Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Kearns.
Hi Kari, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
This is Kari Kearns speaking. My husband Clayton and I were looking at buying a cabin for our family in 2023, when a 100+ year old farm came up for sale less than 10 minutes from our home. It was an old dairy farm with an old dairy barn – the same type of barn that was on Clayton’s grandparents farm growing up. The nostalgia was real. While there is no lake or boating for the typical Minnesota summer retreat, we felt like this farm could be a space for our family to enjoy being outdoors, and do something meaningful together. It could give our kids the opportunity to experience a little bit of farm life – do hard work and take joy in simple things. The 8.8 acre farm had numerous buildings – a farmhouse built in 1922, the barn, a machine shed, multiple chicken coops, sheds and garages — unfortunately all of it had fallen into disrepair. In fact, they were so run down, we weren’t allowed to go into any of the buildings before we bought it for insurance reasons. It would be a lot of work to bring it back to life, but we decided to do it. It took a few years to clean up rubble, tear down the buildings we couldn’t save, and repair the buildings we could. We worked with an Amish father & son duo out of Milaca, MN to help restore the barn. We worked with a friend who is a contractor to restore the farmhouse. We got chickens. 🙂
In the years leading up to purchasing the farm, I had been getting more and more interested in flower arranging, and had started following a number of flower farmers on social media. When we thought about what we could grow on the farm, flowers were the first thing that came to mind. Thankfully, a local organic farmer and his wife took us under their wing and showed us the ins-and-outs of farming – soil health, irrigation, weed prevention, pest management, etc.
July 2025 we opened for our official first season. We grew warm season annuals like zinnias, sunflowers, celosia, cosmos, basil, snapdragons, and more. We invited people onto the farm for U-Pick flowers, I did a weekly Flower stand with pre-made bouquets, and we hosted a few small events at the farmhouse. It is the perfect space for a bridal shower, birthday party, ladies night and more. We hosted sourdough workshops with a talented local cottage baker. We also opened up the farm for photography sessions. We got 2 bunnies and 6 goats. As the weather turned cold, we hosted porch pot workshops where people could come and build their own evergreen arrangements for their front porch. A cozy bonfire, hot cocoa, and Christmas music set the mood.
As we are headed into our 2nd season, we’ve got plans for more U-Picks, Flower stands, flower workshops and small events. We also are going to offer a build-your-own-bouquet bar for our local Farmers Market with our homegrown, fresh cut flowers. We are also planting strawberries and pumpkins this year. We’re hoping to offer U-Pick Pumpkins this fall, and U-Pick strawberries in the years to come. We still offer the photography sessions. We plan to offer build your own arrangements for both porch pots and holiday evergreen table arrangements this fall.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not smooth at all — we’ve had cuts, bruises, broken bones, surgery, sore muscles, working with the city, surprise expenses, fights with each other about priorities and gratitude, etc.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Running a farm, you do everything. You do the grunt work: pull weeds, plant seeds, harvest flowers, wash floors, shovel sidewalks, feed the animals, clean out animal pens, etc. You do the business work: managing expenses, purchasing supplies, marketing, social media, etc. You do the creative work: planning what to grow so you can have what you need to create beautiful bouquets all summer long, flower arranging, event planning, thinking of new business opportunities to explore, etc. But what we’re trying to do with all of this, is create a place where people come come to slow down, enjoy the beauty of mother nature, and make memories together. What sets us apart from others is that our farm is so centrally located. We are right next to Blaine, a city of over 70K people – easily accessible by HWY 65 and also by 35W – locals who consider themselves suburbanites or even city dwellers can drive mere minutes to have a little slice of farm life and fresh cut flowers (or strawberries or pumpkins).
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t think of myself as a risk taker. It’s in my nature to be a rule follower. But in this case, I said “screw it!”. We had the opportunity to buy the farm and I thought I’d be a fool not to do it. In terms of starting the flower farm business, I saw a quote online that resonated with me and motivated me. It was something like, “There are people out there who are less qualified, less experienced, or less skilled than you, who are doing the thing you want to do, simply because they decided to do it.” So what if I didn’t go to flower school or have farm experience. I don’t already know what to do, but I’ll learn, I’ll figure it out. And if I can’t figure it out, then it’s probably not for me.
Pricing:
- U-Pick Flowers range from $20-$30
- Flower Stand Premade Bouquets range from $25-$35
- Custom pricing for Bloom Bars or Custom-made Bouquets
- Must pre-register online for U-Pick Sessions
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BranchBloomFarm.com
- Instagram: Branch.Bloom.MN
- Facebook: Branch.Bloom.MN
