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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Rebecca Rowley, owner of Ingadi Flower Farm, trims leaves from zinnias in her garden as she cuts flowers. She named her farm Ignadi, which means garden in Zulu, as a nod to her time in her home country of Brazil.
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Drivers heading down Shelby County 39 in Chelsea near the intersection of Shelby County 36 and 69 have probably noticed a big green barn.
The barn, along with a 6-acre farm, belong to Bill and Rebecca Rowley, who have been Chelsea residents since 2006. After spending seven years in Brazil working as missionaries and school administrators while starting a university there, the pair returned home in 2019.
“As we were coming back stateside, we had a desire to have a farm at our house in Chelsea,” Bill Rowley said. “My wife wanted to have a flower farm.”
The couple named their farm Ingadi, which means garden in Zulu, as a nod to their time in Brazil, where Rebecca is also from.
They began their business toward the end of 2020 and began growing flowers in the spring.
Currently growing on less than an acre, Rebecca has done most of the plant selection, which features local flowers, sodded flowers and a combination of seeds and buds.
Rowley said that with so many people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, they wanted to try to bring joy and happiness into their work environment.
Now with in-person events happening, Ingadi Flower Farm has two booths on Saturdays: one at The Marketplace at Lee Branch and the other at the Valleydale Farmers Market. They bring pre-made bouquets, arrangements and houseplants. Customers also have the option of making their own bouquet with the flowers that are there. From 4-6 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, they also have a flower stand at their farm.
Ingadi offers subscriptions that feature a weekly delivery of flowers. Businesses or individuals can sign up and either pick flowers up at the farm or have them delivered for a small fee. Ingadi also sells boutonnieres and corsages and can do arrangements for events.
The Rowleys offer flower arranging classes at the Chelsea Community Center, where Rebecca discusses basic flower care, how to make arrangements and teaches participants to build and create flower arrangements. Classes in September will feature fall arrangements that will include sunflowers.
When the weather cools off, they will grow flowers in their non-temperature controlled greenhouses. Bill Rowley said he is also in the process of building a 7-by-30-foot house that will extend their growing season.
As they move into upcoming seasons, they plan to do another seedling sale in the spring, offering vegetables and herbs. Types of flowers grown at Ingadi include zinnias, sunflowers, celosia, cosmos, dahlia, ammi dara, gomphrena, ageratum, lisianthus, anemones, delphinium, poppies, stock, ranunculus and more.
“Next year we plan to expand that out to be more local, but also offer specialty seedlings as well,” Bill Rowley said. “Classes will expand to include home gardening classes and micro-farm basic and intermediate. We also want to help people who want a small 10-by-20 greenhouse see if it will be a good fit for them and possibly even build it on their property.”
Bill said he and Rebecca pretty much run the business themselves, and it’s a full-time job. The last of their three sons recently headed off to college.
Ingadi Flower Farm’s business has grown by word of mouth, friends, social media and people driving by their farm. Its website, ingadiflowerfarm.com, features all of its offerings and class signups.
Upcoming flower arranging classes
Held at the Chelsea Community Center:
► 9:30 a.m., Sept 9: Sunflowers theme
► 6:30 p.m. Sept 21: Sunflowers theme
For schedule running through the end of the year, visit ingadiflowerfarm.com.
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