Welcome to the Rose of Sharon Farm
Please enjoy a few moments roaming around our site. You are always welcome here on the web or through a coordinated visit to the farm should you live in or be visiting our part of the Pacific Northwest. By whichever method you arrive we hope the time spent is informative and worthwhile.
Most folks automatically associate the farm's name with my wonderful wife Sharon. Happily, that is just a coincidence. Though Sharon is my perfect rose, the Rose of Sharon is a Biblical reference. In the Old Testament book "Song of Solomon" the Rose of Sharon points to the coming of the Christ, the Savior of the World. If you look closely at the farm's logo you may recognize the seal of Martin Luther, the reformer of the ancient church. The seal is often referred to as Luther's Rose. Ours is a Lutheran Christian family and we try to live out our faith in everyday life.
Additionally, my father Bill, from whom we inherited the farm, loved the garden and one of his favorites was the Rose of Sharon ( Hibiscus syriacus ) . Dad had a lovely specimen in the front yard until my kid brothers cows ate it, a new one has been planted and the cows are gone.
We come home to the
farm having served our nation proudly in the United States Army. Robert retired in his 33rd year of service and Sharon, being
retirement eligible, has received permission to come off active duty in November of this year. Sharon may decide to participate
in a reserve capacity at some point in the future, but her immediate intention is to focus on the many chores and projects here as we
work to make this more than our retirement farm. Instead we hope to bring to the Chehalis Valley another source for naturally
grown produce, orchard fruits, eggs / poultry and honey. Our intent is not to travel the path of organics but rather to farm
in as natural a way possible using the best that organic and conventional agriculture have to offer.
Especially important to both of us is the humane, responsible and respectful husbandry of our livestock. Many point to the
obvious abuses and rampant cruelty of some "factory farm" raised livestock. These issues are, of course real and
of vital impor-tance. However, apart from doing our absolute best to make our farm free from such, we cannot do much locally
besides telling the story and getting the citizenry educated and engaged. Our farm will always be open to visitors or potential
customers; where they can see for themselves our efforts to attain the goal of humane, natural, healthy and compassionate husbandry.
Our goal is less about making money and more about a slower, more sane and healthy life for us and our potential customers.
We'll be more than content to feed only a handful of families the best we can. As quaint as it may sound, our goal
is to have the farm our grandparents had . . . except with electricity.
Most folks automatically associate the farm's name with my wonderful wife Sharon. Happily, that is just a coincidence. Though Sharon is my perfect rose, the Rose of Sharon is a Biblical reference. In the Old Testament book "Song of Solomon" the Rose of Sharon points to the coming of the Christ, the Savior of the World. If you look closely at the farm's logo you may recognize the seal of Martin Luther, the reformer of the ancient church. The seal is often referred to as Luther's Rose. Ours is a Lutheran Christian family and we try to live out our faith in everyday life.
Additionally, my father Bill, from whom we inherited the farm, loved the garden and one of his favorites was the Rose of Sharon ( Hibiscus syriacus ) . Dad had a lovely specimen in the front yard until my kid brothers cows ate it, a new one has been planted and the cows are gone.
We come home to the
farm having served our nation proudly in the United States Army. Robert retired in his 33rd year of service and Sharon, being
retirement eligible, has received permission to come off active duty in November of this year. Sharon may decide to participate
in a reserve capacity at some point in the future, but her immediate intention is to focus on the many chores and projects here as we
work to make this more than our retirement farm. Instead we hope to bring to the Chehalis Valley another source for naturally
grown produce, orchard fruits, eggs / poultry and honey. Our intent is not to travel the path of organics but rather to farm
in as natural a way possible using the best that organic and conventional agriculture have to offer.
Especially important to both of us is the humane, responsible and respectful husbandry of our livestock. Many point to the
obvious abuses and rampant cruelty of some "factory farm" raised livestock. These issues are, of course real and
of vital impor-tance. However, apart from doing our absolute best to make our farm free from such, we cannot do much locally
besides telling the story and getting the citizenry educated and engaged. Our farm will always be open to visitors or potential
customers; where they can see for themselves our efforts to attain the goal of humane, natural, healthy and compassionate husbandry.
Our goal is less about making money and more about a slower, more sane and healthy life for us and our potential customers.
We'll be more than content to feed only a handful of families the best we can. As quaint as it may sound, our goal
is to have the farm our grandparents had . . . except with electricity.
