It’s a long, twisty road from working in the local police precinct to being celebrated by home style maven Martha Stewart.
Nearly 15 years ago, Charlie Hendricks was on the cusp of retirement from the Lexington Police Department and was looking for something to do in his spare time.
Meanwhile, his longtime friend Val Schirmer owned a farm in Clark County where she had been experimenting with growing flowers.
So the time seemed right for the two to join forces, and Three Toads Farm was born.
“I always wanted to do something with flowers,” Schirmer said.
After years of hard work, Schirmer, Hendricks and his daughter, Elizabeth Montgomery, have become well-known as farmer-florists, earning a Top 10 mention in December’s Martha Stewart Weddings and receiving requests from brides all over the country.
But getting there took a lot of work. Schirmer said the first two years were extremely difficult without a lot to show for their efforts. Then Hendricks suggested involving another longtime friend of his, Bob Early. The two had grown a vegetable garden together, and Hendricks thought he could add a different perspective to the mix.
“You just have to keep experimenting, that’s how you create something beautiful,” Schirmer said.
Eventually, the three found a successful formula and became known for selling cut and potted fl owers at the Lexington Farmers Market. Two greenhouses and a cooler were added to Early’s Colby Road property, where most of the growing now takes place, and Montgomery, a child when the business began, started taking on more of an active role. Schirmer had a few years of inactivity because of work commitments, and Early has now stepped aside because of health concerns.
Two years ago, though, Three Toads undertook its biggest challenge. Montgomery recently had finished school and was spending more time at the farm, so it seemed like a good time to try providing wedding floral services.
“People had been asking for years, ‘Do you do weddings?’ We had the design part down, and we had the flowers,” Montgomery said.
The challenge was in planning and execution, since Three Toads grows all the flowers it uses. Montgomery said that if brides book a year in advance they can request specific flowers or colors be grown.
“There is a lot of meticulous timing, planning, holding back. It’s a whole different ballgame,” Mongtomery said.
Three Toads relies on greenhouses and coolers to extend growing seasons and provide blooms that may be difficult to find in the area. Each year they tweak the process to include more flowers or provide a new flower out of season.
“They [brides] tell me what they want, and we make it happen,” Montgomery said. While there are limits to what can be grown in Kentucky, Montgomery said they do their best to provide brides with their requests.
So far, Montgomery has done fl oral designs for about 20 weddings, with several more booked for this spring, and as well as a special event at Spindletop.
“Instead of a florist that gets things shipped in from thousands of miles away and different countries, we grow every single bloom. We offer things you can’t find at florists or wholesalers. We have the freshest, most unique blooms,” Montgomery said.
She also enjoys working with brides, and helping them plan for the big day.
“Elizabeth is just so good at working with brides, working with event planners, and her design is just fabulous,” Schirmer said.
Montgomery is self-taught and said she developed her artistic ability from spending so much time around the farm growing up. Recently, she left an outside job to work at Three Toads full-time and give the event planning side of the business the time and attention it requires.
To stay current on trends and get new ideas, Schirmer travels around the country to conferences and to meet other growers. The three constantly are looking for new flowers or designs for customers, Schirmer said.
“I always like something new and different,” Schirmer said.
She and Montgomery described the business as a passion, and Schirmer said she loves creating something that can evoke so much emotion from customers.
“Our theme has always been to grow flowers that would stop people in their tracks,” Schirmer said.