Living her dream

Sep. 22—DECATUR COUNTY — Patty's Flowers is a fresh-cut flower farm in the Smyrna farming community. The business is located in the middle of a geographic triangle between Greensburg, New Point and Napoleon. (Smyrna is an unincorporated community in Salt Creek Township, Decatur County.)

Owner and operator Patty Lange Fischer said the effort is an entrepreneurial adventure that evolved from an approach she described as "dream it to do it."

The "dream it" began about 20 years ago when Lange Fischer was in Texas and visited the commercial flower field of Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg.

"The fields of various flowers and seeing so many people out there with their snips just cutting blooms, filling their cups with flowers, just blew me away," she said. "It was the biggest flower 'WOW' I had ever experienced. I cut flowers there myself that day."

Fast forward 20 years to April 2021 when a patch of permanent pasture on the family farmstead was plowed up to become a flower field.

"A lot of 'life' happened in those 20 years," she said. "Four young sons grew up, my parents passed away, the family farming operation Langeland Farms, Inc. occupied most of my available time, and then two of my four sons returned to the family business."

For Patty it seemed like a now or never decision time. Could the inspiration of a day-trip to a Texas flower field years ago and a dream to take a hobby to the next level become a "do it?"

"I'm at the age when many of my peers are retiring, and I was crazy enough to take on a whole new business adventure," she said with a laugh. "I have wondered many times why anyone would choose to work this hard for a dream. Flower farming is not my main job, I still work with Langeland Farms. This is what some folks call a side hustle!"

The field-grown flowers occupy approximately one-third acre located across from Smyrna Lutheran Church and adjacent to the yard where her children and now grandchildren play.

She credits faith, family, friends and a lifetime in farming — in that order — for any success that comes her way.

"It is truly inspiring to start your day early, immersed in the blossoms and fragrances of the various flowers," she said. (Flowers last longer when picked early in the morning after resting in the cooler night air.)

Lange Fischer transforms buckets upon buckets of fresh-cut flowers into bouquets.

"I was experienced in growing the common garden grown flowers that many folks typically grow in our area, and I have always enjoyed making bouquets, but to take this knowledge to a commercial level has had its challenges," she said.

Patty credits allowing herself to experiment, anticipating both success and failure, being patient with herself and, of course, with Mother Nature as key components.

"You never know what the weather is going to throw at you," she noted. "The first year I stayed really close to the varieties of flowers I knew best like sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, your typical garden flowers."

Now in her second year with the adventure, she expanded her selections.

"I have been fortunate to have more success than failures, and the local community has been very supportive," she said. "I have learned more about growing flowers in two seasons than in all my other years of growing flowers combined."

Patty's Flowers offers pre-scheduled visits for small groups to walk the flower field — usually combined with a make-it and take-it flower bar, individual custom bouquets, and flowers for special events.

In the off-season, she sells custom, all-natural wood flower arrangements.

"I did the flowers for my first wedding this September," she said. "I was fretting big time when my sunflowers planted specifically for the wedding were trying to grow in this summer's drought! Thankfully, my husband helped me place some drip lines to keep those tiny seedlings alive at a very critical time."

Almost without exception, all of Patty's flowers are planted directly from seed.

"It's a lot of work! It's hot, I'm sweaty. This flower gig is certainly not for the faint of heart," she said. "So why do this? The rewards of seeing the smiles, the joy that delivering the fresh flower bouquets creates makes it worth it. And the beauty I get to surround myself with daily has been more incredible than even my wildest dream. This flower farm is my story, my dream."

She does get a little help, mostly from family, but for the most part Patty's Flowers is a one-person operation.

"Taking on this challenge, this dream, I had to listen to my own advice given to my son Nick years ago. 'Just because it's your goal doesn't mean it's your friend's goal. If you really want to do something, then commit yourself to doing it,'" she said. "I want to be an encourager. No matter how old you are or what your current life status is, or what obstacles may come your way, if you have a passion to do something listen to that voice inside and take your passion from dream it to do it."

For more information about Patty's Flowers, Patty may be contacted at 812-614-0752 or patty@langelandfarms.com.

Those interested may also visit Patty's Flowers on Facebook. A website is in the works but not yet ready for launch.