Apple & Dove's "Plant Seeds, Harvest Blessings"

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine your last “good” day. You know the ones I’m talking about. Where at the end of the day you just smile and think, “Wow…life is good.” I’m going to go out on a limb here but I can almost guarantee that it isn’t a day spent holed up in your house, in front of some screen, alone on your couch. If I had to guess, I would say that your good day would be some combination of the following: a bright sunny day with a nice breeze and just enough cloud cover, sometimes spent at home, sometimes on the lake or some other gorgeous place, surrounded by the people you care about, eating amazing food. Where there are no worries. Just goodness.

Well friend, you are not alone. In fact, those simple moments are exactly where life’s magic lies. And bringing that to you and our family is exactly the mission of our farm. Let’s begin…

Mike and I, met when we were still babies (19 & 21) trying to figure out what we wanted out of life and what that looked like. We spent endless nights dreaming together and planning our future. Twenty-one years later and here we are, still dreaming (with our four kids in tow now) but one thing has become apparent. The heartbeat of our dream and its vision has always stayed the same, to find and share, with others, the simple “goodness” that lives in this world. We started Apple and Dove Family Farm four years ago without having any idea what we were doing. We had the dream in our hearts but that was honestly about it. We knew we wanted to provide our kids with a magical childhood, filled with days of sunshine, fresh air and beauty and we have…that was the easy part. We added the animals and flowers and that’s when the adventure really began. These past years have been some of the hardest and most beautiful years of our lives. We have had some major highs and some devastating losses, but we would do it a hundred times over again because no matter what the days bring, we are living. Like actually living and breathing real experiences of the heart. The very thing humans were created to be and to experience and we want you to experience this too.

Over the past four years, we have brought you beautiful flowers and goodies from our farm but if we are being honest, that has always been just the beginning of the whole dream. Over these years we have worked crazy hours, often at night with headlamps, to make this dream a reality. Everything we have made had been reinvested, never once taking a paycheck. We’ve driven all over Sumner County for deliveries (bribing children with Chick-Fil-A) to stores and for subscribers, we have met with UT Extension and USDA more times than we can count, we’ve taken business course after business course, attended market after market, spoke at conferences, added a beautiful baby to our family, and had to say a final goodbye to my mom. As I said, beautiful highs and heartbreaking lows but through it all, we never stopped. We worked through the tears and difficult times. We’ve done all of this in hopes of one day, sharing our dream with you.

However, despite the efforts, sometimes life has other plans. We don’t always know why but we are forced to shift and change with the seasons. If I’m being honest, the past two years have been hard seasons. We know they come and go, both good and bad, but unfortunately, with farming, there are growing timelines and you are forced to wait another year for your shot if it is missed. For a while, we were able to tread water, somehow saving everything we had made and were ready to fully launch into this next year bringing more flowers to stores, more markets but more importantly being able to bring you to our farm and share our “escape from the world” with you, through our U-Picks, Fun Events, Farm to Table to dinners, and classes. But then the shoe dropped and Mike got suddenly laid off in October. No flowers to bring in money anymore and Christmas around the corner. Then our septic field needed to be replaced. Our horse got hurt. Hay got super expensive. Animals needed vet care. Bill after bill came rolling in and we saw the “dream” being moved further and further into the horizon.

We don’t consider ourselves prideful, but asking for help is hard for us. We don’t like inconveniencing anyone but ourselves. The hard truth is though, if we don’t the dream isn’t going to come to fruition anytime soon. For two people doing this alone, the task is impossible. But together, with your help, we can create something beautiful and we have designed the perfect way to achieve both. I introduce to you our “Plant Seeds, Harvest Blessings” Campaign. Through these tiers that we have created, we can do something amazing for our community while simultaneously funding a new space for you and your families to create memories. We have decided to plant, alongside our U-Pick field, a “Blessings Field”, that will be home to flowers purely grown to bless others. From this field, we will cut bouquets of flowers that will go to nursing homes, hospitals, women’s shelters and others who simply need joy in their lives.

For the past several years, we have been a participating member of the “Growing Kindness Project” and the sole purpose of this project is to gift bouquets to people who need some happiness. This project changed my life because the joy that flowers give people was so clear in these giving moments, that it is when I decided I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. The more we grow, the more we get to share, and the more happy people we have. With each giving tier, we are including bouquets from this field that you get to come to the farm, cut and gift to your people. You will get to experience the magic flowers hold yourself. (Bouquets can be donated for our “out of town” peeps. They will go to a local nursing home or hospital and be loved all the same.) On top of all the bouquets being shared with the community, we’ve included special gifts and tickets to some pretty special future events here on the farm. We are offering tickets to our First U-Pick, a Garden Tour, our amazing spa day “Nourish to Flourish” and our “Farm to Table” Dinner catered by an amazing local chef, while dining amidst the flower fields. Sounds dreamy right?

Well, that’s the dream folks and we need you. All the funds raised during this campaign will go towards graveling a road to the back pasture, fencing and gating the entrance with correct signage, creating a small parking lot, tilling the pasture and prepping for flowers, and installing a hoophouse for educational classes and extending the flower season. Visions are hard to put on paper and I hope that through the past couple of years, we have given you a glimpse of our dedication to this dream and through our words and stories we have painted a beautiful picture of what is to come. Our goal is to create magic for you and your family and for people who really need some. We thank you for being here for us, for supporting us through the years, cheering us on, attending our classes, buying our flowers and shirts, teaming up with us for events and asking us to be a part of your life’s special moments. You have no idea how much your kindness and support have meant to us and pulled us up in difficult moments. You have become the heartbeat of this dream and we hope to bring you everything you and your families deserve.

All Our Love,

Sarah & Mike Zimmerman

“Plant Seeds, Harvest Blessings” Campaign

1.) The “Sower” Package- $50 (includes)

 -One Bouquet from our “Blessings Field”

 -One “Support Your Local Flower Farm” Coffee Mug

2.) The “Seedling” Package - $120 (includes)

 -Two Bouquets from our “Blessings Field”

 -One “Support Your Local Flower Farm” Coffee Mug

 -One complimentary ticket to our “First U-Pick” of the season (or an additional “Blessings Field” Bouquet)

3.) The “Bloom” Package- $175 (includes)

 -Three Bouquets from “Blessings” Field

 -One “Apple & Dove Flower Farm” Tee

 -One complimentary ticket to our “First U-Pick” of the season (or an additional “Blessings” Bouquet)

 -One Q&A Garden Tour of Apple & Dove Flower Farm (or an

additional “Blessings” Bouquet)

4.) The “Bouquet” Package- $350 (includes)

 -Four Bouquets from our “Blessings” Field

-One “Apple & Dove Flower Farm” Tee

 -One Complimentary Ticket to our “First U-Pick” of the Season (or 1

Blessings Bouquet)

 -Two Complimentary Tickets to Apple and Dove’s First “Nourish to

Flourish” Spa Day (or four additional “Blessings” Field Bouquets and

“Apple & Dove Flower Farm” tee)

5.) The “Garden” Package- $500 (includes)

 -Five Bouquets from the “Blessings” Field

-One “Apple & Dove Flower Farm” Tee

 -One Complimentary Ticket to our “First U-Pick” of the Season (or 1

Blessings Bouquet)

-Two Complimentary Tickets to Apple & Dove’s First “Farm to

Table” Dinner (or five additional “Blessings” Field Bouquets and

“Apple & Dove Flower Farm” tee)