I’m the owner and grower behind Golden Sun Gardens, and I’m excited to begin my adventure as a small-scale flower farmer.

Has anyone ever asked you, “If you could have any other job, work in any other field, start over with a new career—what would you do?” My answer has always been start a flower farm. Spending my adult life working long hours as a service industry professional and living in city apartments hasn’t been the most conducive to even hobby gardening. Sure, I’ve got some houseplants, I’d help out with some planting and weeding at a communal house I lived in during my time in Baltimore, and my dear friend graciously let me take over her deck with some tomato plants in grow bags while I was crashing with her when I moved back to Louisville.

Then in March 2024, with a blank slate of grass, my partner and I rented a tiller and started a garden in his backyard. Two beds and a border along the fence eventually turned into four beds, plus trellises and pole tents and planters full of herbs. It was thrilling to start from scratch, make plans for the space, put stuff in the ground, and watch it all take off! And it was challenging to deal with pests, get hit by storms, and have plenty of things not go as planned. More than anything, though, it was gratifying to learn and grow with the garden—it scratched the parts of my brain that enjoy creativity, physicality, and being outside, and it was all I wanted to do with my time. When the restaurant I work at was looking for summer blooms to brighten their space, I offered some of our wildflowers and spent the season selling to them weekly. With that, I had some literal seed money and a boost of confidence to make this little dream a reality.

Who knows what this journey will look like? It’s already taken twists and turns that I couldn’t have anticipated. What I do know is that I’ve got some seedlings started in my kitchen, the days are finally getting warmer, and I’m ready to get my hands in the dirt and grow some flowers for you. I’m a firm believer in the pure and simple joy that flowers bring to the world, and whew, we could all use more of that right now.

So welcome, and thanks for following along. Backyard blooms, grown with love, coming to Lou soon!