Words by Paige Townley
When Kirk and Allison Creel made the decision to move to Kirk’s family’s land, an idyllic 30-acre plot in Shelby County, Alabama, they knew some sort of farming would be in their future. After all, they were both horticulturalists—Kirk received his horticulture degree from Auburn University while Allison received hers from Virginia Tech. But what they didn’t know was that their shared expertise would bloom into something entirely unexpected: Blue Rooster Farms, a flourishing flower farm that now brings vibrant blooms to life on the land they call home.
Long before the flower farm came to life, Kirk and Allison were honing their skills at a local nursery, where they actually met originally, bonding over their love for plants and the outdoors. Allison had previously studied gardening in Scotland, in a program through the National Trust for Scotland, while Kirk had helped his grandfather out on the family land since he was old enough to walk. “My grandfather had started growing all sorts of stuff, such as English ivy, boxwoods, crape myrtles, and even some bamboo,” Kirk shares. “He also had a vegetable garden and a little hobby garden, and I, along with my brothers, would help him take care of it. That’s where it all started for me. As I got older, I thought that would be something I would go back to.”
When he and Allison eventually decided to move to his family’s property, however, the timing just wasn’t quite right. The couple were already busy being parents raising children, which didn’t leave much time to start something else that was time-consuming as well. But Kirk’s dream never went away. “He would say all the time how much he wanted to start a farm, and one day I realized he was serious,” Allison says. “I just looked at him and told him that I didn’t want him to regret it one day. So we jumped off the cliff together and started a farm.”
The original plan called for setting up a vegetable garden while also raising some chickens and pigs. They got to work clearing the land, and officially started farming two years later. With the farm officially established, Allison hoped to add in another element that fulfilled a dream of hers: flowers. “I love flowers, and I used to teach floral design classes at Virginia Tech,” she says. “I kept telling Kirk I wanted to grow some flowers. He finally agreed one year, and then he was as hooked as I was.”
Within three short years, Blue Rooster Farms was officially converted to a flower farm, with the two acres that have been prepped for farming covered in upwards of 40 different flower varieties at any given time of year. “We’re still learning every year,” Kirk adds. “With the heat and humidity in Alabama, we have a unique environment to grow almost year round. Every year we’re narrowing down what we want to try to grow, trying new things to see how it works.”
They have been learning quite a bit over the last few years, like how it’s possible to grow five-foot-tall snapdragons with 14-inch flower spikes—though that’s something they’ve never been able to achieve again. “We often laugh with each other wondering what we did to make that happen that year,” Allison shares.
They’re also learning about each flower, and in particular, which varieties will grow best in Alabama and when. They utilize hoop houses, which are basically unheated greenhouses, to carefully grow their flowers year around and ensure they begin blooming when they are supposed to. “At first, we tried to do a little bit of everything, and over time that has narrowed into what we know we do well,” Kirk says.
The list of what Kirk and Allison do well continues to expand. They have become known for a number of flowers, such as anemones, zinnias, ranunculus, dahlias, and poppies. Since the farm started its u-pick option, which welcomes visitors to drive out and stroll the fields to cut their own bouquets, Kirk and Allison continue to refine the mix of options each season. And for Kirk and Allison, every season at Blue Rooster Farms brings fresh inspiration and a new favorite bloom to obsess over. “It’s like the flowers keep surprising us, which is part of what we like so much—it’s always changing and our favorite flower is always changing,” Allison says with a laugh. “We spend our days out there ‘petting the flowers,’ making sure each one gets what it needs.”
Even during the quiet months, something’s always growing and waiting to burst into color at Blue Rooster Farms. It’s a year-round labor of love that keeps Kirk and Allison grounded and grateful, knowing each carefully tended petal is a testament to the beauty they’re building on ground that’s been a cherished part of their family for generations.
