Our Story
Whittlesey Creek Wildflower Farm specializes in native wildflower seeds and plants.
Located a few miles west of Ashland, Wisconsin, our farm is nestled on a unique acreage with four watersheds that flow into Whittlesey Creek.
We are collaborating with Fish and Wildlife to place a significant portion of our land into conservancy, which could profoundly impact the local environment.
About Our Native Wildflower Seeds & Plugs
We have been building our native wildflower business here on the farm since January of 2023.
By 2024 we had collected and packaged 18 species of native wildflower seeds and 6 varieties of hollyhock seeds for sale from our farm—which hopefully will significantly contribute to preserving the local environment.
For 2025, we are growing an additional 30–40 species of native wildflowers and grasses for plugs that will be available by July. Our seeds are available while the supply lasts.
We had around 30 species of native wildflower plugs available from July to early October of 2024. In 2025, one-year-old plugs will be available by May.
Each of our native wildflower plugs are grown in trays of 38, which are 2” wide and 5” deep, making it easy and fast to plant with a 2” garden drill.
When you purchase from our online store, a fact sheet and photo(s) for each flower are available in the store plant description, ensuring you have all the information you will need to take care of your new plants and seeds.
When you visit our farm by appointment, you can browse through the wildflower catalog, which provides a large photo of the mature flower and a fact sheet for each wildflower—a valuable resource for any wildflower enthusiast.
You will receive a significant discount when purchasing directly from the farm.
How We Got Started
Starting our wildflower business took over a year of planning, writing, and researching anything related to wildflowers and pollinators, along with grant writing, and meetings with local government agencies.
I wanted to do this right!
It all started with a desire to learn something new while I recovered from shoulder surgery in the winter of 2023. I asked myself: what I would like to know, what interests me, and what my capabilities might be during my upcoming retirement?
My mind kept going back to “flowers.” But what is the answer?
In reviewing my past, I owned and operated a greenhouse and grew acres of sunflowers and other annuals to sell as bouquets. I also grew and sold potted and field-grown perennials.
I felt a need to learn something different, something new. One day, while watching YouTube videos, I saw a video on wildflower botany, and that was my answer. This is what started my love of wildflowers.
Off and on, I spent that following summer out in the barrens and local trails with my husband or friend Peggy, botanizing wildflowers.
From there, I learned about native pollinators and how native flowers help prevent erosion, sequester carbon, and improve water quality and soil health. I learned how they provide seeds, nectar, pollen, and leaves as a food source and life for native insects, birds, bees, bats, small mammals, and other wildlife. The ecosystem is a total package!
Then I discovered that the habitat for native pollinators is shrinking because it is being replaced by manicured lawns, agriculture, and human development.
Native pollinators require specific wildflowers to provide nutrition and habitat for their larvae. For instance, the only plant that the larvae of the Monarch butterfly will eat is the milkweed. Without milkweed plants, there would be no monarch butterfly. Every native wildflower is a host for a specific native butterfly or moth.
Without native wildflowers, the ecosystem will collapse.
