Our Story
ABOUT ME:
The face behind Rainbow Hill Dahlias. I've been sharing my dahlia journey for the last couple of years on social media. However, Lucy Goose is the main star of my Facebook Page... Everyone loves Lucy (well, at least online they do.. In person, people are terrified of her- and with good reason)... When Lucy lost her companion, she took it upon herself to protect (and stalk) me no matter what..
So together with the family, Lucy and I have been working on our dahlia garden from the moment I first planted a couple rows of dahlias.
PREQUEL:
Long ago, in a place far, far away, I quit my office government job so that my husband, Manny, and I could follow our (cheesy) dairy farm dreams. Those dreams landed us in Tillamook County, Oregon. We moved away from family and friends to be part of the Tillamook County Creamery Association.
During the first couple of years, we faced many difficult challenges, between trying to adjust to a new to us (but century old) farm facility, a cold and wet climate and not having anyone to turn to for help. We were dealt a whole lot of poop (and not just literally). It was brutal to say the least. But we somehow managed to survive despite the odds being stacked against us.
We learned that sometimes you have to deal with the "poop" to get the "green grass". One of the hardest things was being unable to physically leave the farm for more than a couple hours at any given time. It started to feel like we were prisoners to the farm.
Eventually, I found a happy place in my garden and started spending way to much time with my flowers.
I've always loved flowers (even wildflowers), but was never particularly drawn to dahlias until one day...
HOW DAHLIAS CAME INTO THE PICTURE:
My daughter, son and I went out on an adventure (being a stay at home mom can get lonely especially in a new town/state away from familiar faces). The 3 of us found a local dahlia farm that had the most beautiful field of dahlias that I could ever imagine. I was mesmerized by it's beauty and so was my daughter. We fell in love...
I had gone from having "a" dahlia in my garden to purchasing 5 "special" ones... (Major leap, right)? And in the back of my mind a teeny, tiny thought crept in 'How cool would be if one day I could have even just 1 dahlia of each of the varieties of dahlias (not having the slightest clue that even more dahlias existed than what was at that farm)?' That farm not only had hundreds of varieties of dahlias but also thousands of each variety. It was absolutely incredible.
Then the following year I added 20 new varieties to my collection.. Somewhere around this time I stumbled upon a dahlia Facebook page where other crazy dahlia enthusiasts existed and I realized I wasn't the only one.. The following year my collection jumped to 150+ varieties... And here we are today at over 500+ varieties, some varieties with only 1 plant and others at about 20 plants. I've finally come to my senses and realize I don't want every single dahlia variety out there... Just the ones I love...
Which I'm not sure what they all are, just yet... Until I figure out what dahlia varieties I love and can't live without or which ones I'd want to use as breeding stock (the world can always use more beauty), I'm gonna keep getting more dahlias, trade out and play the dahlia games until I can create even more dahlias of my very own. My ultimate goal is to breed new dahlias into the world and be able to name them.
I also never realized how therapeutic gardening could be and that I'd need or even want a place where I could just be in the moment and find beauty with the simple complexities of nature.
I never allowed myself to accept that maybe I could still contribute financially to my household while raising my children doing something I absolutely loved (even if it meant playing around in my garden all day/everyday). There is never a shortage of office work for the dairy-farm or cleaning/organizing up the house after kids.. So why not just take the kids outside and we can all play out there and it'd help me from just spinning my wheels in the house and feeling like every single day was the exact same..
FARM NAME HISTORY:
“Rainbows reminds us that even after the darkest clouds and the fiercest winds there is still beauty.”
- Katrina Mayer
I decided on my farm name "Rainbow Hill Dahlias" for so many different reasons... Not only for factual reasons but also personal deeper meanings. I'll start of with saying that I do live on a hill and am constantly surrounded by rainbows on my farm.
I live on the Northern Oregon Coast so it rains a lot... in fact on average over 100 inches a year.. so there's bound to be plenty of rainbows here.
Also when I first got into dahlias, I wanted a rainbow of dahlias. Not possible to have green or blue dahlias but that's ok.. Still wanted all the colors and shades that dahlias came in...
Some of the deeper meanings to my farm name is that I started this dahlia farm with both my little helpers that I call my double rainbow babies (can't just call one a rainbow baby without the other getting jealous) so they both are... especially as I was told I'd never have children of my own, let alone 2 of them..
After going through years of infertility, I became pregnant. Lost the pregnancy but a year+ later had a beautiful healthy girl. 2 years after that I had a beautiful healthy boy. And since then we've been playing out in the garden year-round. We've always been a team. My son helps me dig up dirt with his excavator and moves it around with his dump truck.
While my daughter has always been my ladybug catcher.
We all love planting seeds, picking flowers and doing all the fun flowery things. We've learned a lot about flowers, bugs, nature and even ourselves out in the garden. And of course, Manny helps out when he can, but the dairy-farm itself is a very demanding operation that doesn't leave much time for anything else.
My daughter has always loved rainbows so she also helped me design a logo... It's not a sophisticated flower farm logo but that's ok, it's who we are... and a reminder that we are here because of all the storms we have had to endure to get here. As long as my little rainbow babies are helping me on my rainbow hill farm, this is what it'll be.
TIME IN BUSINESS:
2024 will be my 2nd year selling, 3rd year trading and 4th year growing more than just 1 variety. I applied for and received a business and nursery license in 2022 when I made the decision to turn this venture into something more than just a hobby.
Having started this new dahlia adventure has allowed me to find a little piece of myself that was lost over the years.
Dahlias also have a way of taking me back to my own childhood at my grandparents. I remember helping my grandma with her garden, drying flowers, making cuttings, and even her flower sales she'd have multiple times a year. She'd always say that flowers were something that never went out of style. And boy was she right... but of course, grandmas are always right. My fond memories of both my grandparents out in their garden will forever have a place in my heart.
And has allowed for me to create special new memories with my family. My husband and I still don't have much time to leave the dairy farm so this also gives an opportunity for us to have "dates" (walking through the rows of dahlias) and admiring all the different varieties.
And hopefully our flowers will become core memories for you and your loved ones for years to come while also providing a peaceful escape.
We appreciate you being a part of our journey.