My story

My name is Tanya, and I am the woman behind the flowers. I’ve been growing flowers since I was a small girl since my mom was a master gardener and always had a beautiful garden. I started growing dahlias the spring of 2017 and fell in love. I even moved from the city to the country to have more space for my dahlias! It’s safe to say that my small hobby has turned into quite the obsession.

For my day job, I am a Field Application Scientist. Prior to my current roll, I was a Research Scientist at Iowa State University and was involved in plant and animal research. My passion for dahlias has extended into hybridizing. Each year, I collect thousands of dahlia seeds to plant. Seeing the new dahlia varieties each year is definitely one of my favorite parts of walking through my 1/2 acre dahlia patch in the summer and fall.

I’m not alone in this endeavor. I have amazing support from my husband, Steven, who does all the heavy lifting and is the brains behind my cold room and optimizing large parts of my workflow. I also have two furry farm hands, Peach and Bowser- Australian Shepherds. They keep the property protected from pests and scare away the deer at night. My family from Wisconsin also comes to help during the hectic times. My twin sister, Taylor, is my lead planter, back-up plan (she plants all my extras), dahlia seedling ‘namer’, and creative director. My parents who also farmed most of their lives help with planting and weeding. 90% of the time, I’m a one woman show, but I have help when it counts!