For some, 50,000 tulip bulbs and a plan to wed right before they bloomed might have seemed scary. But for Paul and Stacey Sharp, the couple said, “We’ve got it.” And it’s thanks to that positive attitude, togetherness and hard work that the first season of Little Creek Flowers was a success. Started as a way to grow and diversify the family farm Stacey grew up on, Little Creek Produce, the new flower component has been a hit for those in Putnam County and beyond.
“This farm has been in my family for over 50 years, and it’s always been a working farm,” said Stacey. “The past few years, I’ve really been wanting to expand it into agritourism, and this year I finally talked everyone into doing tulips.”
Located off Gainsboro Grade in Cookeville, the farm is close in proximity to Tennessee Tech and attracts college students but also families and adults. Stacey’s father, Wayne Moss, has a produce stand on the farm and has for years, so the thought behind adding tulips is to continue attracting those folks and keep the farm alive for generations to come.
“I think agritourism is kind of, you know, the new generation of farming,” said Stacey. “It gets people outdoors and they can learn and, in this case, see beautiful flowers and even take some home as well.”
To say this venture has been on Stacey’s mind for years would be quite the understatement. However, she credits her new husband, Paul, as being the one who finally pulled the trigger.
“He called me one day and said, ‘I just ordered 50,000 bulbs.’ And I said, ‘Alright, so we’re in it,’” said Stacey. “We worked closely with our provider for the bulbs, and my dad, I mean, his knowledge from decades of farming has been huge. But we feel good about what we accomplished this first time around.”
Paul adds, “We talked to a lot of different tulip farmers around the area and a lot of it came down to taking a risk and seeing what worked for us and this farm. We had to change and alter quite a bit of the existing farm to accommodate a parking lot and some other things, but it really worked out well.”
What also worked out well was that the tulips held off blooming until after the Sharp’s wedding on March 20.
“Getting these bulbs to stay in the ground for as long as possible was huge for us,” said Paul.
Stacey adds, “If you really want to test a relationship to see if it’s the right one, do a big project like this. He knew when he met me this was it for me, and he’s always had a great work ethic too. We both just know we’re going to put 100% into anything we do, and that’s been huge.”
Remembering the cold days and nights out in the fields during the winter, they both agree it has taken a lot to get to this point, but seeing their dream come to fruition, while working hand in hand – or shovel by shovel in this case – has made it all worth it.
“When we think back to what we did when it was freezing cold in December, you know – wearing three layers and riding behind a tractor dropping bulbs in the ground,” said Paul. “Now we get to see all of these beautiful flowers, and everything about it has been such a blessing.”
While it’s definitely been a blessing for the Sharps, it’s obvious the new venture has also been a blessing for the community and for those who have been able to visit the farm. This year, customers were able to enjoy two and a half acres of gorgeous U-pick tulips, which ended up being roughly three miles of actual rows of flowers. With a flat $5 entry fee at the gate, folks were able to enjoy the scenery and flowers for as long they desired and then, for those wanting to take some flowers home, the Sharps charged either by the stem or per dozen, whichever the customer preferred.
“We’ve got plenty of baskets for people to use, and when they get here, we give them some simple instructions about how to pick the tulips,” said Stacey. “Most people are walking away with a dozen or more, and that’s made me really excited – to see how happy people are with the quality and the colors of the tulips. Everyone has walked away with a smile.”
Feeling satisfied about how their first year went, the couple ranks their success at about a seven – proud of what they accomplished this year, but eager to try for more next year.
“We still want to grow a little bit more,” said Stacey. “We want to do more bulbs next year, and keep them healthy and keep the varieties really pretty. I’m a quality over quantity kind of person and he [Paul] is too, so that’s going to be the goal moving forward.”
While Stacey’s farming roots run deep, her other half didn’t grow up on a farm. However, it’s evident Paul has been bit by the farming bug.
“I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I did grow up working on some farms when I was in high school back in Virginia,” said Paul. “But when I met Stacey, it was all over after that. I’ve been involved for the past four years or so now and I don’t really see us stopping – it’s been awesome.”
To say it has taken a team would be an understatement. From family to friends and everyone in between, the support has been overwhelming for the Sharps.
“When you rake three miles of rows by hand and cover them with leaf mulch, your back and every part of your body starts to know it,” said Paul. “But we’ve had so much help from family and community members.”
Stacey agrees, saying, “We have one family that used to work out here on the tobacco farm when I was 13 or 14 years old, and they came out and crawled on their knees just like us as we put down bulbs. Having this support, knowing people are behind us, has made all the difference.”
You can’t miss the evidence of that support as you walk around the farm, and something else you can’t miss is the refinished, 1950 GMC 100 painted bright blue that was Stacey’s grandfather’s truck.
“That truck has been sitting up in a barn for about 20 years doing nothing,” said Stacey. “My dad had the idea to pull it down here and set it up for folks to take pictures. We had to do a lot of work to it, but it has been a joy bringing it back to life.”
Paul couldn’t agree more. He says, “To see kids climb all over it, to see them sitting on the bucket and messing with the steering wheel because there’s no seat inside it right now – it honestly makes my day.”
Stacey was quick to add how much it has meant to her father seeing someone fix it back up. And that’s the whole premise behind the Sharp’s efforts – to leave everything they touch better than they found it. They want more than anything to ensure the farm Stacey has called home for her entire life remains a farm for generations to come.
If you missed the chance to visit the farm this spring, don’t fret – the Sharps plan to do sunflowers in the fall, adding a rotational crop and striving to keep the agritourism part of the farm alive. Visit littlecreekflowers.com for more info about the farm or follow them on Facebook/Instagram at Little Creek Flowers. No doubt, they’ll be back and even better next year.
