Garrick and Violeta Veenstra share the work of running Harvest & Blooms Farm and raising three wonderful kids. They both met in their travels abroad.

Garrick graduated from Illinois State University with a major in Theater and minors in Accounting and Mathematics. During his activism on campus, the seed of desire to farm began germinating.

Garrick came back to central Illinois in 2005 and sought out an apprenticeship, finding it on a 10 acre organic vegetable farm near Peoria, IL at Henry's Farm.

In 2006, Veenstra's Vegetables was established. Soon it was widely know for providing fresh, local , sustainably-grown vegetables in the Springfield, IL area.

Violeta immediately fell in love with flower farming after she began experimenting with floral design using flowers growing on the farm..

Being an educator herself, Violeta's curiosity and passion for learning has led her to participate in many exciting floral workshops with some of the best floral designers in the country like Erin Benzakein of Floret and Jennie Love of Love'n Fresh Flowers. As well she participated in workshops with the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and The Illinois Florist Association.

We could not do all this wonderful work without the support of our amazing family and friends. From planting, weeding, harvesting, designing and to all the different aspects of running a farm, they make Harvest & Blooms Farm, a dream come true. Thank you!