Work Day at Compton Collective Farm | St. Louis Branding Photographer

Colin Powell once said, “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” For Heather Compton, the dream of enjoying pretty flowers and sharing them with others is blossoming into a cut flower farm in eastern Franklin County. Moving into the country where the family has plenty of acreage to grow flowers was the first hurdle, now learning how to grow the flowers and picking the right kind. Enter Pam Compton. Although Pam shares a last name, there is no relation to Heather but she loves growing flowers and has enjoyed gardening for many years. The two decided to partner together in this adventure of growing flowers for cut arrangements.

The day was one of the hottest days in July but that didn’t deter both families from getting some work done. They began laying down paper, compost and mulch for new rows that will one day hold more flowers. After some work, Heather and Pam began to harvest some of the more mature blooms to create some arrangements. “I hate doing this,” Pam shared as she cut some of the flowers. As an avid gardener, she’s never created to cut, just to admire in her own garden. The kids quickly joined in to help pull off the leaves from some of the stems in order to create a lovely arrangement.

I loved capturing the hard work the Compton families showed as they endured the heat to get more progress on their dream of growing flowers. Capturing the bloom details was especially exciting when I captured a pollinator on them. It’s neat to see two ladies, who love flowers, join forces to create a blooming business.