This farmer found success with the numbers - Whiffle & Hum Flower Farm (SFFF70)
Lee Anne’s flower story started with a simple New Year’s resolution for fresh flowers on her table. That intention pulled her from an old hay field to a multi-acre farm called Whiffle & Hum, where she grows, sells, and keeps a whole lot of weeds in check while building something real. Turning hay into healthy beds took patience, plastic for smothering, and a willingness to protect beneficials. It also took humility to learn from losses, like a hard freeze that wiped out roses and forced a new plan for protection.
What I love most about Lee Anne’s approach is how grounded she is in reality. She honors the joy of designing bouquets slowly on a tired Friday, while still building a business that can support itself. That mix of heart and discipline is exactly what helps small farms last.
Wearing two hats: grower and CEO
If you have felt split between seedlings and spreadsheets, you are not alone. Lee Anne literally built an office at the farm so she could move between fieldwork and admin without losing time in the car. That small shift let her make decisions faster, price better, and keep projects moving.
To keep both hats balanced, she doubled down on simple systems:
A short list of priority tasks for each day
Record keeping that tracks labor, materials, and outcomes
Clear roles for help in the field so owner time can focus on needle-moving work
The numbers that change everything
Lee Anne’s biggest unlock came from learning her true costs. Knowing the time, inputs, and overhead behind each stem let her choose what to grow, where to sell, and how to price without second guessing. It is not glamorous, but it is the difference between guessing and growing.
If you are ready to tighten up your numbers, start here:
Track sales by crop at farmers market and wholesale so you see what actually moves
Track crop-level expenses for 1 to 3 key varieties each season so you learn quickly without overwhelm
Use those two data sets to decide what to scale, what to pause, and what to price differently
Hiring help and building SOPs
Lee Anne found a gem at a local nursery, and that one hire changed everything. With the right person managing field tasks, she could spend focused time on pricing, sourcing, and planning. Not every hire will be a unicorn, which is why standard operating procedures matter. Clear step-by-step instructions let almost anyone weed, harvest, transplant, or prep beds to your standard.
Think simple and repeatable: one page per task, tools listed at the top, success criteria at the bottom, and estimated time so you can measure productivity. When your systems are clear, you buy back hours for the work only you can do.
Finding sales outlets that match your farm
Lee Anne sells at a small but mighty farmers market, and she treats it like a marketing engine. Conversations at the stall have led to weddings, workshops, and steady locals who now watch for what is blooming. She is also building a farm stand and an email list so she can sell directly when a crop flush hits.
About Lee Anne – Whiffle & Hum Flower Farm
Lee Anne is the owner of Whiffle & Hum Flower Farm, a business that started with one simple resolution: to keep fresh flowers on her kitchen table. What began as a personal challenge quickly grew into a thriving farm, where she now cultivates acres of blooms on land once covered in hay. Along the way, she’s faced the tough lessons every grower knows—like weeds that never quit and roses lost to frost—but she’s turned those setbacks into systems that make her farm stronger.
What makes Lee Anne stand apart is her commitment to both sides of flower farming: she wears the hat of a grower who loves the art of flowers, and the hat of a CEO who knows her numbers. By leaning into cost tracking, efficient systems, and clear standard operating procedures, she’s built a business that balances creativity with profitability. Whether it’s selling at the farmers market, booking weddings, or hosting hands-on workshops, Lee Anne has created a flower farm that reflects both her resilience and her vision.
Her story is proof that you don’t need to start with a perfect plan—you just need passion, persistence, and a willingness to learn as you go.
Lee Anne is also a proud alum of the Six Figure Flower Farming course, where she discovered the power of knowing her true costs. That knowledge has shaped her decisions from market sales to weddings and workshops. Want to follow in her footsteps? Sign up for the Six Figure Flower Farming waitlist and learn how to grow a profitable farm you love.
Consider a mix that fits your capacity and market:
Farmers market: priceless for networking and testing bouquets
Workshops: high value, memorable experiences that extend into the off-season
Weddings and events: creative outlet with clear profitability targets
Email list: the fastest path to moving surplus quickly and repeating sales
Resilience, pivots, and profitable growth
Lee Anne is a great example of learning fast, narrowing the crop list, and choosing outlets that fit her customer base. She loves lisianthus, but her market values zinnias more at the price point that makes sense. That kind of clarity protects margins, protects energy, and keeps the creative spark alive for the long haul. If you are in the thick of it, remember that mistakes are tuition. Use them. Take notes. Adjust. Keep going.
Want to hear Lee Anne’s story in her own words and pick up practical ideas you can use this week?
Listen to Episode 70 of the Six Figure Flower Farming Podcast: “This Farmer Found Success with the Numbers – Whiffle & Hum Flower Farm.”
If you’re ready to build a profitable and sustainable flower farm like Lee Anne, the Six Figure Flower Farming program is designed for you. Inside, you’ll learn how to track your numbers, streamline your systems, and focus on the crops and sales outlets that actually move the needle.
Registration opens November 4, 2025 — join the waitlist here to be the first to know and unlock a special bonus when doors open!
