Mother Land
story by Donna Hecker & photography by Talitha Schroeder
Not all farms grow just food. Some grow flowers too, and since flowers and Mothers Day are synonymous, we traveled to a flower farm to meet a mother whose daughters are carrying on the family business, each in her own way. For several years, until our Holly Hill Inn gardens became well established, Hazelfield Farm was our go-to source for cut flowers spring through fall.
Hazelfield is home to Teresa Biagi and her husband Raphe. They carved out a section of the farm for daughter Sayward and her husband Cole, who live nearby with their daughter Lucca. A few miles down the road, there’s additional acreage where Esmee and Todd live with sons Miller and Wagner.
Longtime Frankfort, Ky. residents will remember Treadleworks, Teresa’s downtown shop where she sold antiques, candles, jewelry and other gifts. And way before fresh locally roasted coffee was a thing, Teresa had a standing order with a San Francisco roaster for regular French Roast shipments, which kept us local caffeine addicts buzzing.
About the time that a stretch of the U.S. 127 highway between Frankfort and Owenton was widened, Teresa and Raphe pulled up stakes and moved north to land on the very southern edge of the glacial drift. Over the last 30 years, as Esmee and Sayward grew up and started families of their own, the farm has evolved too.
Today, Esmee and Todd grow vegetables and grains, raise beef and pork, manage the CSA subscriptions, and work a booth at Cincinnati’s Hyde Park Farmers Market. Sayward wrangles wedding and event florals, from marketing to sales, consultation, delivery and setup, and also sells flowers at the Hyde Park Market. Teresa and Raphe’s own vegetable gardening has been whittled down to a family-sized scale.
But the flowering (and fruiting) trees and shrubs and plants are as profuse as ever. When we arrived at the repurposed, solar panel-equipped tobacco barn at the heart of their floral business, Teresa opened the walk-in door to reveal buckets full of blooms waiting to be tucked into Mother’s Day bouquets and butterfly baskets.
The hellebores, hyacinths and daffodils were nearing the end of their run; thousands of peonies were just about to burst into voluptuous bloom. Teresa told us how they have to be cut twice daily at their peak, and shared her secret of cutting when the unopened buds reach marshmallow softness. Harvested at this stage, they’ll last much longer (and harbor fewer ants!)
In fact, according to Teresa – contrary as it may seem – on a good flower farm, you won’t actually see that much in bloom; if you did, it would be too late. But the potential was all around us – baptisia, hydrangea, flowering quince just past its peak, viburnum, statice, zinnias, delphinium, serviceberry, buttonbush, canesia, Star of Bethlehem, smoke bush, lots and lots of alliums.
There’s a tiny orchard planted with a few Chinese chestnut trees and Northern Spy apples, Teresa’s favorite and equally loved by their miniature donkey, Lightning Bolt, who is decidedly not. A couple of small greenhouses held herbs and a frog island in one, and Teresa’s orchids, Peruvian daffodils and Calla lilies in another.
Horticulture is deeply rooted in Teresa’s heritage. Her great-grandfather was an estate gardener in Italy; a visit there inspired her to plant a miniature hillside garden at home. Her grandfather had the first glass greenhouses in Shelby County; another relative tended a market garden, and a present-day cousin has recently opened Ironweed Nursery, also in Shelby County.
Surveying her home, Teresa tells us how fortunate they are that they’ve been able to make a living off the land for 30 years, without the need to take outside jobs. Their solar panels power the barn, and shops and house; generating so much electricity that the extra flows back into the grid.
A close friend recently bought an old house in Shelby County. Its previous owner was once president of the Kentucky Daffodil Society and kept dozens of garden journals detailing daffodil varieties, including one named “Glory of the Snow.” As her friend works to restore the house, Teresa hopes to comb the journals, matching entries with daffodils as they come up in the spring.
It was so hard to leave without taking an armload of flowers too, but Teresa insisted that we needed to support the Kentucky Flower Market, which sells flowers from a variety of local growers. As the one who encouraged the market to locate in downtown Frankfort, she reminded us that for farmers to be successful, they all have to work together. It’s their only chance at sustainability.
Excellent motherly advice.
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An Appetite for Flowers
Fresh flowers have long graced our Holly Hill dining rooms and we consider creating beautiful arrangements a form of "floral therapy." We invite you to indulge in a little "floral therapy" of your own. Flowers are easy on the eyes and good for the soul. Some are even tasty on the table!
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