Revisioning the Wild Heart- Part 2
by Kate Watters
I have been growing and designing flowers for the wedding market for the last seven years. I love flowers and the power they have over people–-especially women. Flowers invite us to stop and admire their beauty, to deeply inhale their scent, touch, even taste them. They inspire awe, and wonder, elevate our mood and fill us with a sense of well being. Best of all, flowers ground us to Mother Earth.
Trying to learn how to rest has not been easy. Farming is really hard work and running a business is stressful.
In 2020 I started my own farm, Wild Heart, in a riparian woodland in Rimrock so I could share the beauty and joy of flowers while connecting people to this very special place. When COVID shut down all the events, we had flowers and no plans for them. I gave a lot away. Then I sent an SOS to everyone I knew to join my flower bouquet CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) a model where people support the farmer directly and upfront by purchasing a season’s worth of goods. I added a uniquely curated and typewritten poem as an uplift for the difficult times we were facing. I met my flower flock in the parking lot of another woman-owned business, and sat in a lawn chair wearing a mask, offering bright, fragrant, happy flowers. The CSA was my lifeline—emotionally and financially. My sister, Kelly, who became stranded on the farm on her way to Vermont for the summer, started taking orders for baked goods and we added another element of comfort to the mix. I witnessed how the ritual of receiving flowers every week was grounding for our members—this offering connected them to the earth and our farm.
DeeAnn, owner of Peak Scents, a Flagstaff plant-based skincare company, hosted our CSA in her parking lot in 2020.
As the pandemic waned, I jumped back into growing flowers and designing for weddings. I kept keep the CSA in the mix because people were now hooked on flowers and I was deeply attached to this community (known as our farmily). In addition, I said yes to every potential customer and sold almost every stem we grew. In three years I built the farm infrastructure and grew my production to $85,000 gross with weddings, CSA and florist accounts. Sounds rosy right? So where is the problem? I was hustling like crazy and still was barely able to afford to pay for help let alone pay myself a living wage. I hired business coaches that kept encouraging me to increase production, efficiency and raise the prices of my flowers and increase my profit margin. My neurodivergent brain struggled to keep track of all of the complexity of my crop plan, delegate to the people helping, the flower orders, and weddings. At the end of each season I ended even more mentally and physically exhausted than I began. Finally, after four seasons I reached a point of adrenal fatigue–a virtual breakdown of my body from prolonged stress on top of the hormonal imbalance of perimenopause. Perpetually running from the tiger within (stress), I drained my cortisol. My body literally stopped me. It has been a slow process to recover my energy from this burnout. I cannot keep doing the same thing. I need to make a change.
This health crisis has been an opportunity for revisioning the future for Wild Heart Farm. In search of inspiration, sister Kelly and I fulfilled a long time bucket list and enrolled in a permaculture design course in Tucson. Permaculture draws from the ancient practice of observing land and patterns in nature, and applying indigenous and ecological principles to designing our homes and gardens to live in harmony with the earth with the surplus being returned and redistributed to all beings, especially the great mama. Our group of 11 students became a family, a reminder of how earth work transforms and bonds us together, and makes us open and pliable. The guild of teachers, our fellow comrades, and the resilience of the Sonoran desert inspired many possibilities for how we can apply the principles to the farm and our community in the Verde Valley.
Much of farm design follows permaculture principles, of zones, guilds, and harvesting and planting water, but we still found many ways to apply what we learned. When we used social permaculture ethics of earth care, people care and fair share to the whole farm and business this is where we began to see how things needed to change. This will be our fifth season growing at Wild Heart and it feels like a good time to revision our role in this place.
Sister Kelly and me communing with a cob goddess sculpture during our permaculture course.
Our CSA community has taught me that there is so much more potential that flowers hold than a fleeting moment of a wedding. The receiving of flowers is a ritual, a grounding experience. My experience of burnout and seeing so many other women struggling with this has shown me that we need rest—for people and the land. We need sustainable farming practices and healthy farms and farmers.
We will be leaning into the CSA model for seasonal offerings–perennial & native plants and flowers, education, rituals, and rest.
Flowers are always calling for us to stop and enjoy them. Photo by Dawn Kish
Rest and retreats for women caregivers, teachers, farmers, mothers and nurses.
Permaculture consulting for local residents wanting to grow food and restore their land with more natural, waterwise practices.
Elopements for couples seeking small, meaningful, authentic wedding experiences in nature.
Seasonal flower rituals on the farm to rejuvenate and reconnect.
Community Supported Education for gardeners on soil health, pollinators, native plants
Community Supported Agriculture shares of seasonal perennial flowers (dahlias, peonies), perennial and native plants, and seasonal farm experiences.
We look forward to sharing the journey as we evolve the vision and begin to transition the land to perennials and native plants with space for all beings to take rest, especially women. Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Cob wall building women’s workshop is one of many hands on opportunities to come. Photo by Dawn Kish