Addicted to flowers

FREDONIA, Wis. — Steps from the barn at Sandy Loam Dairy is a thriving flower business where seven greenhouses filled with flowers of all kinds stand on a former heifer pasture. Diane Hamm grows and sells annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables at Hamm’s Farmstead Greenhouse, which is now in its fifth season.
“I do this because I enjoy it,” Diane said. “I’m addicted to flowers. It’s a hobby I love, and I happen to make some money too.”
Diane runs the greenhouse with help from her husband, Don, their daughter, Heather, and Diane’s four sisters: Mary, Joanne, Sue and Paula.
“This is like a family operation, and we all bring a special gift to the table,” Diane said. “Heather is my right-hand man and wants to take over the greenhouse someday, and I can’t tell you how happy I am to have my sisters helping. We are all close and get along really well.”
Heather said she enjoys the greenhouse’s connection to agriculture and the agritourism aspect the business provides.
“I like that people can come out to the farm and experience farm life,” Heather said.
The Hamms milk 320 cows and farm 400 acres near Fredonia. Don’s brothers, Rick and Randy, and Mary also work on the farm. After milking cows, Mary helps in the greenhouse all day. Joanne works in the greenhouse full time, and Sue and Paula help as often as they can.
The greenhouses are filled to the brim with over 300,000 flowering plants in every color of the rainbow and beyond, as well as another 100,000 plug plants. Hamm’s business has doubled in size every year since opening in 2021.
“I could fill another three houses if I had them,” Diane said. “I am bursting-at-the-seams full.”
The Hamms promote the business through newspaper ads and social media, such as Facebook.
“I keep prices reasonable,” Diane said. “There are other greenhouses in the area, and there is room for everybody. I think what I bring special to the table is the knowledge I provide, and that you come right here to get the flowers. The farm is a draw for people, too. Everybody loves to see the animals.”
Visitors to the greenhouse can pet calves and horses and watch cows get milked through the windows in the front of the barn. Some people even take home kittens that Diane is giving away.
“I’m so grateful for my customers,” she said. “I have a lot of faithful customers. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them.”
Diane’s love for flowers started young. Born and raised on a farm, she grew up planting flowers with her mom and grandma.
“It really blossomed when I had my own house,” Diane said. “I have more flower beds than you can shake a stick at. It’s hard work but very satisfying to grow stuff.”
One year, Diane bought nearly $800 worth of flowers, and Don said, ‘Well, you better get a job to pay for those.’ Thus, she started working at Appleland Farm Market, where she continues to work from late August to February.
Before she placed her first flower order in 2020, Diane had been saving empty flowerpots and trays and doing research. This flower guru knew what she was doing when she called a broker and bought $15,000 worth of plants.
“You can’t go directly through a greenhouse; you have to have a broker,” Diane said. “Once I got the plants ordered, I had to figure out where to put them.”
Diane purchased her first greenhouse from Nifty Hoops in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“It costs $3,000 less if you help build it, so I called my family to come help,” she said. “We built it within a day. The first year, I had no drip lines for watering, and I watered everything by hand with a watering can. It took 12 hours a day. It was crazy.”
Diane is at home in the greenhouse surrounded by flowers. She knows the nuances of plant behavior and growth and understands flowers’ temperaments. Deadheading is a constant task in the greenhouse as Diane and her crew remove dead flower heads to ensure flowers constantly bloom.
“You don’t walk around here without a pair of scissors in your hand,” she said. “A good pair of scissors is all I need.”
Diane began partnering with a wholesaler this year, and now three greenhouses are dedicated to wholesale orders. Opening day this year at Hamm’s Farmstead Greenhouse was April 25. By the end of May, all the wholesale plants will be gone.
“By the 4th of July, I want everything sold,” Diane said. “I make all my money in 6-8 weeks. It’s a short season. Then I spend all summer cleaning.”
The greenhouse is open seven days a week: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
“The Saturday before Mother’s Day last year was the best day I ever had,” Diane said. “We were swamped.”
Diane hosts potting workshops in April and grows mums to sell in the fall. By Oct. 15, she places her flower order for the following year. By the third week of January, the plants start arriving. Diane nurtures most of her plants from a one-inch plug that she plants in containers. Plants that she does not sell many of, she will seed by hand.
The Hamms started planting in February, giving 3,000 petunias a new pot in one day. Diane sells many kinds of petunias in over 50 colors, such as purple polka, moonstruck and tea flamingo. She also sells a lot of begonias, marigolds, moss roses and gazanias.
“We do a lot of custom baskets too,” Diane said.
Having worked at a couple of greenhouses, Diane had ample experience before starting her own business. An expert in plant care, she enjoys sharing her passion for flowers with others.
“I want to educate people about flowers and about planting,” she said.
Diane would like to tear down their old chicken coop and build a storefront in its place for selling décor, planters and other items, including plant-related products from other vendors. With help from her family, Diane’s flower farm is continually expanding.
“I can’t say enough nice things about this business,” Diane said. “I absolutely love it, love it, love it.”