Photographs: Balsley in the garden by Beth Gosk; all others contributed
It all started with four dahlias and three funerals. Inspired by the beautiful blooms she received from her sister-in-law during a challenging time, Sarah Balsley reignited her passion for gardening by studying to become a flower farmer. The pursuit led to an abundance of blossoms, which she gave to friends and neighbors who were sick or grieving, or as a thank-you or welcome to others. This act of kindness developed into The Flower Project.
“I had never grown dahlias before and immediately fell head-over-heels in love with their gorgeous colors and forms,” recalls Balsley. “Returning to the garden, reconnected to the rhythms and nature, and cultivating beauty helped heal my heart.”
Balsley grew up in Norwalk, gardening with her mother as a shared hobby. She attended Yale University and pursued a career in advertising after graduation. She left the advertising world while pregnant with her second child and later decided to return to gardening, enrolling in a master’s level course in landscape design at The New York Botanical Garden. Balsley started her own business and designed high-end properties in Fairfield County for many years.
Once life got busy with her family, she closed the business. “I had a third child, got divorced, was a single mom and eventually remarried and had a fourth child,” she explains. Then tragedy struck when she then lost her father, former husband and mother all within a few years—just before the pandemic hit. It was 2021 when she received the serendipitous dahlias and found her way back to the soil.
Balsley in her happy place—walking among her flowers at Millstone Farm in Wilton. Her goal with The Flower Project is to sell enough flowers to cover costs and to give the rest away.
That winter, Balsley learned the skills needed through a flower-growing course at Floret in Washington state. That’s where she learned about planning a flower farm, soil health, planting seeds, bulbs and tubes, succession planting, harvest techniques and post-harvest care.
Living in Rowayton, Balsley craved additional space to grow more flowers and decided to rent two small plots in 2022 at Norwalk’s Fodor Farm, a public community garden. “I grew 20 dahlias and was over the moon,” says Balsley. “The second year, I had three plots at Fodor, 60 dahlias and a generous flower-loving friend in Darien who let me share her sunny backyard for a season. Together, we grew 1,200 tulips.”
Because she had spent time in senior care facilities before her parents died, Balsley wanted to add some joy to an otherwise difficult experience. “I began to informally drop off flowers at Notre Dame in Norwalk, Atria and Maplewood in Darien and Hilltop Home in Rowayton,” explains Balsley. “It is utter magic to see the way people react when you walk in with a bucket of blooms. Flowers bypass words and circumstances and offer a sort of instant joy.”
A chance meeting with one resident named Betty, who was celebrating her 100th birthday, helped Balsley cement her mission and outreach. Not sure if Betty could hear or understand her, Balsley knelt by Betty’s wheelchair and offered a flower. “Without looking at me, Betty reached out and took the flower in her gnarled hand. Slowly, she raised it to her nose, closed her eyes and then broke out into a huge grin,” recalls Balsley. “Sharing this beauty and brightening her day healed my heart, and it helped offset the sadder memories I had of being there with my parents.” That’s when Balsley gave a name to this effort, and The Flower Project was born.
After one season in her friend’s backyard and two at Fodor Farm, Balsley added another location. At Millstone Farm in Wilton, she was able to plant 60 additional dahlias, along with snapdragons, Iceland poppies, bachelor buttons, sweet peas, zinnia and ornamental basil. The next year, she planted 100 dahlias and, in 2025, she will grow nearly 300 dahlias and 1,600 specialty tulips.
Balsley considers the project a family affair and enlists the help of her husband Tom (a landscape architect), her children, her sister and brother. “They like to be involved, helping me build raised beds, hauling compost, weeding, watering, harvesting and making bouquets,” says Balsley.
This year, Balsley will grow nearly 300 dahlias and 1,600 specialty tulips—in addition to snapdragons, poppies, bachelor buttons, sweet peas, zinnia and ornamental basil
Her goal with The Flower Project is to sell enough flowers to cover the expenses so she can “give away as many as possible.” In addition to selling directly to customers, you will find Balsley’s flowers at Rowayton Market and the Farmers Market at Pinkney Park. Arden’s Café buys flowers weekly for their restaurant and Balsley hosts pop-up events there. She donates tubers and dahlias to the Rowayton Gardeners, which they use for their annual spring plant sale.
Balsley has had a few high-school interns, and she hopes to involve more in the future. She’d like to educate them on the benefits of “working outside in the sunshine and experiencing the magic of putting phones down and tending to something with your own hands.”
“Growing flowers grounds me, heals me, fills me with wonder, gratitude and joy,” Balsley says. “Reconnecting with nature and learning the nuances of flowers has been a gift and sharing them is an utter delight.”