Beauty is an important part of human existence.
It's not just some kind of aesthetic, but it's actually connected to our survival as human beings. (Makoto Fujimura)
The Flower Farmer
Born and raised in Gilbert, South Carolina, Lauren Hollis always wanted to live anywhere else and has never been happier not to.
She is excited to bring together her love of flowers and her desire to inspire people with their beauty.
Her favorite things are reading a good book, singing along to Taylor Swift, eating Thai food with her husband, Chris, and snuggling her three cats, Rosie, Bruce, and Poppy.
Photos by Heather Elaine Photography
How it all started…
When I unexpectedly had to leave a fulfilling career in church ministry in 2023, I was plunged into a period of profound grief and uncertainty. During those difficult days, I sought solace in the simple beauty of English garden roses. Their delicate petals and intoxicating fragrance became a source of comfort, a respite from overwhelming emotions. What began as a distraction soon blossomed into a profound passion for flowers and all they represent.
As I spent time tending to my small collection of roses, I found myself drawn into the world of horticulture and the art of cultivating beauty from the earth. Each new plant seemed to whisper stories of resilience and renewal, reminding me that even in the darkest moments, there is the potential for growth and transformation.
The act of nurturing flowers became a form of therapy, a way to heal my own deep emotional wounds while also creating something of beauty and value.
Today, my flower farm is more than just a business; it is a testament to the power of beauty and the Lord’s kindness in my life. Through my work, I strive to share hope and inspiration to those who may be facing their own struggles. My journey from grief to passion feels like coming full-circle, especially considering my family's 100-year-old vegetable farm. While I never thought farming was for me, I now realize that I've found my corner of the farming world, and it's filled with the beauty of flowers. This newfound connection feels like a homecoming, a realization that my roots in farming run deeper than I ever imagined.
The first bloom on my English garden roses! I was shocked it actually produced any blooms, I was so sure I would kill the entire plant by the end of the summer, and I was utterly delighted when I walked outside one morning to this ruffled beauty.
When I was little, I didn't really understand my connection to agriculture. For a long time, it was something a lot of my family did, but not something I did. Now I see that it's been part of me all along, it just took me awhile to find the right fit.
In April 2023, my intern and I got to create this beautiful flower wreath to decorate our church for Easter. We had never arranged flowers before, but we started dreaming of ways we could keep the floral magic going!
This was one of the first bouquets I made out of the tiny amount of flowers in my garden. I made it for one of my sisters-in-law and loved getting to surprise her with this cutie little arrangement.
My first trip to Pike's Place Market in Seattle in 2012. I had never seen a dahlia (or buckets of them!) before, and was immediately hooked.
Many years ago, I worked at my family's vegetable farm as a social media coordinator. My favorite thing was going out to the fields super early in the morning with my brother and finding interesting varieties of wildflowers growing around the fields to protect the crops from pests.
“Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty