Most Midwesterners know that farming in every season of our climate is a testament to our individual strength. Our Midwest plants are unique and require extra care to make sure they flourish and can withstand our harsh weather conditions. Something Nicole Strafelda, owner of Olson Blooms, a boutique-cut flower operation in Hawley, MN, knows all too well.
Strafelda is a fourth-generation farmer. She grew up farming row crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat, on land her great-grandfather first cultivated. And while she didn’t find her calling in traditional crops, Strafelda found she had deep roots in the family tradition in a different way.
A New Generation of Farming
Farming wasn’t Strafelda’s first calling. She got her degree in teaching from North Dakota State University and spent five years teaching fifth grade before a family health scare called her back to the family farm.
“The day I stopped teaching, I was really struggling,” Strafelda said. “Like any huge life change, I was worried whether or not I was making the right decision. One of my students gifted me a Barnes & Noble gift card, and after work that day I was wandering the aisles just going over everything in my head. I came across this book called the ‘Cut Flower Garden’ and started reading it. I haven’t always been a flower lover, but when I saw that book, I was like, ‘Flowers can look like that?’ That was the spark.”
Strafelda fell in love with the untamed beauty of fresh-cut flowers. For the next few years, she focused on working with her father and youngest sister on a transition plan for the family farm, but a desire to share the wonder and beauty of fresh-cut flowers with the world was slowly growing in the back of her mind. This seed would eventually become Olson Blooms.
Balancing the Change of Seasons
The transition from teaching fifth grade to owning a business while supporting a young family isn’t something you can plan for. Strafelda quickly learned that plants, parenthood, and business ownership don’t always progress the way you want them to, and that is okay. Watching her first flowers, zinnias, snapdragons, and cosmos, flourish— despite the harsh climate—helped her accept her personal and professional challenges with grace and flexibility.
Strafelda explained, “There is just something about nature and my hands in the dirt… it has an amazing way of teaching us the ebbs and flow of life.”
Through failed crops, difficult weather, and more, Strafelda persevered to create a unique offering for her community. The beauty of her job at Olson Blooms is that she can spread kindness and interact with people. She finds joy and fulfillment in interacting with her customers as they open up and talk about how flowers impact them along with the events in their lives that bring them to her door.
”Through the act of giving flowers, everyone can have a piece of happiness in their homes,” she said.
Blooming Through Every Calling
Olson Blooms is a family-run business where even the kids are involved with seeding, delivering, and making decisions. And no day is ever the same in the Strafelda household; the family of four juggles family time, school, and business ownership by working together in and out of the field. Strafelda is able to juggle care for her two young daughters while caring for her flower crops and customers. Thankfully, children don’t get up quite as early as the flowers, she joked.
“Flowers allow me to capture a moment in time to find calm in the business of the world,” she said. “With a toddler in tow and a teaching background, I have tried to look at life through the eyes of a child—finding beauty in the everyday mundane life. My kids have a lot they can learn by helping me with the business. They get to learn crucial skills like choosing and making decisions, earning money, and helping others.”
Strafelda uses a 60-by-100-foot plot at the front of one of her great grandfather’s fields to grow perennial and annual flowers for her business. The varieties available vary by season— sometimes by day depending on the weather. Current staples include zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons, dahlias, sunflowers, and other annuals. Strafelda is also looking ahead and has been working to incorporate more shrubs and perennials into her plot to help with sustainability while reducing the need for as much annual planting.
“Our area is lucky to be able to enjoy such beautiful agricultural growth,” Strafelda explained. “I couldn’t imagine not getting to enjoy so many great flower varieties.”
Spreading Joy One Flower at a Time
Even though life can feel like a lot at times, especially during the summer, finding a balance and seeing everything come together can be rewarding, Strafelda remarked “creating sweet and kind humans,” and “bringing joy through flowers” are her passions.
She truly is all about finding a new bloom or sharing a fresh-from-thegarden bouquet.
Be sure to check out Olson Blooms’ bouquet subscriptions in the spring and summer that are filled with seasonal flowers. Strafelda also offers workshops; a few are coming up in August that will be hosted at Venue 31 outside of Hawley. These workshops will give people the creativity to perfect their own arrangements. Additionally, Olson Blooms does DIY bloom buckets, and has flower pop-ups and tables at the Hawley Market.
Want to be the first to find out about Strafelda’s events and offerings? Visit the website and sign up for her newsletter!
Olson Blooms
olsonblooms.com
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