By Elle Maynard

Photos: Mark Cullings

“Follow Spring Street until you’ve run out of houses. When you see the Luand Farm sign, you’ve found us.”

-Simple directions, provided by business owner, Kathy Looney.

Kathy and her mom, Louise McCarthy, started growing flowers on their Rockland farm property in 1967. “I heard that sunflowers were popular, so I planted a row of seeds—and they bloomed.” Having no idea what to do with the harvest, the pair filled mason jars with arrangements and sold them from the tailgate of the family car, which they parked in an empty lot along a busy thoroughfare. Although passersby welcomed the convenience, the parking lot owner wasn’t quite so welcoming. A move to a clearing along the street on their own property provided a permanent location for this popular flower “drive-thru.”

That initial row of bright sunflowers beautifully blossomed into A Budding Enterprise. “I just couldn’t control myself and things went haywire . . . flowers everywhere!” noted Kathy.

With Louise tilling the fields using the family’s tractor and Kathy tending to the remaining farm details, the pair has been producing more than 60 varieties of flowers for five decades. “Each season brings change. The fields have no irrigation, so we just adapt to weather and pests. Mother Nature is always in charge,” admits Kathy. Although health challenges will keep 96-year-old Louise from climbing into the driver’s seat of the tractor this season, the flowers will bud and bloom. Kathy will harvest and arrange bouquets, and the pair will set up, once again, at the Hingham Farmer’s Market. They’ll be in the same spot, under the tree, where they’ve been since the Market opened at the Bathing Beach many years ago.

Gardeners are invited to A Budding Enterprise’s annual plant sale, featuring Kathy’s field-grown perennials, on June 3rd and 4th from 9am-2pm. Planning to go? Simply follow Spring Street until you run out of houses and then look for the Luand Farm sign at the edge of the drive.

A Budding Enterprise
855 Beech Street
Rockland, MA 02370
(781) 878-8448
LooneyTunes@verizon.net

Elle Maynard is a regular at the Hingham Farmer’s Market and often enjoys Kathy’s flowers and Louise’s eggs. Although Louise no longer has eggs to sell, Elle is looking forward to adding perennials from the plant sale to her own backyard garden.