The farm is more than 500 acres of tillable land and pastures, and Kristoff said there is not much that can survive on that. The duo wanted to bring a piece of nature for people to enjoy.
“We laugh and say we created a huge bug and bird buffet,” Roberts said.
The mother-daughter duo garden without pesticides, which is a “constant battle,” but they also enjoy seeing a variety of bugs and other animals. They started a monarch bed this year.
Kristoff, a former florist, said she enjoys watching people open up through the flower-picking.
“Sometimes you’ll get people, they show up and they’re timid and quiet and then they come out here and then they come back inside and they’re just talkative and all smiles,” Kristoff said. “You can tell that it brings joy to a lot of people, which has been really rewarding.”
Roberts said her grandparents called the farm Bloomfield, a name she and her daughter decided to bring back with the new flower farm. Her father and grandfather were big angus cattle and row crop farmers.
Bloomfield Farm offers varieties such as sunflowers, zinnias, cockscomb celosias, celosias, dahlias, gomphrenas, marigolds, stock, African marigolds, cosmos and lavenders.
It is open for u-pick flowers Thursdays from 6 p.m. to sunset, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers can fill a large-mouth mason jar for $10 and buy the jar for an additional $5, or fill a larger bucket for $50.
“We try to be cost effective for people because everything is getting expensive,” Kristoff said. “We found that kids really enjoy it out here, and it gets expensive when you’ve got families and you’re trying to entertain them. You can come out here, spend 10 bucks, get some flowers and the kids can run around for a couple hours.”
Bloomfield Farm is open to photographers and may later on serve as an event space, though Kristoff said parking and limited bathroom facilities present a challenge.
Kristoff and Roberts host workshops, including a zinnia garden workshop and wreaths in which people can weave their own flowers and take home to dry.
“We try to put a little whimsy out here,” Roberts said. “We’ve got some little fairy gardens around and we’ve got the wings on the barn that people can take pictures with and we’re going to expand [that] down eventually.”
The u-pick garden is open until the weather ends the season. Last year the flowers bloomed until the end of September.
The flower growing seasons have changed somewhat with spring coming earlier.
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