On October 13, 2026, I joined Big Y's Women LEAD luncheon for a conversation about leadership, motherhood, and the story behind Rooted Flowers. The questions reached well beyond growing flowers. We talked about knowing your worth, making difficult decisions, learning to lead a team, and building a business that leaves room for the life you want.
My answers began where so much of my life has: around plants. I grew up in agriculture, surrounded by soil and the rhythms of the growing season. Plants were a place where I felt safe and connected. I loved caring for something, watching it grow, and sharing it with someone else. That feeling eventually became Rooted Flowers, where we grow flowers for everyday bouquets, weddings, subscriptions, workshops, and experiences that bring people onto the farm.
BUILDING OUR AGAWAM FARM
Albert and I bought our Agawam farm in 2019. The property had poor soil, broken trees, and tangled vines. We brought our tools, equipment, and growing family and spent a year clearing and rebuilding before our first growing season in 2020. Rebuilding the soil pushed me to become a better grower.
KNOWING YOUR WORTH AND VALUING OTHER PEOPLE
An experience from my teenage years has stayed with me. I worked on tobacco farms, where some jobs are much more demanding than others. I was reliable, had my own transportation, and worked hard enough that farmers around town called and asked for me. One day, I worked alongside two male friends. I had a harder job than one of them and worked an hour longer than both. When the farmer counted out our pay, he handed the boys extra twenties. He didn't give them to me.
I never worked for him again. I couldn't control how he valued my work, but I could decide what I was willing to accept. As an employer now, I want people valued for their work, character, and contribution. I also think women deserve room to be ambitious without feeling they must choose between being respected and being liked. Compassion and accountability can exist together. You can listen carefully, care about people, and still make a hard decision.
MAKING ROOM FOR THOUGHTFUL WORK
On a flower farm, there is always something that needs tending, from the flowers in the field to the people who help bring them into your home. As Rooted grows, I'm learning that caring for all of it means planning thoughtfully, communicating clearly, and giving our team the support they need to do their best work.
That is what draws me to thoughtful uses of technology. When information is organized and everyday tasks are easier to manage, we have more time and attention for the details that matter: growing beautiful flowers, caring for our customers, and working well together. My goal is to create more room for the hands-on care and personal connection that have always been at the heart of Rooted.
LEARNING TO LEAD PEOPLE AS WELL AS GROW FLOWERS
I'm hands-on, ambitious, and continually evolving. I don't expect anyone to do work I wouldn't do myself, and I'm learning to recognize where other people's strengths can take us further. When a process isn't followed, I try to ask whether it was unclear, too complicated, or simply better on paper than in practice. Something that makes perfect sense in my head may need a much better explanation.
I'd rather someone ask a question than spend hours doing something incorrectly because they're afraid to speak up. That asks something of me, too: to listen, communicate clearly, and give people a fair opportunity to meet expectations. When something goes wrong, I want us to learn from it. Rooted keeps changing, and I have to keep changing with it.
WHAT THE DAHLIAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT RESILIENCE
In 2023, flooding destroyed our entire crop of field-grown dahlias. You can plan, prepare, and do the work, and still have circumstances outside your control change everything. That experience reinforced how much farming asks us to adapt. Confidence comes from trusting yourself to find a way forward when the plan falls apart.
I also feel strongly about understanding the financial side of business. Passion matters, and so do profitability, cash flow, and financing. Women face real barriers to opportunity and capital, along with the pressure to be everything to everyone. Financial knowledge and independence create choices. I want women to have the tools to pursue both meaningful work and meaningful family lives.
GROWING A FAMILY AND A FUTURE
If someone has discovered the secret to perfect balance, I'd love their phone number! Some seasons the farm needs more of me; sometimes my children do. They watch how we treat people, handle disappointment, and pursue things that matter. I want them to see a mother who works hard and follows her passions, while knowing they aren't competing with the business for my attention. Sometimes the flowers can wait.
For the next generation of women in leadership, my advice is to pay attention to what makes you curious and gives you energy. You don't have to see the entire path before taking the next step. I want Rooted to create opportunity and show what is possible when agricultural knowledge, technology, and new ways of working come together. I want to challenge the idea that farming has to mean endless work with little financial reward. Whatever paths my children choose, I hope they carry an appreciation for growing things, caring for something beyond themselves, and the rewards of patience.
BRING THIS CONVERSATION TO YOUR EVENT
For women's leadership events, business gatherings, agricultural organizations, and interviews, I share the lessons behind building a family-centered business, leading through change, and finding a way forward. For speaking, podcast, media, and collaboration inquiries, contact Rooted Flowers.
SPEAKING & COLLABORATION INQUIRIES
