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"To believe in life is to believe the sun will
always climb the stairway in the sky and bring us a fresh new morning."
-- Flavia Weedn
Farm Tours 
 ORDER ZINNIAS NOW!
Wildflower patch @ redbud farms
in june 2005
ORDER
WILDFLOWERS NOW!
nORTH-CENTRAL
fIRE CRACKER mIX
Tony's wife, Shelly, picks the
red and pink poppies for a bouquet
Mama & Dominick -
exchange bouquets as Daddy looks on
Celosia Plumosa and
Alyssum decorate a row at Redbud Farms. Zinnia rows are seen in the
background
Redbud Farms in September
- the miracle of RED GRASS! Patches of it grow everywhere in the fields!
You may visit the actual Farm or take the
Virtual
Farm Tour! We ask that a visit be in connection with a scheduled program or
other business transaction you have at the Farm, such as a purchase of cut
flowers or seeds, as this is our home. We enjoy our privacy and relish
expected guests.
Summer 2000, one young family came out to the Farm after learning about us at
the local Howell Farmers' Market. These are some photographs taken by the
Hansen Family during their visit! Kelly Hansen sent them to us via email
and writes,
Here are three
pictures taken this summer in your gardens. Hans is 2 1/2 and Ava is 6
months. We all really enjoyed your farm.
Thanks, --Kelly
Hansen
(August 2000)
Little Hans Hansen runs down one
of the many paths mown in the fields among the 15 acres. He's headed
straight for the four-leaf clover patch, there beside the small fruit tree.
Queen Anne's Lace dots the fields in summer at the Farm.
"The
Earth sings in blue skies and wildflowers. May the joy of its song fill
your heart." -- Flavia Weedn
Hans stands in front of the
great Benary Giants and
Cactus Zinns growing in the Big Garden! Tall
Sunflowers make a perfect backstop! Purple Cleome can be seen in the
top left of the photo.
Ava Hansen and
"Gram" -- Ava likes the "touch" of the giant Teddy Bear
Sunflower's leaves as they stop near the back of the garden. Our
stately old Shag Bark Hickory tree stands behind "Gram" in the
picture.
Our many thanks to Kelly Hansen for sharing these inspirational photos of her
people doing the ordinary in an extra-ordinary setting. We are so pleased
when people can find time to just walk around in the quiet and peacefulness of
this place. Hope some of you reading this might visit us next
Season!
==================================================================================
We receive many calls or inquiries in e-mail about touring
Van
Dyke Zinnias @ Redbud Farms so we decided to post a recent e-mail
Q&A about the subject. You may obtain more information by calling
517-851-8194 and leaving a message or emailing Sharon at
sballer@lobatek.com
for a quick response and custom itinerary for your visit! The Farm is our
home; so we ask that you don't just drop in, as we may not be ready to receive
you! Short notice is Ok, but please do call or otherwise let us know you
are coming!
==========================
Now to the interview.
==========================
Very often, someone will see our booth at the
Farmers' Market or Craft Shows and ask if we do Farm Tours or educational
programs. The answer is YES! We do! The information here was
provided to one would-be visitor who asked about bringing a home-school group to
Redbud Farms for a visit. We thought it would be a wonderful idea!
So here are excerpts from the resulting conversation in e-mail!
We met for our planning meeting for the remainder of this school year a
couple of nights ago. I suggested to the group that we take a field trip
to your farm. They asked me to get some more information on what we
could expect in the way of a field trip:
1) What kinds of things would we see?
What do you want to see? What kinds of things best tie into what you are learning/teaching about? We are a small-scale
flower farm doing much of the labor by hand and all of it ourselves. We have quite an interesting seed
planting/tending/flower cutting/harvesting operation, all very interesting to me and all easy to teach/learn about. The cycle of life during Nature's
seasons is demonstrated here at the Farm year round. It deeply and closely ties in with all that is good and fine in the world. We feel a closeness to god here as we work and observe the natural life drawn to this place. Hopefully, everything we do
here reflects this connection, at least that is the intent.
Creation is illustrated at its best in spring when the seeds are planted and germinate, a startling fete when you consider the
odds. We move wagonloads of cow manure and wood ash onto the beds as the soil is prepared for planting. It's hard work
but pleasurable, as we get to be outside "playing" long before our non-farm neighbors! Lessons are about the difficulty of
"birthing," whether it be tiny new plants or turning ideas and dreams into reality during one's life. We are living our dream on
Redbud Farms. We could talk about how to do that, whether it be from the purely business side or the lifestyle angle. You may observe this if you visit in the springtime, from end of May to late June.
New Growth. Nothing grows well unless nurtured and not "wasted". This requires very hard work, patience, and a great deal of commitment
from all stakeholders. This lesson is best taught during the dry heat of summer, in the sweat of weeding and working the soil so
optimum yields are produced. You most feel like quitting during the dog days of summer, as the sweat bees sting while you're
bent over the rows, the sun glaring down at times till you think you can't take much more and you're so tired you wonder if you
can push that wheelbarrow one more inch towards the barn and respite inside. The local markets beg for fresh cut flowers,
illustrating man's love of things delicate and beautiful! We spend hours readying for market each week. Lots of iced tea is
consumed to get you through it. Machine work is important now, too, so the weeds and grass don't overtake the fledging rows.
If you're vigilant, the Earth yields the most beautiful thing you'll ever see: rows and rows of colorful zinnias and other annuals,
each uniquely colored and absolutely distinctive! It never ceases to amaze me at how different each flower is! Each year! And
nothing is wasted! This is truly miraculous! The wonder and awesome power of the universe is right before your eyes and
available to touch if you just take the time to reach out your hand and feel the velvety petals or smell the wonderful fragrances
emitted from each flower. Even zinnias don't smell the same, one to another. Nature has thought of everything. Without the aid
of computers or technology! You may observe this cycle of the seasons if you visit from July through August.
Harvest. Probably my favorite time. It's the culmination of all our intelligence, hard work and fortune - good or bad. We
quickly scour the rows and beds for exactly the right and best seed to collect into the baskets so we may package it for sale
to our customers all over the world. It's an iterative process, taking from late July through end of September or early
October, depending on the weather. The wonder of technology is that we may make our offers to the American
stationed in a
post just south of the Sahara Desert, or to a woman who loves white zinnias in South Africa, and to a myriad of Americans all
over the country doing their gardening thing. They ask for advice; they request catalogs, and they send us orders using the
technology that is so far removed from the simple, physical work of farming, a pursuit almost as old as man himself. I feel so
proud to be trucking my flowers to market! And with each seed pack we sell, a prayer goes out that it will be successful in
the gardens of its new owners and will give them the pleasure through its beauty that is has given me. The manufacturing
process to turn fresh picked flower heads into seed packs is astounding and most interesting! This you can observe if you
come visit between September and November. The barn is not heated; so the folks would have to bundle up and let the
warmth of good company and brisk work keep them warm! Lights aren't that great either! We fight cold and length of days
during this time, as we rush to get all the seed in before it turns bitter cold. We don't take many breaks, but hot chocolate
and cookies would probably be in order.....
2) How long would the field trip take?
Again, how long would you want them to take? I've done farm tours for garden clubs that take a quick hour, where we briefly
talk about each and every aspect of the scenarios I described above. I give them seeds packs to take away and catalogs to
peruse after they've gone and are left only with their memories of this place. Or I've had single gardeners out to buy a flat of
zinnias and stay most of the afternoon. The common activity: work. I will be "working" while we talk or walk or learn. We
cannot stop. Too much to do. But we can make it fun! Most people want to come back. People in too much of a hurry won't
like the visit. Farming isn't something done in a hurry. Teaches you patience and the importance of taking the time to observe
and absorb. Depending on what you decide to do, we can take a little while or a longer time for a visit.
3) Would it be geared to certain age groups?
I am first a teacher, then a gardener. Or maybe it's the other way around. It's been so long that I've done both that the two just
sort of blur. I have taught 3 year olds (Montessori instruction during one period of my life) and 70 year old retirees at the
community college, wanting to take a computer class just to find out what all the fuss is about! I have worked in a very
demanding, technical corporate environment, teaching engineers and scientists how to use the technology to "move information
around." But by far, the most fun is showing people how to grow flowers! Any age person! I started gardening when I was 8
years old -- marigolds. Been doing them ever since, even after I developed a passion for zinnias....So I doubt your population
will be difficult or too unusual for me. But with your help, we can tailor it, certainly.
4) After the field trip would we come away with a better of understanding of gardening or do you have
something else that you like to do your presentation on?
You would have to be dead not to come away with a better understanding of gardening after visiting here. Just being here, you
cannot help but be drawn up and into it! Every aspect of it! Again, you may dictate what we do, based on the rather complete
description I've given you in this message. I've been thorough in the hopes that it will trigger some thought or avenue down
which you and your group will want to explore. I am good at impromptus or very structured programs, though the latter takes
more time and costs money.
5) Have you ever done a field trip before for a school group?
Many times. When I taught at the community college, I would take my students to my corporate work setting to demonstrate
how work is done in the "real world," and I would step them through my typical work day. Same thing here. I consider every
visitor to the Farm an opportunity to let school be in session in the most fascinating classroom of all -- the great outdoors, with
Mother Nature as hostess, and I simply as guide. It is natural for me to work this way with people.
6) Would there be a cost involved and if so how much?
For an hour's visit during any season, we would not ask you to pay anything. For a more formal program, with materials,
formal instruction, etc., we will charge whatever you can afford to spend and whatever we can afford to give. We also often
barter. How can we make the visit a win-win for us both? Maybe you will think of us when you conduct your next fund
raiser. Perhaps you will take our catalogs out to interested others to help us get new customers. If it's a straight economic
transaction you're looking for, I charge $35/hour for services I provide other
clients. I am open to whatever arrangements make sense and help us both.
I'm happy you've remembered our Zinnias and Redbud Farms after we spoke at Perry! Let me know if anything here interests
you!
-Sharon
-- Sharon R. Baller
President, LobaTek Incorporated
dba Van Dyke Zinnias @ Redbud Farms
3820 Stillson Road
Stockbridge, MI 49285
http://www.redbudfarms.com
http://www.lobatek.com
sballer@lobatek.com
517-851-8194
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"Clouds are not spheres; mountains are not cones; and
lightning does not travel in a straight line to the earth."
- Benoit Mandelbrot, Father of Fractal Geometry
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the Farm!
From time to time, we will offer web-only specials and publish
short stories about the Farm Dogs or the grandkids, and inspirations from life on the Farm in mid-Michigan, the
American heartland. Seasonally, we will write to help Gardeners grow beautiful Zinnias,
learn how to make a stunning
bouquet, or how to collect precious seed when harvest is here. Let us know
if you would like to receive them.
We have moved our web to a new server and resized all photos for faster load
times. As we approach another winter, I hope
you visit us often to see our pretty pictures and read about the simple things
we love most here. Thanks for being a
customer! -Sharon Baller, President
"To see life's
passages through the eyes of your heart is to know that all is happening exactly
as it was meant to." -- Flavia Weedn
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