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West End Tiny Farm

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Canada
Kamloops, BC
West End Tiny Farm

A tiny urban farm built on a big dream. Growing microgreens, cut flowers, edible blossoms, and more!
(1)

10/25/2024

Part 2: (continued from a few posts ago!)

❤️Hi! I’m Janelle! This past year in business has been an absolute blast of colour and excitement. With each season that goes by, I am better understanding my own capability as a business owner, and also the growing capability of my garden. There is a wealth of knowledge to uncover once one sets their eyes and ears upon the world of gardening. In every nook and cranny of the cutflower beds there have been lessons learned and problems pondered. It has been a joy to be caught up in all of it - totally emersed in the world of endless color and form. This garden and Mother Nature have been my devoted teachers, and I am thankful for everything I have learned so far.

❤️Not only has this business provided me with financial stability, but it has also given me a sense of purpose and an acceptance that this passion is more than just a hobby. It’s not always easy branching off from what society considers a normal job. For the first little while of being established as a business, I had a few folks who were skeptical that what I was doing would be viable as a career path. Hell, even I doubted it at times. But with a bit of courage and a ton of support from the community, I proved all the skepticism (including my own!) wrong.

❤️I truly believe that in our fast paced urban society, there is a great collective desire brimming under the surface of many hearts. The desire to be more connected to the ground under our feet. To share more moments with The flora and fauna that inhabit the same dirt we build upon. And I have been so lovingly reminded of that each and every time someone expresses their support and appreciation for what I’m doing. I am blessed to be amongst a community of people cheering me on as I get to forge this path for myself. I hope that in the years to come I can help encourage people to forge similar paths of their own. Thank you to all to have followed along my journey so far!
🌸Stay tuned for 2025! 🌸

10/04/2024

Part 1:

❤️Hi! I’m Janelle, owner and operator of West End Tiny Farm, an urban agriculture project located in the heart of Kamloops, BC, Canada. On the tiny farm, I grow cutflowers seasonally, and microgreens year round.

❤️The idea for WETF came during covid. I didn’t fit into any of the boxes our ‘government’ had laid out for folks at the time. So I decided to forge my own path and start focusing on what I could do for myself, by myself, on my own property.
I originally got educated on growing mushrooms, but my green thumb (and an idea from my friend and neighbour) got me into microgreens. That’s where it all began…

❤️Fast forward to 3 years later: My microgreens are being sold to restaurants, caterers, subscription customers, and at our amazing farmer’s market. I have completely taken over my yard with cutflowers and have been designing floral arrangements for birthdays, parties, a wedding and other occasions. This year was my first year for Flower subscription customers, and I have to say, it has been my absolute joy to create something new each week for my amazing customers. Getting to know everyone’s personal style and what each person finds beautiful has been a fun part of the journey.

❤️In my heart of hearts, I am an artist, and I have the passion for creating and making people smile. So I would be lying if I said that this always feels like a job. Don’t get me wrong. It can be back breaking and very tiring. BUT - it feels like this is my purpose. It is what my hands and mind are SUPPOSED to be doing. It brings me so much joy to share the fruits of my labour with the folks who love and support what I do.

❤️I am so blessed with the ability to work hard - and even more blessed to have the support group Nick Mills , Judy Norman, Terry Norman, Dede Bone, Faith Bellamy I need to lean on when I need a break. ——to be continued:

(Part 2 will be on tomorrow’s post )!

10/02/2024

Little 🎃

10/02/2024

Pastel colors seem to be a favourite right now amongst my flower customers. I am right there with them - there is something about the softness and calm that draws me in. I usually don’t like pink flowers on their own, but when they are paired with white dahlias and the earth toned celosia from Floret, magic happens!

09/29/2024

I love making a floral mess in my grow room! Snipping each flower and lovingly tucking them into their final place in a vase is my favourite part of this job. It doesn’t feel like work. It feels like play. Sometimes I forgot that this is a job when I enjoy it so much.

09/29/2024

Dahlias - Garden Superstars. Once you get sucked into their world you realize you can’t ever go back to not having them.

07/23/2024

We went through a few smoky days here in Kamloops, but that didn’t stop the snapdragons from doing their thing.

With the rain we received last night, and the bit of cooler weather than this past week has been, they should be extra happy. They are, after all, a hardy annual which prefers the spring and fall temperatures over the mega hot days our province has been enduring recently.

The dahlias and zinnias, real sun and heat lovers, however, have been doing amazing! More and more flowers are blooming here on the tiny farm, which means more fun colours and textures to arrange with for my customers.

07/21/2024

I was so happy to be able to create this giant arrangement for a lovely little girl’s garden-themed birthday party.

There were varieties of flowers I wanted to use that I didn’t have on hand yet (like lilies and gladiolus) so I contacted another local flower farmer to see what they had. Thankfully, they have acres of flowers and a willingness to work together in order to satisfy our wonderful customers. With both of our flowers combined, I was able to create something wild and lovely.

Happy birthday to the little lady celebrating today! I hope you enjoy your flowers and garden party!

07/16/2024

The sun and heat over the past few days here in Kamloops sure has turned up the color in my cutflower gardens!

My snapdragons in the hoophouse are bringing their first major bloom to a close, but I have tons of other pretty flowers starting to emerge, like Rudbeckia, Queen Anne’s lace, hydrangea, different coloured scabiosa, zinnias, orlaya, and more.

It’s been a real treat having tons of texture to play around with for my amazing subscription customers this week.

I still have room on my weekly and bi-weekly flower subscription list, so if you’re interested in getting fresh local flowers, send a message. Both pickup and delivery options are available! 💐

07/12/2024

So happy to be able to create these large and fun arrangements right now using the giant snapdragons that have been pumping out of the hoophouse!

07/10/2024

If someone had told me ten years ago that this is what I’d be doing in the last year of my 30’s, I’d never believe them.

I dreamed of owning big fancy houses, working a high paying career, having fancy clothes and trips around the world. But after I achieved a few of those goals, I realized it wasn’t any of those things that made me truly happy.

Then, I got really sick at age 29, and my entire life got taken away for a few years as I healed. While suffering from that illness, I lost my relationship, my art career, my big fancy home, and everything I had worked so hard for. I had nothing left.

After emerging from that brush with mortality, I had to reimagine my life again, somehow. After a crazy decade of rebuilding, full of ups and downs and tears and blood and sweat, this is the place I am in now.

The important things have revealed themselves to me; family, love, health, slowing down and appreciating what you have, and being true to yourself. Here I am, with an old house, thrifted clothes, an old car, and a medium paying career… but with more happiness than I ever had back then. And so thankful for every part of the journey to get here.

07/03/2024

The additional garden space in the front yard has been an absolute godsend this year!

I’ve planted twice as many flowers as I normally can, which means double the amount of bouquets that I’ll be able to pump out.
I’ve also planted about 20 pumpkins of various colours and shapes.

With all the extra plants though, comes a ton of extra work. I’m usually out here until late at night tending to them all. Luckily, I do love this work and knew what I was getting into with all the new garden beds, so I won’t be complaining any time soon.

06/29/2024

My biggest supporters, Mom and Dad.

Thank you for always being there for me and encouraging me all along the way on this journey of mine! You have built me up to have courage and tenacity, and to never forget where I started and how far I have come.

I am so lucky to have parents like you. I love you both with all of my heart.❤️

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We have a beautiful blue sky above us today at the midweek Kamloops Regional Farmers' Market! Thanks to my abundantly blooming garden, I’ve got fresh cut flower arrangements for sale alongside my microgreens. With only another month or so of warmth, I’m savouring these buds and blossoms, as I know they will be coming to and end soon. Come on down and say hello today! We are here until 1:30pm. There are many other vendors and products to check out, including Frosty Hollow Mushrooms , Red Cliff Farm, Windy Acres Family Farm, to name a few. #westendtinyfarm #kamloopsmicrogreens #kamloopsfarmersmarket #kamloopsflowers

It’s a nice cool day at the midweek Kamloops Regional Farmers' Market! Today I have lots of colourful flowers to chose from, as well as an assortment of tasty and nutritious microgreens! There’s lots of great local vendors here, like Frosty Hollow Mushrooms , Thistle Farm, Forest Garden Soap & Sundry, Red Cliff Farm to name a few. Come on down and say hello! #kamloopsfarmersmarket #westendtinyfarm #supportlocalflowerfarmers #kamloopsmicrogreens #kamloopsurbanagriculturekamloopsurbanagriculture

Arranging flowers on a Sunday - my favourite way to finish off the weekend. Send a message if you would like to order something fun and colourful like these bouquets! Delivery is available ! #kamloopsflowers #kamloopsurbanagriculture #westendtinyfarm #supportlocalflowerfarmers

This week is very hot in town- which means I am extra thankful for my climate controlled work environment. As many of you know, I am a sensitive little peach when it comes to overheating. So as much as I want to be outside playing with flowers all day, sometimes I am forced back into my grow room by the extreme temperatures outside. In here I get to reconnect with my other labour of love, my microgreens. When the grow room is packed full of trays of lush micro-forests, I can’t help but get lost in the beauty of the color, shapes, and growth patterns of the various greens that I grow. They are truly gorgeous to me. #westendtinyfarm #westendtinyfarmmicrogreens #kamloopsmicrogreens #kamloopsverticalfarm #kamloopsurbanagriculture #supportlocalyka #kamloopseatlocal #sustainableagriculture #indoorfarming