DANA, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A “you pick” flower farm opened Thursday in Dana, Ind., and the owners want it to serve as a gathering place.
Brad and Robyn Porter, the couple who started and own Lovie Lee U-Pick Flower Farm, said they want the farm to serve as a place for the community to meet up and enjoy. The two said it has been a lot of work to get the farm opened and go from concept to completion.
“It’s a gathering place to just bring your kids and do something together as a family,” Robyn Porter said. “Family means a lot to us and we love having our family and our children and our grandchildren out here. They enjoy it and we just thought, maybe that’s something we can offer the community.”
Due to recent heavy rain and strong heat, the Porters said their flowers are thriving. Visitors to the farm are provided with a vase and scissors to go out and then cut their own bouquets. The venue also has picnic tables and patios, which Brad, a former minister, said could be used for ministry studies.
The couple started planting the farm with 15,000 plants and seeds. Today, the couple has now grown 18 rows of flowers, some of which are 500 feet long.
“We decided to start a few rows and it turned into, like I was saying, you go to a grocery store and you go to get one tomato plant and you end up with six tomato plants,” Brad said. “That’s the way this thing took off. We started planting rows and realized, ‘hey we can enjoy this more.’ It’s been a challenge, but we’re getting there.”
The Porters said that while it has been a challenge to create the farm and grow the plants, it has given them a lot of time to be together; they said they want that connection to happen for other families who visit the farm as well.
