Valley Ridge Farm is a work in progress. It embodies many fulfilled dreams for our family and much we have yet to attain. We're Shaun & Christy Sullivan, and this is our story.
Located among the rolling hills of Pleasant Valley in western Maryland, our backyard farm is an oasis of beauty and peace. Actually, with two kids and a 100 pound dog, the “peace” part can often be fleeting. However, barely a day passes without a true sense of amazement that we get to steward this land.
We initially sort of stumbled into farming. When the kids were younger, we rented a 15 x 15 community garden plot. We naively cherished the notion that growing our own veggies would encourage our children to eat them. The community garden flourished. Vegetable eating did not. Fast forward a few years. The Lord blessed us with our current home and a few acres. We now had room for a 20' x 100' plot, and that first year we planted enough tomatoes to feed a small army! We were a far cry from being experts, but it was incredibly satisfying to grow things on our own land.
Our second year at Valley Ridge, we doubled the size of our garden plot, and I cried. As a city girl with a self-proclaimed "black thumb," it was completely overwhelming. Transitioning from a tiny community plot to a 4,000 square foot growing area in less than two years was intense. However, that was also the year we began to grow more than just a few flowers.
That spring we planted sunflowers. Hundreds of them! They were easy to grow, beautiful to behold, and a potential revenue stream. A triple win! As I worked alongside my husband planting, harvesting, and arranging those beautiful blooms, I began to experience joy and wonder. There is something awe-inspiring about planting a seed and watching it develop into a thing of beauty. It wasn't long before additional flower varieties made their way into our lives, including 30 glorious dahlia plants. One season growing dahlias and we were hooked.
Then COVID hit. Life outside of Valley Ridge came to an absolute standstill. On the farm, 2020 was a booming year! Our backyard was overflowing with produce and beauty! The dahlias in particular were plentiful and vibrant reminders of God's goodness and faithfulness. It was the pandemic that solidified our commitment to full on small farming. During that quiet season, we not only honed our cultivation skills, but had ample time to dream and plan for the future.
2021 was a building year on the farm. We put 95 dahlia plants into the ground... a decent jump. We evaluated our soil and expanded our beds. We expanded our "orchard" space to grow more food (freeing up our large plot for mostly flowers). We researched best practices in growing dahlias and became "dahlia addicts." That fall, we dug, separated, labeled, and packed hundreds of tubers to overwinter. We kept a close watch over these babies and rejoiced the following spring when eyes began to appear.
In 2022, we expanded our inventory to around 200 dahlia varieties and just under 2,000 plants. We officially set our small business in motion and launched on social media. We also decided to pay our children and since have seen a marked improvement in their work ethic! It was exciting (and a little terrifying) to bring our family farm into the world of commerce. We will strive to faithfully plant and water this small business and trust the Lord to bring the harvest.