We recently connected with Kate Martin and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I believe that I’ve always had an optimistic spirit, although in my younger days, I believe it was sometimes overshadowed with the logic that I will hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Now that I am older, I understand how counterintuitive that mentality was. As a believer and as my relationship with the Lord has grown, I’ve come to learn that who and what I put my hope in is directly related to my optimism. My story is full of God moments, whether I realized it at the time or not, that remind me He has always been with me through the good and the bad. He took my broken pieces and my bad decisions, and my hurt and redeemed them into something beautiful. If I focus on things of this world, it would be very easy to lose my optimism. When I focus on the Lord and what He is doing with my life, I have hope, and in turn I am optimistic about my future. It is a daily, sometimes minute by minute intention, to stay focused on Him. I learned when I try to do things in my own will, most of the time my plans fail miserably, but when I walk with God, I may not always understand the details of the journey, but I know it will be far better than anything I could dream up for myself.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hi, I’m Kate and I am the sole owner and operator of Arise & Shine Gardens, LLC. We are a faith based, veteran and woman owned flower and herb farm located outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
A little about me, I spent my high school years on my parent’s farm until I graduated and joined the U.S. Marine Corps to escape the small-town life. Interesting how life comes full circle. After being discharged from the military, I settled outside of Washington, D.C. to raise my children. In 2011, after my children were grown and on their own, I decided to relocate to Cincinnati to be closer to my family in Michigan. Life was going fine until one day in November 2016, a little boy changed it all. I had become dissatisfied with my career and that little boy was my first grandson. He was my reminder how precious life is and that it is way too short to be doing work that was not fulfilling and purposeful.
In January 2017, I decided to make a change and applied for and was accepted to a two-year intern program at a local organic farm. Upon completion of that internship, Arise & Shine was born. Since I lived in a subdivision at the time, good friends of mine cleared out some space on their 100-acre family farm so that I could start growing flowers and herbs. I spent the next four years growing on their farm while looking for a farm of my own. That search ended in September 2022.
God blessed us with a 10.5 acre farm, approximately 30 miles East of Cincinnati, in a small town called New Richmond, Ohio. We are located only 3 miles outside of Bethel, Ohio. Although 2023 has been a complicated year for us for many reasons, we are trying to pull together a u-Pick flower field by Fall 2023, in order to introduce ourselves to the community.
As far as what we offer, we serve both wholesale and retail customers. On the wholesale side, we currently work with six other local growers to provide high quality, specialty cut flowers to local florists. We are always searching to add new growers. On the retail side, we offer pop-up flower sales, weekly subscriptions services and a la Carte wedding flower services. We also offer Grab N’ Grow Garden boxes every Spring in two different sizes, along with three varieties of herb boxes. Every variety in the Grab N’ Grow boxes are chosen for their ability to thrive in pots, So, whether you live in an apartment, subdivision or on a farm, these boxes allow even the novice to grow some of their own food.
Long term retail goals for Arise & Shine Gardens include farm to table events, educational classes, a roadside stand, seed and bulb sales and a possible CSA. Long term goals wholesale goals include supplying other local growers with quality plant starts. Arise & Shine Gardens is mostly known for our lisianthus, all of which we start from seed. Not an easy task, as anyone who has tried to start them knows. We want to offer more economical options to local growers by sourcing lisianthus and other specialty cut flower plugs locally. We als0, want to build a local flower collective separate from the current Arise & Shine Gardens set up, that provides an outlet that creates space for local growers to sell their products and make a living while providing local florists with the highest quality product in one convenient location. I truly believe that when we stop working against each other and start working together, we all succeed, including the community we serve!
Long term, long term goals entail a Healing and Conference Center on the farm. We all cannot walk this planet without being wounded in some way or fashion because we live in a broken world. We want to educate and equip individuals to go out into this broken world and provide healing to the hurting. The Healing and Conference Center will provide the space to accomplish this.
We have a lot of work ahead of us and are working on designing and building out our new space, which is going to take time. We are excited and full of energy to get to work and create something special within our local communities. Unfortunately, our social media accounts were hacked in 2022, and we were permanently banned from the two main platforms. We are working on developing other avenues for promoting our farm so we hope you check out our website for the latest updates. You can find us at www.ariseandshinegardens.com.
I would like to leave one final word for those who have taken the time to read to the end of this article and who might find themselves at a similar crossroads, no matter your age. I preached to my kids their entire lives (and came back to haunt me in 2016)…God gives everyone gifts and talents. When we use those talents, two things happen. One, you create a life that is full of peace, joy and contentment. Will there be hardship, yes, without a doubt, but those difficulties stretch us and prepare us for the journey God has put in front of us. Second, and I believe the most important, it honors God. There will always be people who will doubt you, nay say, etc. Trust me, I know. If you feel God is calling you to make a change, don’t let being too old, too young, too inexperienced, too… fill in the blank. I am here to testify, nothing, absolutely nothing, is too hard for God to bring to pass. If it is His plan and you trust Him, consider it done….with one caveat, in HIS timing. Four years was a long time, but I’m grateful it was not 40. I have so many God stories just related to the purchase of the farm, it would blow your mind, not to mention those over the past 6 years since I embarked on this journey. If you are in a similar place, sit with Him, He will guide you. He won’t reveal the whole plan. If we knew the whole plan, we would quit before we started, If you feel He is calling you to take a first step, I encourage you to listen. Trust me, you will never regret it!
Also, hang on for the roller coaster ride of your life, it’s way better than you could have ever imagine yourself!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First and foremost a close relationship with the Lord. There is no way I could have or continue to do what I do without Him. Second, tenacity. Having a never quit attitude (along with passion for what you are doing), gets you through the tough days. There are going to be days you don’t think you have it in you. You have to have the character and work ethic to push through and keep going. Third, build a tribe. Surround yourself with like-minded people who can help you get through the difficult times and celebrate the successes and you will do the same for them. People who build you up, but also be brutally honest with you in order to help you succeed.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The number one challenge A&S is currently facing and has been facing for the past five years is hiring and keeping employees. Arise & Shine Gardens’ vision is to build a farm family. We want to build a farm where team members enjoy coming to work and can see a future with us because they believe in what we stand for and what we do A place where a team member’s job is strategically paired with their gifts and talents. We want team members to thrive and participate in that process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ariseandshinegardens.com
- Other: We are currently on Nextdoor, but I believe this is restricted to local communities.
