to see where The Bountiful Prairie goes next. I'm so grateful you're here, and I hope you'll follow along as this little farm continues to grow.