Portrait by Lauren Rutten
Loretta and Kurt Ball, along with Ledger, 10 and Quinn, 13, live on what she refers to as their “little slice of heaven,” an acre plot in picturesque Barnardsville deeded to them by Kurt’s family, who has been there for several generations. Loretta’s love of flowers and ideaphoric bent led her to found The Never Ending Flower Farm, a blossom-growing business whose petal-laden produce graces weddings, offers take-away beauty to visitors who pick their own bouquets, and, more recently, provides a rustic event space for everything from birthday parties to last-minute elopements. “‘Never-ending’ isn’t just appropriate because of how many flowers we grow, but because there’s always something to be done,” quips Ball.
“We started out operating a retail greenhouse on Barnardsville Highway, where we sold bedding plants and vegetables for several years.” A neck injury slowed her down temporarily, and not surprisingly, the farm was a perfect place to heal. “This period was when I started growing more flowers and began doing a few weddings and arrangements for folks. I stepped up our flower growing, and before I knew it, I was doing more weddings and events, and selling to florists.”
Her aesthetic runs to wild, natural bouquets, and that’s right on trend: “The days of perfect formal wedding arrangements seem to have ended. I love the look of loose, organic ones.”
Photo by Lauren Rutten
Agritourism was picking up, and Ball didn’t want her unused flowers to go to waste, so she reimagined the farm again and added a “you pick” option in 2018. Now, she’s got it down to a sweet-smelling science. “We do the ‘you pick’ on an honor system,” explains Ball. “We have a table covered in vases and buckets full of cut flowers” — dahlias, zinnias, ranunculus, tulips, snapdragons, larkspur, peonies, and more — “and provide pruners for cutting.” There’s a cash box for payments, and the farm also accepts Venmo and PayPal.
Another angle was dreamed up by a farm intern who’s interested in education. “Ashley developed an activity that kids ages 6-12 can come to the farm and do — flower pounding on tea towels, where the pigment transfers and makes a beautiful design on the towels, which they take home with them.”
Ball is also excited about a freshly updated and rustically decorated metal-roofed outbuilding that customers can rent for small-scale events. And though the spread looks idyllic, she also notes the real challenges of weather — early or late frosts, for instance — and pests. When the deer gorge on tulips and the voles go through flats of seed, she chalks it up to farm-life realities. “We do try to discourage pests, but use only organic sprays and Neem oil,” she notes. “It’s all worth it.”
One of Ball’s greatest joys is interacting with the you-pick customers, who all share stories and memories. “Nearly every day I meet a picker who tells me about picking their favorite flower in their grandmother’s yard or why a certain type of flower is special to them,” she shares. “Every time I hear them, my heart melts.”
The Never Ending Flower Farm, 152 Tom Harris Trail, Barnardsville, 828-713-4046, Open daily for “you pick” from 8am-8pm, from May through October frost. For more information, see theneverendingflowerfarm.com.