About Our Farm

Flutterby Flower Farm is located in residential Northfield, Minnesota, USA, about 45 miles/ 72 kilometers south of the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. On our micro farm of approximately 1/2 acre, we participate in the “slow grow” movement—emphasizing local production of cut flowers—using organic, pollinator-friendly, and environmentally-responsible practices, including: no-till farming; rain water collection for irrigation; brewing our own compost tea for fertilization using Minnesota-sourced, organic products; using no pesticides; and tending and harvesting plants entirely by hand. In addition to the “must have” staples of summer bouquets, we enjoy growing less common specialty flowers, including many spring bulbs, heirloom annuals, perennials and native species. You can find out more about our services by following this link and about the flowers we grow by following this link.

Flutterby Flower Farm is both a working farm and a private residence. Its gardens and fields are not open to the public with the exception of the fairy garden path (designed for small feet) by the sidewalk. You are welcome to take photos from the sidewalk or the bench that we installed in the boulevard for your use. Thank you for your consideration for our privacy, security and liability.

Flutterby Flower Farm History

Our first season of flower farming was in 2019, but we have grown flowers for decades. We relocated to Northfield in 2015 for a change of pace, a smaller community, and a closer tie to the land. The Northfield area has a long history of community supported agriculture, many family farms and a great food co-op. The town’s motto, “Northfield: Cows, Colleges & Contentment,” is very fitting for this lovely community surrounded by farmland. We fell in love with it while driving our son to and from our home in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota to Carleton College. Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges are the two historic, liberal arts colleges referenced in the motto.

Prior to our move to Northfield, we purchased an 1883 Italianate Victorian farmhouse, exactly halfway between the two colleges, with just 0.70 acre of “farmstead” remaining. Our original goal was to breathe new life into the home—which had been empty for years—and to transform all the lawn into the perennial gardens of our dreams. We got a bit carried away with the gardens! We replaced the front yard with a “formal” perennial garden, thousands of spring bulbs, and a library/reading-themed fairy garden complete with toddler-friendly walkway. As our projects kept expanding, our gardens became a place where community members and visitors enjoyed stopping by to take photos and to admire the flowers.

In 2018 we added raised beds for veggies and an annual cut flower garden. We started thinking about the idea of a cut flower farm mid-summer, and after providing flowers for our friends’ wedding in late summer, we were hooked! Following additional planning, we expanded our plantings to include thousands more spring bulbs, perennials and “woodies” (shrubs used in arrangements), built a high tunnel (aka “hoophouse”), and began construction on a small greenhouse. The greenhouse was finished in spring of 2019, and our early 2020 project was converting a portion of our garage into our flower workshop with a large, walk-in flower cooler. In 2021 we added additional raised beds for cut flowers (and a few to grow vegetables for ourselves). More raised beds were added in 2022 and our biggest project was to add 4 more 250-gallon storage tanks to our rainwater collection system for a total water storage capacity of more than 2500 gallons. Erik also built a beautiful deck sitting over (and hiding) the storage tanks, which is an appreciated addition to our house. We continue to work on producing as many healthy and lovely flowers as possible for almost half the year grown on under 1/2 acre.

The 1883 farmhouse was built as the “retirement home” of John S. and Sarah Way. The Ways were among the earliest New England settlers in the Northfield area, moving here from Vermont in 1855. First living in a sod house a few miles from now downtown, then moving onto their large homestead, still standing on Hwy 246/Dennison Blvd. across from Northfield Middle School, the Ways decided to move closer to town when they were ready to retire from farming. They purchased many acres, leasing out to others. In the 1900 photo above and on the left, you can see cornfields in the back of the house. In the photo on the right, taken on John Way’s 84th birthday, June 11, 1906, the St. Olaf Band serenaded John and Sarah Way as they sat on the front porch. Thanks to former St. Olaf College Archivist, Jeff Sauve, we learned that on this evening, the band played a farewell concert in town before leaving on their legendary first tour to Norway. He surmised that the band stopped by the Way house to play for them on the way to the concert.

In 1933 the two Way granddaughters, Lucille and Laura, who had inherited the house and land, donated some acreage to Northfield to create Way Park, which continues to be enjoyed by the neighborhood today. By the early 1960s, remaining land had been sold to home builders except for the 0.70 acre that remains with the house. After a period of time on the west coast, Lucille returned to live in the home until she moved east in the 1960s. She sold her home to her long-time boarder, St. Olaf music Professor G. Winston Cassler. St Olaf College inherited the home after Professor Cassler’s death. It was then purchased by the John and Michele Ramsay family, at the time affiliated with Carleton College. We bought the home from them after they relocated to Pennsylvania. They added the large “carriage house,” which actually contained a regulation basketball half-court. Part of this space now houses our flower cooler and workroom.