Episode 789: Lynn and Tim Windmeyer of Homeplace Fields in St. Joseph, Missouri
October 7th, 2026
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Celebrating their 10th season of what the Windmeyer family calls “The Grand Experiment,” Lynn and Tim Windmeyer are breathing new life into land in and around St. Joseph, Missouri, where seven generations of Tim’s family have farmed, since approximately 1868. Named Homeplace Fields, the endeavor combines Lynn’s creative design talents and Tim’s agricultural skills. Both are Missouri natives. Lynn’s love for flower growing was instilled by her mother. Tim’s own childhood on land just one mile away brought him to study agriculture in college. The couple once lived abroad working for a humanitarian aid organization, teaching growing techniques to farmers in many countries. Today, Tim and Lynn, along with their four children, are putting down roots via a different type of agriculture: flower farming. I visited them early in their journey – back in 2018 – and their story made quite an impression on me. We recently reunited (virtually) for an update. It’s amazing to see how much this family project has come into its own and I’m happy to share their story with you!
I vividly recall the day when Andrea Grist, a florist, long-time Slow Flowers member, and local flowers advocate, brought me to visit Homeplace Fields in St. Joseph, Missouri, when I was in the area for a gathering she hosted. It was such a lovely place and we spent time walking the plantings area and talking with them in the studio, a reclaimed dairy barn where earlier generations of Tim’s family once milked their cows. Their children were younger and Lynn was just beginning to develop her aesthetic as a farmer-florist. I loved learning about this young floral operation planted on generations-old land.
Today, Homeplace Fields is a specialty cut flower farm that primarily sells florals to retail customers through CSA subscriptions and via pickup spots at local businesses around St. Joseph, Missouri. The farm has a few wholesale customers, as well. As a designer, Lynn commits to a few weddings each season, and together Lynn and Tim host a popular Flower Farm Day each September. Produced with Nesting Goods, their local retail partner, the family-friendly event has become a community favorite each fall. The farm comes alive with creative artisans, live music, a corn pit, food trucks, and, of course, farm-fresh blooms.
Above: Video from a past Flower Farm Day, including the famous “corn pit” (which, to be honest, until I watched this, I had pictured EARS of corn rather than kernels of corn). It looks like great fun!
Thanks so much for joining us today! Find and follow Homeplace Fields at their social places: Instagram and Facebook
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
And thank you to our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree: Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. Their second-generation family tree farm has curated the best-performing, cutting-edge, multi-zone varieties to enhance your garden, patio or special event. Every tree purchased supports Plant With Purpose, a nonprofit organization that restores hope by reversing global poverty and environmental damage. Learn more at mypatiotree.com.
Thank goes to Rooted Farmers. Rooted Farmers works exclusively with local growers to put the highest-quality specialty cut flowers in floral customers’ hands. When you partner with Rooted Farmers, you are investing in your community, and you can expect a commitment to excellence in return. Learn more at RootedFarmers.com.
Our first sponsor thanks goes to Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnnyseeds.com.
The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1.6 million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too. If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com.
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today and I’ll see you next week!
Music credits:
Drone Pine; Gaena; Color Country
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue
Lovely
by Tryad
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
In The Field
audionautix.com