February at Hickman Hollow Farms
February arrived carrying something we have been waiting on for months. Home.
We finally moved to the farm.
Not just visiting on weekends. Not driving out to check on things. Not standing in the driveway, imagining what life here would be like.
We are officially living at Hickman Hollow Farms.
And even though the moment we had been waiting for finally came, moving day did not exactly unfold the way we had pictured it.
The Move That Tested Us
Moving day was…well, memorable.
Heavy rain rolled in that morning and never really let up. The ground was already soft, and by the time the moving truck pulled up to our front porch, it quickly became obvious we had a problem.
The hole our heavy moving truck couldn’t escape from.
The truck got stuck.
Really stuck.
What should have been a relatively straightforward unloading turned into a muddy, exhausting Sunday. Instead of an army of helping hands, we only had our son, Mykah, with us, which meant every single box, piece of furniture, and random household item had to be carried across wet ground and through the rain.
And yes, there were moments when I honestly wondered if we would actually finish.
Everything was soaked. Everything was muddy. Everything felt harder than it should have been.
But then something happened that I don’t think I will ever not appreciate.
At the very end of that long weekend, when the final box was finally carried inside and the truck pulled away, I stood in the house and looked around, feeling relieved to be here.
And I felt peace.
Not the kind of peace that comes from everything being perfect. The house was filled with boxes. The floors were littered with mud and dirt. Nothing was organized.
But it felt like home anyway.
For the first time, we were not visiting the farm.
We were living in it.
A Fresh Look for the Farmhouse
Before I go too much further, can we just talk about how much I love the outside of the house? This month brought a change that you can see from the road now, since our farmhouse got a brand new coat of paint.
Farmhouse before and after.
When we first bought the property, the house was a soft yellow. It had its own charm, but it did not quite match the vision we have for the farm long term. After a lot of back and forth, we decided to go with a classic farmhouse white.
And I absolutely love it.
Something about that clean white exterior sitting against the green pasture and the red stables popping up behind it just feels right. It feels timeless. Simple. Peaceful.
Every time I pull into the driveway now, the house looks a little more like the place I have been picturing in my head for months.
There is still plenty to do outside, new shutters, landscaping, gardens, and a thousand little details that will take shape over time, but this was one of those changes that instantly made the whole property feel more like ours.
Finally Home
Living here is something we have dreamed about for a long time.
Now every morning we wake up and look out across the pasture. The land stretches out in front of us, and my mind immediately begins imagining what will one day fill that space.
Rows of flowers.
A food forest filled with groceries fresh for picking.
Families walking through the fields.
Children chasing butterflies.
It feels a little magical, if I am honest.
The house itself is still very much a work in progress. We are currently living somewhere between moving day and full organization. There are boxes stacked in corners, shelves waiting to be built, and many rooms that still need paint.
But strangely, I love it.
There is something really special about slowly shaping a house into a home. Every shelf we build, every drawer we organize, every small improvement feels like another layer of belonging.
We are not just moving into a house.
We are building a life here.
And I know that with patience, determination, and a lot of prayer, God will give us the strength to keep moving forward.
Tulips Wake Up
February also meant it was finally time to wake up the tulips.
For the past few months, they had been tucked away in the cooler, just hanging out and doing their thing. Tulips need a long cold period in order to bloom properly, so that cooler had essentially become their winter.
Tulips waking up after their time in the cooler.
But by February, it was time to bring them back into the light.
The crates came out of the cooler and moved into the greenhouse first. For a little while, that was the perfect place for them to start waking up and stretching toward the sun.
Then the weather surprised us.
The greenhouse began heating up much faster than expected, and before long, we realized the tulips were probably happier outside than inside. So out they went.
Now they are sitting just outside the greenhouse, soaking up the sunlight and slowly starting to grow.
And I have already learned something from this experiment.
The stems are looking a bit short.
That likely means I didn’t add enough soil on top of the bulbs when I planted them in the crates. Tulips really prefer a deeper planting depth, and it looks like mine might not have gotten quite enough.
But that’s alright.
This entire tulip project was meant to be an experiment from the beginning.
If the stems stay short, then I will simply call this a learning year. And who knows, maybe by March they will surprise me and stretch up a bit more.
Farming has a funny way of teaching lessons, whether you are ready for them or not.
Pallets, Plants, and a Greenhouse Upgrade
One of the unexpected blessings this month came from my good friend, Kove.
He showed up with an entire truckload of pallets.
Now, if you have ever spent time on a farm, you know pallets are basically the Swiss Army knife of building materials. You can turn them into just about anything if you are willing to get a little creative.
So that is exactly what I did.
Once the pallets were delivered, I started turning them into plant tables. It turned out to be one of the easiest and most satisfying projects I have tackled in a while. A few simple adjustments, a little stacking, and suddenly I had sturdy tables ready to hold trays of seedlings.
And let me tell you, they are already getting a lot of use.
Instead of trays scattered across every surface imaginable, I now have organized rows of plants sitting neatly on their new pallet tables, and I even made myself a little potting table. It makes working in the greenhouse so much easier.
The funny part is, I still have quite a few pallets left over.
So who knows what they will turn into next?
Maybe more greenhouse tables. Maybe something for the farm store. Maybe a project that hasn’t even crossed my mind yet.
That is the fun part about building a farm. Half the time, you are just figuring it out as you go.
The Willows Arrive
February also marked the arrival of something I have been especially excited about.
Pussy willow.
I absolutely love willow branches in floral work. They add texture, movement, and a little bit of wild beauty to bouquets. And once they dry, they become some of my favorite materials for wreaths and dried arrangements.
So naturally, we planted quite a bit.
Actually...we planted a lot.
The varieties we are growing this season include:
Lemoine's Improved
Green Curly
Rubykins
Scarlet Curls
Drake Snake
Mt. ASO
Salix Gray Discolor
Each one brings its own personality to the field. Some grow straight and elegant, while others twist and curl into shapes that almost look sculptural.
We plan to grow enough willow for our U-Pick adventures while also harvesting a good amount for drying. Dried willow branches hold beautifully for such a long time and can be used in all kinds of arrangements and farm-made decor.
Standing in the field imagining those branches full of soft catkins this coming year already has me excited.
It is another one of those crops that will bring beauty to the farm long before the main flower season begins.
A Little Dahlia Magic
Another small but exciting experiment began this month.
We started trays of dahlia seeds.
Now, if you know anything about dahlias, you know this is where things get really interesting. Every single dahlia seed produces something new. There is no guarantee what the bloom will look like.
Different colors.
Different shapes.
Different petal patterns.
Every seed is essentially its own brand-new variety waiting to be discovered.
Since I didn’t collect seeds from the dahlias I grew last year, this year, we planted seeds from both Floret and Johnny’s Seeds. Watching those tiny seedlings appear is like opening a mystery box. We will not know what they truly look like until they bloom later in the season.
But the real fun may begin next year because this season, I plan to intentionally cross-pollinate some of my favorite dahlias with each other and collect the seeds they produce. If all goes well, we might end up creating something completely new and beautiful right here on the farm.
So if you are the praying type, say a little prayer for us to find something wonderful.
Looking Ahead
This month was certainly a month of big beginnings for us.
Little by little, season by season, we are building something here that we hope will bring beauty, peace, and joy to others.
We are incredibly grateful for the chance to steward this land and for the people who are following along with us as this farm slowly takes shape. Your encouragement and sharing our little farm with your friends and family means more than you know.
March is right around the corner now, and with it comes warmer days, growing seedlings, and hopefully the first real signs of spring in the flower fields.
We cannot wait to see what blooms next.
