ORLEANS — Since she was in center college, Ashley Kreutzer needed to have a farm with the boy who would ultimately change into her husband.
Her dream got here true, however the kind of farm is somewhat completely different than she imagined.
After she graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a level in household research, she had married that boy from center college, Jonathan. The couple quickly had their first son, Casen. Her dream of residing on a farm with Jonathan got here true once they moved in 2017 to their fixer-upper farmhouse in rural Harlan County.
Ashley selected to be a stay-at-home mother after having Casen, however she nonetheless needed to do one thing for herself. She had a craft enterprise with her mother, however the Kreutzers quickly had two little boys and twins on the way in which.
Iris Creek Flower Farm in Harlan County sits on about one-quarter acre of land, and there are greater than 40 completely different kinds of flowers annually.
“Raising kids and not having your own thing is pretty rough. After we had Sawyer and I found out I was pregnant with twins, I was like, ‘I need to find something that I love,’” she stated.
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Before transferring to the farm, Jonathan would usually purchase Ashley flowers and create bouquets for her. But with few choices to purchase flowers in their space, the bouquets grew to become fewer and much between. When she found the Floret Flower Farm on Instagram, she grew to become obsessed. Jonathan thought their farm could be a spot to lift cattle, however Ashley had one other concept.
She proposed the thought of a flower farm to her husband, and he thought it was an ideal concept for them.

Being artistic with bouquets is certainly one of Ashley Kreutzer’s favourite elements of her enterprise, Iris Creek Flower Farm.
“For people around here, they don’t want to drive that far. Some people don’t even go into Phelps County,” Jonathan defined.
The Kreutzers named their farm Iris Creek Flower Farm for the street they reside on and the creek that runs behind their house. They started by beginning all of the flowers from seed in their kitchen and basement in February 2020. They introduced their new enterprise on social media and created a enterprise web page for Iris Creek. The farm offers subscriptions to contemporary flowers that may be delivered on a weekly, bi-weekly or month-to-month foundation. Customers can even participate in U-picks, the place they arrive to the farm to choose their very own flowers and create bouquets.
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They deliberate to begin off sluggish in 2020, however the response from prospects was overwhelming.
“We were going to take it slow the first year because of COVID, but there was so much. They wanted subscriptions. They wanted flowers. We did U-picks. We did everything the first year,” Ashley stated.
Ashley grows greater than 40 completely different kinds of flowers, and she is going to strive about 10 to fifteen new flowers annually. The flowers are sometimes all annuals, so annually she begins with a clean slate.
Last yr’s season started in February, with flowers accessible for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, and it ran till October. They created bouquets for bridal showers, child showers and even a couple of weddings.

Jonathan and Ashley Kreutzer moved to a farmhouse in rural Harlan County in 2017. The couple are mother and father to 5 kids and homeowners of Iris Creek Flower Farm.
Ashley and Jonathan welcomed their fifth child, Ezra, into the household in December. With 4 younger kids and a new child, they knew they wouldn’t have the ability to do as a lot this yr. The 2022 season will run from July till October.
Ashley hopes to in the future have a barn on their property to do events and workshops. Using her creativity to brighten the lives of her prospects is the very best a part of her job.
“Especially that year of COVID. I think everyone was so scared and kind of depressed in a way, when they got flowers delivered to them out of the blue or just seeing them light up by something so simple was an awesome feeling,” she stated.
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