Hospitality and happiness are the foundation of the new Max and Honey’s You Pick Flower and Pumpkin Farm in Brazil, and have been present at this family farm for generations. In the 1940s, a couple by the name of Max and Helen (“Honey” as she was known) welcomed family and visitors to their farm to enjoy a slice of the simple life.
Tribune-Star/Austen Leake Pick them up: Max and Honey’s You Pick Flower and Pumpkin Farm in Brazil has rows of several types of flowers.
Their values carried through generations and in July, Valerie Smith, one of Max and Honey’s grandchildren, opened the You Pick Flower and Pumpkin Farm on what was their former land. Following in the footsteps of her grandparents, Smith wants to bring people joy, and sees flowers and outdoors in nature as a way to do that.
After seeing several flower farms in Michigan, Smith fell in love with the idea of you-pick flowers and wanting to offer that to Clay County and its surrounding communities. She saw the empty field on her family’s farm as a perfect place for flowers and started planting.
Her love of flowers goes back to being a little girl helping her mother in the family garden. While growing you-pick flowers are more along the lines of farming than gardening, the joy the flowers bring is the same. Since July, Max and Honey’s has grown several varieties of unique and colorful you-cut flowers, including zinnias, sunflowers, giant marigolds, straw flowers, cinnamon and Mrs. Burns lemon basic, statice and many others.
Even more beautiful than the flowers has been the outstanding community response to the endeavor, Smith said.
“People love it when they come out here,” she said. “Being here, in nature and among the flowers, it’s just peaceful. And it’s been a great escape for people from everything the world is dealing with right now. I want to do something positive for the community and give people a slice of a simple life.”
Which way?: Max and Honey’s You Pick Flower and Pumpkin Farm in Brazil has a challenging (but not too challenging) corn maze on the property.
Smith is excited for the fall season at Max and Honey’s, which includes more than three acres of you-pick pumpkins and gourds. She planted hundreds of pumpkin seeds with the help of her father, a farmer who modified a two-row corn planter and welded an old boat seat to the back. Smith sat on the seat and dropped each and every seed into the ground while her dad drove the planter.
Max and Honey’s you-pick pumpkin patch and fall activities are open through Oct. 31. For $10, adults and kids (2 and older) receive a wristband that gives them access to the one-acre corn maze, hot walker swing, horse rides, farm animal petting, hayrides, a kids play zone and more. And of course there are plenty of pumpkins, gourds and flowers available for picking and taking home.
Tribune-Star/Austen Leake Giddy up: Horse rides for children are offered at Max and Honey’s You Pick Flower and Pumpkin Farm in Brazil.
Local vendors make all the products for sale in the general store, including honey, wax melt, flower boxes, crafts, and even the food and treats. “One of my missions in this is to bring others along with me and support other local small businesses,” Smith said.
The store itself is a great example of how Max and Honey’s has been a labor of love and a true family affair. Smith’s entire family worked together to renovate a grain bin and transform it into the shop. Smith and her mother started the you-pick flower seeds by growing them in her mom’s basement beginning in March, until they could be planted outside in July.
Her four kids can also be found helping on the farm. Maddie, 15, enjoys giving horse rides to guests. Ellie, 9, will do most any job on the farm. Kate, 6, likes to pick the featured bouquet of flowers to display. Her youngest, Jacob, who is 3, is not quite old enough to work, but can be found driving his mini John Deere tractor around the property.
Smith is blessed her husband, Derek, has been such a significant part of building Max and Honey’s to what it is today. Derek works as a training administrator at Crown Corporation in Greencastle.
When COVID forced companies to send workers home, Derek was also home without work. In what Valerie believes is all part of God’s plans, that occurred at the farm’s busiest time and when they needed to do the most work to get the business started. Derek recently received a call to report back to work, right after Max and Honey’s had their fall grand opening. Smith admits that while these COVID times have certainly been hard, the time with her family and building the business has been an unexpected blessing.
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Smith believes that her grandparents, Max and Honey’s namesake, would be proud and in awe of what is now happening on their farm. And nothing brings Smith as much joy as seeing people outside, smiling and enjoying the fresh air and the fruits of their labors.
“It’s been so great seeing that all our hard work has led to this and seeing it all come to fruition,” she said. “On the opening day of our flower season, I spotted this older woman who reminded me of my grandmother [Honey]. She was standing there, holding all these sunflowers in her hand and she looked so happy.”
The Link LonkOctober 03, 2020 at 09:00PM
https://www.tribstar.com/features/valley_life/hospitality-happiness-max-and-honeys-flower-and-pumpkin-farm-offers-a-helping-of-both/article_db8edbef-08a5-554f-889c-77bc42d19971.html
Hospitality & Happiness: Max and Honey's Flower and Pumpkin Farm offers a helping of both - Terre Haute Tribune Star
https://news.google.com/search?q=Flower&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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