Amy Castle picks tulips at Lorenzen Family Farm. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Owners of Lorenzen Family Farm, Kristen Lorenzen and her husband, Nathan, had been selling their farm-grown strawberries in Dayton for several years when one day a repeat customer who lived down the road asked, “Why don’t you grow flowers?”

Lorenzen’s own garden had grown bigger and bigger over the years, so she decided to try it on a larger scale, with Lorenzen Family Farm supplying blooms for parties and bridal showers.

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“At first I was growing every flower I could get my hands on, which was a lot of fun, but it’s also very labor-intensive,” she says. “It’s hard to focus because every plant needs something different.”

Lorenzen’s “aha” moment came when she spotted a friend’s social media post about a U-pick tulip farm in another state. “Tulips,” she says, “have always been my favorite flower.”

Kristen and Nathan Lorenzen run Lorenzen Family Farm. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

From Berries to Blooms

Lorenzen, a schoolteacher, and Nathan, a bank manager, had purchased the dormant land in 2013 with nothing more than a tractor, a desire to experiment and the hope of eventually recouping their money. The 26-acre tract was once a cow pasture, and the fertile soil was perfect for strawberries. At first, the Lorenzens and their young children picked the berries themselves and sold them at local farmers markets.

“But it wasn’t until we decided to open the farm up and do strictly pick-your-own that things really started working for us,” Lorenzen says. “People loved the experience almost as much as they loved getting strawberries.”

See more: Find Beautiful Blooms at These Tennessee Flower Farms

The Lorenzens expect to have 100,000 March-blooming flowers on 5 acres in 2023. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

The same would hold true for flowers. After choosing to focus on tulips, in 2020 Lorenzen left her teaching job to concentrate on the farm full time and hand-plant most of the 20,000 bulbs. The next year, the family opened a 5-acre, fenced area to the public for U-pick flowers, including daffodils, which they initially planted as a border to keep out the deer.

That November, students from their son Ben’s school helped plant bulbs for the upcoming spring season as part of a community service project.

“Lots of the kids had never even been on a farm and knew nothing about planting,” Lorenzen says. “So, it was kind of fun and educational.”

See more: 5 Tennessee Wildflower Hikes to Take This Spring

Spring of 2022 was the first year the family used a tractor to help plant the tulips and daffodils.

“We have to buy all new bulbs every single year. They don’t perennialize here well,” Lorenzen says. “When they do grow, people just love them because they don’t always get to see them.”

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Sustainable Beauty

Since the beginning, the Lorenzens have sought healthy alternatives to keeping bugs and other pests out of their fields. They spray peppermint oil to deter rabbits, squirrels and deer, and use organic fungicide during unusually rainy seasons. Cover crops of clover, buckwheat, mustard and winter wheat, along with crop rotation, naturally improve soil quality. The farmers also utilize drip irrigation to conserve water and add diluted compost to the lines to help feed the plants.

All these measures add up to a colorful spread with tulip varieties ranging from parrot and fringed to the hardiest, the Darwin hybrid.

“They’re grown to have a really sturdy stem so they can deal with the wind and the rain, and the flower heads are just enormous,” Lorenzen says. “When you see a whole field of them, it is just breathtaking.”

See more: Visit Grace Meadows Farm for Sunflowers and Southern Food

Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

Before entering the field to pick their own, each customer nabs a large, flat gathering basket – no scissors or clippers necessary.

“When you find the flower that you like, you just reach down as low as you can on the stem and pull the whole flower straight up out of the ground,” Lorenzen says. “Sometimes it will snap off and sometimes it will bring the bulb with it. Either way is fine.”

Back at the wrapping station, the floral finds are turned into beautiful bouquets to take home.

Lorenzen Family Farm welcomes visitors to pick tulips and daffodils in the spring and sunflowers and wildflowers in the summer. Photo credit: Nathan Lambrecht

This year, the Lorenzens have forgone the strawberries altogether in lieu of 100,000 March-blooming tulips and daffodils, the most they’ve ever planted. Sunflowers and wildflowers will take center stage in summer.

The best part, Lorenzen says, is interacting with customers.

“They just gush over how much they love it. Last year, I can’t even count how many proposals we had going on out there, and anniversary picnics. It was fantastic. Several senior centers brought their residents out to the fields, and we had these sweet little ladies with walkers having the time of their lives. And then, of course, there are the babies with photographers. It’s just a blast.”