Linda Chapman
Linda figured out too late that a degree in speech and hearing from IU just wasn't the path she was destined for. After several years of teaching at alternative schools and practicing midwifery, her natural love for gardening and being outdoors led her to flower farming as a living. It's very hard work, but Linda's passion drives her through the tougher times. She and Deryl are so grateful that the bounty of their small farm has led to such a lovely and gratifying livelihood.
Linda has published garden articles in Growing for Market Magazine: (www.growingformarket.com)
• "Secrets to Farmers' Market Success" -- December 2000
• "Florals
for Weddings--A Profitable Headache" - January 2002
Linda is also available as an experienced
conference speaker on the many aspects of growing and marketing specialty
cut flowers. Please contact her via phone or email.
Deryl Dale
More than 30 years ago, Deryl dreamed that the 5-acre parcel of land he had just purchased would eventually provide a wholesome ecological living. He dove into the "back-to-the-land" philosophy with both hands on the tiller. All these years, he's also worked full-time as a building contractor, specializing in custom homes and remodeling. In the past number of years his contractor jobs have focused on renovating attic spaces into 2nd/3rd floor rooms- very creative work! His work is apparent throughout Monroe County .
Deryl has enjoyed being a Saturday morning vendor at the farmers markets for the past 20 years we've been in business. He's also a fabulous singer/songwriter/guitar player. Catch him at a morning performance at the Bloomington Farmers' Market. Click for his picture.
Gay Venegas
She's been a key player at HMFF for over a 18 years. Somewhere in that time period, she also became a delightful next door neighbor. Gay balances the demands of a large family, a midwifery practice and flower harvesting and arranging. She has an unflappable air and great sense of humor. Her farmers market bouquets tend to be dense and hot in color, domed and gorgeously rich with flowers. She keeps getting better and better at all that she does, especially when she sets up trips down to Mexico in the wintertime that we all just HAVE to go on...Click for her picture.
Chris Schleicher
Chris brings an unmatched spirit and enthusiasm towards the art of flower harvesting and arranging. She'll tell us about the subtle movements and visual dynamics of a stem of Bells of Ireland, a stem of Artemisia, and a single purple Lysianthus, as if it's an animated Renaissance painting. She's been at the farm for 9 years, while obtaining a degree in music at IU and trying to barn-educate Gay and Linda in the finer nuances of jazz- a thankless task...Currently Chris is teaching music theory and listener appreciation courses at our local Ivy Tech Community College, but never on Tuesday and Fridays, her 'farm days'. Click for her picture.
Macey Dale
He's 25 and has mulched the flower fields every spring since he was 6 years old. No one could do it faster and no one's trying to either. Mulching is not a favored job, though one of the most important ones for weed control, water conservation and plant health and cleanliness. This season Macey has REALLY helped out at the farm in all capacities while serving as a manager at one of Bloomingtons wonderful restaurants, Trulli Flatbreads. Since Trulli uses alot of our farms greens, flowers and herbs, oftentimes Macey is harvesting what his restaurant will be serving the following day- Is that cool or what!? He well remembers this farms humble beginnings and is starting to value the small footprint our families efforts have wrought here. Click for his picture.
Anna Dale
Anna has mulched the flower fields since she was a young'n too. No one would accuse Anna of being too fast at doing something, but her thoroughness in doing any task well is unquestionable. She is a dyed-in-the-wool country girl and has always loved living and playing in the woods and flower fields. Anna loves to travel, play guitar, cook, hang out with young children, rock climb, hike and read. Currently she is enrolled for her junior year at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina pursuing studies in conservation biology with an emphasis on it's sociological implications This is a very custom-fit school for Anna, being a liberal community that emphasizes ecological and rural values in a close knit community of great people. AND, of course all the surrounding countryside allows her to rock climb and hike to her hearts content. Sometimes she even studies! This January she will be doing an internship in Ecuador for 3 months....this girl gets around. If we can catch her,you're likely to see Anna some time in the season vending HMFF products at our various farmers markets and craft shows. Click for her picture.
Carmen Venegas
We first heard about Carmen fourteen years ago, when Gay mentioned she was pregnant while cutting zinnias one morning. Eight months later, a beautiful homebirth brought us Carmen. Since then, Carmen has 'grown up' on Tuesdays and Fridays in our barn, initially assuming the tasks of sweeping the floor and washing buckets each week. This year Carmen is proving to be even more helpful, cutting micro-greens and salad mixes for restaurants and markets, doing greenhouse work and generally being available and willing to learn and do anything necessary on the days she works here. Homeschooled children are really amazing people, and Carmen is no exception.Click for her picture.