Family and flowers: Fresh Starts Farms continues tradition

At Fresh Starts Farms, customers choose from a wide variety of flowers in the greenhouse to decorate their yards during the Alaskan summer season.

While the greenhouse is only open during the months of April and May, owner Jenny VanderWeele is kept busy year-round ensuring that she meets the desires of her loyal customer base.

“The loyalty of our customers is so, so important to me,” said VanderWeele. “On April 15, that's when we open every year, I want my customers to feel that it's familiar but that it's also new and exciting and they can't wait to see what new things are happening.”

For 19 years, VanderWeele’s mother and father, Kathy and Craige Baker, ran Gray Owl Farm on East Collier Road in Palmer, producing both flowers and lawn grass seed.

However in 2016 when VanderWeele’s parents decided to downsize, they passed over their greenhouse to VanderWeele which is when Fresh Starts Farms L.L.C. originated.

Upon moving the structure to where it is now on Inner Springer Loop, VanderWeele established herself as a business owner and has been selling flowers since the spring of 2017.

Each season, VanderWeele has grown around 2,000 baskets: 1,000 for orders and 1,000 for purchase. Additionally, thousands of starters fill the greenhouse during the spring season, consisting of unique and intentionally planted seeds.

Together, all of the plants fill the greenhouse with vibrant colors in every direction.

VanderWeele emphasized that she could not be where she is without the support of her family and team of workers that have helped her throughout the years.

Her husband, Roger, and two sons, Braden and Sam, are kept busy helping VanderWeele plant, move and run the greenhouse in the spring season.

Having married Roger VanderWeele in 2000, VanderWeele has found where she fits into one of the biggest farming operations in the state of Alaska, The VanderWeele Farm.

“Growing things is such an honest profession,” said VanderWeele. “You can’t just say ‘I’ll water the plants tomorrow.’”

VanderWeele’s roles venture from being a farmer, as she also has worked as a school counselor in the Matanuska School District for a total of 10 years.

When deciding to open Fresh Starts Farms, she decided to embrace her role as a farmer fully, stepping away from being a counselor at Palmer High School. VanderWeele shared her gratitude for her experiences working with students.

VanderWeele has found a passion in designing flower baskets. Versus other baskets with only three or four different types of flowers, VanderWeele carefully crafts her baskets with more than 20 varieties of flowers. VanderWeele produces no more than six baskets of the same varieties of flowers.

VanderWeele’s mother has been able to work alongside her, sharing her time and expertise with her daughter during the spring season.

Within the greenhouse, VanderWeele has intentionally designed the space to be warm and welcoming for her customers with signs, decorations and fountains.

“I know how much it feeds my soul to walk into a greenhouse,” said VanderWeele. “When people come into the greenhouse when it's still cold outside in April, I want people to feel good, and that probably goes back to my counseling days.”

Moving forward, VanderWeele is prioritizing the principle of efficiency in her planning. Currently, VanderWeele has one greenhouse where the flowers are sold, and one greenhouse that is designated as a warehouse where VanderWeele and her team stay busy planting and planning.

At this time, VanderWeele’s husband has been working to prepare the foundation for a new greenhouse that will be operated in during the upcoming 2025 season. The foundation is right beside where the flowers are sold.

VanderWeele believes that this addition will allow the team to much more easily transport baskets and starters to be sold to customers.

“We're trying to set things up so that it's easier to keep going so that's our biggest thing right now,” said VanderWeele. “ Now we are building the new greenhouse and buying some automated things to try to help with that.”

During the later summer season, VanderWeele offers a portion of the greenhouse space for farm tours for out-of-state farmers who are visiting Alaska.

Within the greenhouse, VanderWeele and her husband host a meal for guests from a selection of Alaska-grown foods. The meal is catered by Linzay McGee, culinary teacher at Palmer High School, and her students.

While VanderWeele does not necessarily plan to expand the business, listening to the desires of her customers is key and guides the trajectory of the business. As her customers express their hopes and visions of flower starters and baskets, VanderWeele responds accordingly.

VanderWeele looks eagerly to next spring’s season, as planning and ordering seeds is already underway.