After more than a decade of running this amazing farm and floral business, last year’s sabbatical confirmed what I’d been feeling for a while: Alaska Stems is shifting into a new chapter as a short-season tulip farm.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve leaned into my work with the incredible people and partners at the Alaska Food Policy Council. In October, I was elected Mayor of Homer—an honor that now fills a significant part of my volunteer time.
Most importantly, Sadie and Linnea are growing up fast, and I want to soak up as much time with them as I can. We want to play, camp, and explore. That’s hard to do when you’re always working, as any small business owner knows.
Below is a little retrospective—a look back at our story in photos, starting with the first garden clearing in 2009 and the construction of our first high tunnel in 2010 (complete with pics of Steve and Susie!).
When I first envisioned this farm, I wanted to call it Bread and Roses—a phrase made famous during the 1912 textile workers’ strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, led largely by immigrant women. The slogan captured a powerful truth: that people need more than survival—we need dignity, beauty, and joy. As the song says, "Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses." While Alaska Stems became our name, that spirit has always held true.
Raising our kids on this farm and in this beautiful community has been an incredible gift. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. And yes—tulips are coming SO SOON! An update is on the way!
2009
The start of clearing land for growing! I moved here over the 2008-09 winter, and the spring of 2009 we got to work. The dogs were good company, and Pemba was always down to play, and the huskies kept watch.
2010-2011
In 2010, we entered into an NRCS high tunnel contract, and put up a 30x72’ high tunnel. I loved finding these pictures with Ben’s mom and dad - Susie and Steve, coming by to help out! My mom is there in the fall, always game for harvesting potatoes. I knew I wanted to grow a business out of the high tunnel. I quickly gravitated towards the diversity, color, and opportunities with cut flowers. After deciding against “Bread and Roses”, our original business name was “Harambe Gardens”, named after the name of this family property. Harambe is a Swahili word for collective coming together, a spirit embodied in our land that is co-owned with Ben’s family. It didn’t take too many iterations of explanation, however, for me to simplify the name finally to Alaska Stems!
2012
Our first year vending at the Homer Farmers Market, trying out tulips on a larger scale, and really digging into the beauty of community through flowers!
2013
You can’t really grow tulips at scale without a cooler, so Ben got building! I was pregnant with Sadie - she was born in August - and we continued to grow our floral design business along with the farm. Our first year of several blessed with Annie B.
2014
Farming with baby! The farm truck came into service, Ben improved our irrigation systems, we continued to grow the outside beds. Our niece and nephews helped welcome the hundreds of people who came to visit when we were honored to be on the Homer Garden Club’s summer Garden Tour! (they are all amazing adults now - occasionally living and working in Homer during the summer months!) My mom and brother visited (mom would move here again not too many years later), and Annie lived with us.
2015
I was pregnant again this year; Linnea was born in November. We still were blessed with Annie, and we continued to grow weddings and market offerings. We build two new high tunnels, and took down the original seine web fence. My brother Chris helped with one of my first early plantings of stock. He and Tracey are now the most incredible flower farmers at Swell Farm at their home in Rockland, Maine.
2016
Whew - farming with a toddler and baby is no joke. The Food Hub was rolling and the Lt Governor came to check it out! We kept doing more weddings, and started hiring new staff as Annie moved on. The rest is maybe a little blurry? I was tired. Ben was tired. Sleep wasn’t really much of a thing for our kiddos for some number of years!
2017-2018
Continuing to grow the farm, floristry business, and kiddos. We started building a propagation greenhouse, and continued to have wonderful staff working with us. My Dad came to visit and mowed the lawn … we had gotten weeks behind, and it was a herculean task! My mom moved to Homer, and spent time with the girls. We grew our first REALLY good run of stock, and some incredible Bells of Ireland. I still haven’t been able to recreate that accomplishment…sigh. I got to practice design skills with Kelly Shore, and dabbled in winter wreaths. I always wanted to do more with wreaths (I LOVE wreaths), but it just never worked out time-wise.
2019-2020
We finished the greenhouse, continued to enjoy our wonderful customers, and Madra started working on the farm. I went full-in on landscape fabric, trying to reduce the weeding pressure and time in summer, to some success-ish. The pandemic hit, and we were fairly well positioned to keep selling flowers safely. Sonora the Pony joined our family and, in 2019, we pulled off an incredibly massive and wonderful wedding in Anchorage with the absolute BEST team.
2021-2023
Butterscotch the Horse joined the family, Sadie joined 4H. Carla and I made a super fantastic piece of floral art as part of the Peony Festival in Homer. I celebrated 10 years as a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Madra came back to Homer and came back to work at the farm alongside some other great employees.
2024
A sabbatical year. We did tulips, although I hurt my back just before Mother’s Day and it was a rough go of things. The girls both did 4H, we went on a few small Alaska road trips, I started working a part-time job, and leaned into some play during the summer months when I’d otherwise be at the market, managing subscriptions, delivering vases, and designing weddings. Carla and I went to Seward for our last wedding in September - it was beautiful, and a great way to finish that part of my career (although I would love to keep freelancing occasionally!).
So for 2025 I’m rolling in with a fabulous crop of tulips, and a heap of excitement to serve fresh color over the next five weeks or so. I’ll be working to update our website to reflect our new business space, and getting veggies ready to plant for our family.
You can follow along with other activities I’m doing at the Alaska Food Policy Council - www.akfoodpolicycouncil.org, and for the City I’ve started a Mayor’s Newsletter - deskofthehomermayor.substack.com
When I started growing flowers, some expressed doubt and uncertainty - if you’re going to have a farm, why wouldn’t you grow food? Our flowers have brought so many smiles, so much joy, and so much connection over the years. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And while this journey is shifting, we can’t wait to continue bringing that joy and color through tulips for years to come!