Imagine driving down a curvy country road and finding a field of sunflowers waving in welcome. You turn into the driveway and park beside a vintage camper nestled in a meadow of wildflowers, herbs, and milkweed. Butterflies dance around you as you rub a sprig of lemon balm between your fingers. Its fragrance reminds you of warm sunshine. You take a deep breath, and for the first time in a while, you simply slow down.

I'm Erin Dougherty, owner of Bushel & Peck Flowers.

Our name comes from something my Uncle Clark always told me: "I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." Every time he said those words, I felt loved, seen, and enough just as I was.

That's the feeling I hope every guest experiences when they visit.

Bushel & Peck Flowers grew from Millie's Garden, a butterfly garden we created after the loss of our daughter, Millie. We recently remembered her seventh heavenversary. What began as a place to grieve slowly became a place of healing—not only for me, but for everyone I invited into it.

I discovered that flowers have a remarkable way of helping people slow down. Conversations deepen. Hearts soften. People reconnect—with themselves, with the people beside them, and with the beauty of the world around them.

Today, so many of us spend our lives rushing from one commitment to the next. Families and friends long for meaningful time together but often don't know where to find it. My dream is to create a place where people can step away from the noise, gather flowers, breathe deeply, and leave with something far more lasting than a bouquet.

Over the past three seasons, I've been learning, planting, testing, and dreaming. This year, I planted the fields and greenhouse with intention, although I didn't realize the quantity and timing it takes to plant plentiful flower beds in order to open our gates. Now I know, and I have developed a plan that will provide continuous blooms from April through October—from daffodils, ranunculus, and peonies in spring to snapdragons, feverfew, statice, cosmos, zinnias, and sunflowers through the summer and fall.

Now I need your help to fill the fields.

Every donation, no matter the size, brings this dream one step closer to reality. Together, we can create a place where beauty, connection, and hope continue to bloom for years to come.

Your generosity helps purchase the seeds, bulbs, plants, soil, and supplies needed to welcome our first full season of guests.

🌱 $5 – Provides enough water through our irrigation system to nourish nearly three flower beds.

🌼 $10 – Purchases 20 daffodil bulbs that will bloom each spring for years to come.

🌸 $15 – Buys a packet of Iceland poppies, calendula, or celosia seeds.

🌿 $25 – Covers 36 feet of weed barrier to protect young plants.

💐 $40 – Purchases 200 ranunculus corms for one flower bed.

🌺 $50 – Helps plant five peonies that will bloom for generations of visitors.

🌱 $60 – Provides the soil mix needed to start hundreds of seedlings.

With your support, we're planting much more than flowers. We're creating a gathering place for our community—a place where neighbors become friends, creativity flourishes through workshops, families celebrate life's everyday moments, and visitors find a little more peace than when they arrived. Every seed planted today helps grow memories that will last for generations.

I believe every community needs places that invite people to slow down and simply be together. My hope is that Bushel & Peck becomes one of those places—a place where flowers are only the beginning. A place where neighbors become friends, creativity flourishes through workshops, families celebrate life's everyday moments, and visitors find a little more peace than when they arrived. A place where hands gather bouquets, hearts gather hope, and people gather around tables to learn, create, celebrate, and reconnect. Every seed planted today helps grow memories that will last for generations. I hope one day you'll visit and be able to say, "I helped this place bloom."

**Photo descriptions**

• a concept design for the interior of the welcome camper
• drawing of the map of A Bushel & A Peck Farms
• The current fields with some scabiosa and calendula