WindFlower Farm

Carolyn has a lovely little place above the Columbia River, just north of Hood River, OR. She grows mostly flowers, which she sells at flower markets, local florists, and uses to supply arrangements for several local businesses.

Hood River is basically a tourist town, serving various sorts of "boarders," snow boarders, wind surfers, kite boarders (great winds in the Columbia River Gorge), and the usual assortment of hunters, fishers, and general outdoors tourists. Plenty of snazzy B&Bs, high-tone restaurants, boutique retailers & such in town. And out of town, a goodly collection of local suppliers, like Windflower Farm.

Carolyn's place is a marvel of catch-as-catch-can farming. She uses lots of cardboard for mulching...it makes a lot of sense! It really keeps the weeds down, unlike shreddy sorts of things like straw, and after a year or so it breaks down into its component stuff (cellulose) and becomes part of the soil. It is reuse and recycling all at once, and keeps it out of landfills. Carolyn picks up and uses all kinds of stuff that would otherwise be waste: wood from packing crates as stakes and fences, bottomless glass and plastic gallon jars as mini-coldframes, and recovered building materials to construct greenhouses. The place certainly has its own aesthetic, one that has been supporting Carolyn for more than fifteen years.