like many stories, this one too started with a dream. Literally.
In January of 2018, Anyaa woke up from one of the most profound dreams of her life. She knew it was time to pick up a few belongings, sell the rest and move ... but to where? Dalton asked.
We had NO idea!
Before the flower farm, there was a cul-de-sac & failed flower gardens
Anyaa was born and raised in Mexico while Dalton is a native west Michigander. Life brought us together in the summer of 2012 while working as interns for GM in metroDetroit. At the time we didn't know it, but we fell in love while watching the 4th of July fireworks over the Detroit River.
We both graduated with Engineering Degrees (Ferris State + Fire Up Chips!) and then we started to work for the same company. It was a typical demanding 9-5 engineering job. In the afternoons we found refuge on our patio.
During the summer we would spend hours hanging out in the garden. One day Anyaa had the idea to grow a few veggies. We enrolled the help of our brother Gabo and together we built a 3'x6' wood box. We bought a bunch of seeds and spent more money at the local nursery than we care to admit. Even though, the Roma tomatoes looked more like the cherry variety and the flowers lasted as long as a couple of weeks before they got over ran with bugs and weeds, it still felt like a huge success to us, city lifers.
That was the summer we fell in love with growing food and flowers.
From Hawai'i's jungles to Chiang Mai, Thailand's open airport that looked more like an orchid garden than an airport, we just kept falling in love with flowers.
A couple of years later Anyaa had the dream that changed our life forever (and for the best!). We left Zillow's settings blank, and looked from Holland, Michigan all the way to the Upper Peninsula (UP), Michigan.
Claude Monet's Home in Giverny, France. Where the love for stunning, colorful and super unique gardens really took off for Anyaa!
She always has known her purpose is to guide people to experience more joy. After a few years in the auto industry she knew it was time to make one of the hardest and least logical decisions in life. She left a safe and well paid job to follow her intuition. Dalton supported us through this transition and through every crazy idea that followed after that!
Anyaa started her online business and as it took off, we did too! We began to explore the world. Our love for people and flowers grew. We experienced so many cultures, colors and textures in the flowers and gardens we saw around the world!
Anyaa has always been out of this world intuitive. As a child she would see colors around people's bodies and what she describes as spirits. When we went on our first date, Anyaa made sure to share that she could see and talk to the Spirit realm. She described herself and her life as the child from The Sixth Sense movie, without the drama though!
Anyaa's journey after engineering
We began our search and by no surprise to us, many crazy yet beautiful experiences happened. There were so many unknowns but through our search we felt a sense of guidance and we decided to surrender to the process we were on.
The day we stepped foot on our now property, Anyaa stood in front of the big tree by the barn and started crying. As rough as the old farm house looked, it was in this moment she knew we were HOME. It took a couple more visits, lots of late night conversations, and a few weeks for Dalton to feel what Anyaa felt, but soon enough he could see it too.
The old chestnut farmhouse was in dire need of repairs (and still is!) but we just knew this was home.
By Fall we were all moved in and the very next Summer we enjoyed our first harvest of veggies and some flowers. The bug for growing food for our bodies really stuck with us but our desire to travel took priority, until 2020.
The day we stepped foot in our now property, Anyaa stood in front of the big tree by the barn and started crying. As rough as the old farm house looked, it was in this moment she knew we were HOME. It took a couple more visits, lots of late night conversations, and a few weeks for Dalton to feel what Anyaa felt, but soon enough he could see it too.
The old chestnut farmhouse was in dire need of repairs (and still is!) but we just knew this was home.
By Fall we were all moved in and the very next Summer we enjoyed our first harvest of veggies and some flowers. The bug for growing food for our bodies really stuck with us but our desire to travel took priority, until 2020.
We began our search and by no surprise to us, many crazy yet beautiful experiences happened. There were so many unknowns but through our search we felt a sense of guidance and we decided to surrender to the process we were on.
ENGINEERS TURNED FARMERS-ISH
At the end of 2019 and early 2020 we spent almost 4 months in Mexico. During our time with family we could feel a change coming. We knew Anyaa's online business was going to shift. What we didn't know was that our life and the world itself was going to change in ways that we could have never predicted.
While the world was in lock down, like many others we found Sanctuary in our garden. During the day Dalton championed the physical labor that comes with making and prepping raised beds. Anyaa devoted her time to planning, researching and learning how to grow sustainably and using only organic practices.
In the summer of 2020 we harvested our first heirloom veggies and flowers. That was it! We found peace, joy and a sense of purpose. We felt grounded and connected to the land and to each other in ways we have never felt before. It was one of the most spiritual experiences of our lives. At night we would lay down by the bay window in our dinning room/seeding center. As we looked at the stars we would often ask ourselves: How can we spread more joy?
Soon enough the answer came to us: FLOWERS! That was the beginning of Floriografia Farm's mission: to spread joy through blooms! As for our name Floriografia, it means "the language of flowers" in Spanish. We believe that everyone is capable of growing flowers! We just need to learn how to speak (FEEL) the language of flowers and maybe get some help by using a Bloom Kit.
Since then, Dalton has learned the power of a good sunblock!
the beginning of floriografia farm
In the Fall of 2020 we signed up for Floret's Flower Farmer Course and in the Spring of 2021, Anyaa took her first Floral weekend intensive with Kalin from Sweetwater in Petoskey, Michigan.
By the Summer of 2021, we had about 500 dahlias in the ground. We were thrilled! We have not only figured out tried and true ways to grow flowers but also learned how to make them look amazing outside in the garden, or in a vase on the kitchen table.
However the same question remained but it evolved a little bit: How can we spread more joy? How can we share a little piece of our glorious farm with others?
Here's the answer that came to us:
CHECK OUT THE BLOOM KITS
the bloom kits
STAY IN THE LOOP,
let's be pen pals!
