Petaluma Gardens

10/17/2026

🍓🌸 Big things are happening at Petaluma Gardens!

The strawberry U-Pick field is officially prepared and ready for planting!

Every year, one of our biggest challenges is getting the bed maker hooked up to the tractor. You wouldn’t think it would be such an ordeal, but somehow it takes Mike and Jeff about an hour every single year to get everything connected! 😂 I know without a doubt I couldn’t do it by myself, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate these two. Thank you, Mike, for all you do to support my dreams and Petaluma Gardens, and thank you, Jeff, for being the best neighbor ever and always being willing to help! ❤️

Tomorrow after church, I’ll start planting strawberries, and hopefully Mike will get the irrigation connected to the waterline. I’ve got a LOT of planting to do over the next three weeks, but once everything is in the ground, my focus will turn to protecting it all through the winter.

And one more thing…

We have a surprise coming for early 2027! 🎉 We’re still working out the details, but I think Opp is going to be pretty excited when we announce it!

Lots of work going on behind the scenes, and we’re looking forward to sharing it all with y’all! 🍓🌸

10/13/2026

Guess what came in today? 1 week earlier than hoped for (or prepared for?). It’s about to get really busy around here!! 🍓🍓🍓

10/10/2026

Feeling incredibly grateful this morning. ❤️

After sitting in our home and listening to at least six hours of some of the worst weather I have ever heard, I am honestly surprised, but so very thankful, that we sustained such minimal damage.

We are all safe. Elvina is safe, and Dad is safe. I haven’t made it to Dad’s house yet, but he says that, from what he can tell, there is no damage to his home. He hasn’t been able to get out and check the rest of his property yet.

Here at Petaluma Gardens, we have quite a few limbs down. One of our storage buildings that houses farming equipment and irrigation supplies lost part of its roof and had a door blown off. One of our large arbors also partially collapsed. But from what I can see so far, that is the extent of our damage.

Considering what we listened to throughout the night, I am amazed that we came through it as well as we did.

This morning, my heart is full of gratitude. Things can be repaired and replaced. The people we love cannot.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and checked on us. We appreciate it more than you know.

I sincerely hope and pray that everyone else came through the night as safely as we did. ❤️🙏

10/06/2026

🌸 WE HAVE A WINNER! 🌸

Congratulations to Charlotte Lundburgh! 🎉💐

Charlotte was chosen as the winner of a FREE U-Pick session for Spring 2027 at Petaluma Gardens AND a free Petaluma Gardens T-shirt! 🌷👕

Charlotte, please reach out to me so we can get your information and get everything set up for you!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated, shared, and joined in the fun. We appreciate every single one of you and cannot wait to welcome you out to the flower field next spring! 🌸🌼🌷

Spring 2027 is going to be beautiful! 💐

10/06/2026

What a sweet surprise to find waiting for us at Petaluma Gardens today! ❤️

One of our sweet friends, and customers left this delicious treat hanging on the door for us — “Filled With Love” is right!

We are so blessed by the people who support our little farm, cheer us on, and occasionally make sure we’re well fed while we work. 😂 Thank you for thinking of us and making our day a little sweeter. We appreciate you more than you know! 🌸

It’s the little things. And the good people. ❤️

09/30/2026

Check on your flower farmers. 🌸

We are not okay. 😂

Lindsay and I have been working our tails off getting these fields ready, and the flowers haven’t even started pouring in yet.

Send help. Or snacks. Preferably both. 🤣🌱

09/29/2026

I had one of those dreams last night.

After 31 years as a nurse, I still occasionally have the nursing dream. If you’re a nurse, you probably know the one. You’re at work and suddenly realize you haven’t checked on your patient all day. Instant panic.

Last night’s version had a little Petaluma Gardens mixed in. 😂

In my dream, I had picked up a night shift in the ICU. I was late getting there, everybody was ready to go home and trying to give me report, and the whole time I kept thinking, Why did I pick up this shift? I haven’t worked in an ICU in years!

And then, right in the middle of report, another horrifying thought hit me:

Oh my gosh. I have 375 flower plugs coming tomorrow and the field isn’t ready. Now I can’t even sleep after work because I have to get those flowers planted!

Apparently my subconscious decided nursing stress and flower-farming stress needed to meet. 😂

I woke up completely stressed out. It actually took me a few minutes to realize…

Wait.

That was a dream.

I do NOT have to work night shift tonight.

I can go back to sleep.

And tomorrow I get to work with my flowers.

And lying there, I thought about how telling that really is.

I loved being a nurse. I’m proud of those 31 years, and I’m grateful for the life and career I had. But nursing carried a kind of responsibility and stress that apparently burrowed deep enough into my brain that, years later, it can still find me in my sleep.

Flower farming certainly has stress. Right now I’m getting fields ready for fall planting, watching the calendar, worrying about weather and timing, and wondering whether those 375 plugs will give me blooms for Christmas arrangements—or make me wait until January, February or maybe even Valentine’s Day.

There’s always something to worry about when you grow things for a living.

But I realized something this morning:

I don’t think I’ve ever had a nightmare about flowers.

I’ve laid awake thinking about them. I’ve woken up making a mental to-do list. I’ve worried about rain, heat, frost, weeds, planting dates and a hundred other things.

But they’ve never haunted my dreams.

I’m glad nursing was such a big part of the earlier years of my life. And I’m equally grateful that at this stage of life, I found something else I’m passionate about.

It still comes with stress.

It’s just a different kind of stress.

And apparently, when I wake up and realize I get to go work in a flower field instead of reporting for night shift in the ICU…

I’m pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. 🌸

09/24/2026

Read to see how to be entered for a free U-pick session! 💐🌹🌸🌷🌻🌺

It starts right here. 🌱
Tiny seedlings today… rows and rows of flowers this spring.

The first flowers for our Spring U-Pick at Petaluma Gardens are officially growing! There’s a whole lot of work between this little seedling stage and opening those rows for you to walk through and cut your own bouquet—but this is where it begins.

I can already picture it. 💐
Spring 2027 — we’re growing something beautiful.

And I need your help spreading the word! Tag three friends in the comments who would love to come to a U-Pick this spring. Every tag, share and follow helps more people find our little farm and helps us grow our 2027 U-Pick season. 🌸

And let’s make it fun! I’ll choose one person from the comments to win a FREE U-Pick session during our 2027 season! 💐

To enter: Tag 3 friends, Follow Petaluma Gardens, like this post and share it!

I can’t wait to welcome you to the flower field! 💗

09/21/2026

09/21/2026

🎃 PUMPKINS AVAILABLE! 🎃

I have pumpkins available for $3–$5 each!

They’ve been picked and are stored in the Flower Barn. Just message me to make an appointment, and you can come out and pick your favorites!

Perfect for porches and fall decorating! 🎃🍂