Episode 413: Meet Misty VanderWeele of Alaska’s All Dahlia’d Up, plus our State Focus: New Jersey

Misty VanderWeele of All Dahlia'd Up, a Palmer, Alaska-based flower farm

Today, we're visiting Palmer, Alaska, and spending time in conversation with Misty VanderWeele of All Dahlia'd Up Flower Farm. Misty isn't your typical Alaska grower because you won't find a single peony in her fields. She claims she'll "never say never," but for now, there are so many other flowers, including, of course, dahlias, that Misty loves growing on her highly diversified flower farm.

The famous sweet pea tunnel!

I first met Misty in person when she attended the inaugural Slow Flowers Summit held in Seattle in 2017. She is a force of nature -- high energy, inquisitive, intelligent and passionate about sharing her story. It was hard to miss her, sitting in the front row during the lectures, interacting by sharing positive feedback with our speakers and making meaningful connections with fellow Summit attendees.

Alaska's fields of flowers at All Dahlia'd Up Flower Farm.

As soon as I met Misty and heard pieces of her personal journey, I added her to my mental list of future podcast guests. We almost had a chance to record an episode this past February when Misty returned to Seattle to attend the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival. I was working for the show that week, and while we had coffee together, there wasn't enough time to grab a recording. Soon, we agreed. Soon.

Well, soon was this past week and Misty

graciously agreed to jump on Skype with me to talk about all things Alaska

flower farming. It is at the peak of her flower farming season and I seriously

wonder how many hours of sleep Misty is getting in each 24-hour period.

Probably only as few hours of darkness up there in the land of the endless

summer sunshine.

Sleep-deprived or not, this is a fabulous conversation and you'll learn volumes. Here's a little more about Misty, excerpted from her web site:

Misty VanderWeele on the lecture circuit, as she shares how growing flowers gave her a chance to manage her grief and loss of a child.

"I am a born and raised Alaska Chick with a flower addiction for sure. I’m proud to grow award winning seasonal blooms for market, weddings, flower CSA and our seasonal farm stand and flower shop.

"From July through the first frost our gardens are bursting with color and flower magic. We grow vibrant Dahlias, fragrant long stem Sweetpeas, Sunflowers and more."All though not entirely a one-woman-show I run farm management, floral design, marketing, and field operations. I consider the flower farm my baby. That being said I couldn’t do what I do without the loving strong support from my husband, Glen, daughter Jenna and the best in-laws a girl could ever ask for.

This summer's farmers' market stand is pretty impressive!

"I started growing our award winning flowers 5 years ago in remembrance of my son. When he was in kindergarten he brought home to me a potted dahlia plant not yet blooming for Mothers Day. But when I learned dahlias grow from tubers you can divide for more and more every year my interest was piqued.

You see, Luke had Duchenne (Due-Shenn) Muscular Dystrophy, an incurable muscle wasting 100% fatal disease. We were told Luke would be lucky to graduate high school. Which he did in 2010. However my entire world came crashing in when he suddenly passed at age 21. I was left not only devastated but not really knowing what to do with myself. My daily life as I’d known it changed in an instant! The grief at times was unbearable. Then I remembered all those tubers! Flowers started healing my shattered heart."