By Susan Penner

    What started as a dream rooted in family, flowers, and community has quickly blossomed into something much bigger for Joleen Wrightsman and her family.
    In 2024, Joleen, alongside her husband Brian and their family, launched Linden Fields Flower Farm south of Beatrice with a vision of creating more than just a flower farm—they wanted to create an experience.
    Today, visitors to Linden Fields can stroll through rows of vibrant blooms, hand-select flowers directly from the field, and create personalized bouquets while enjoying the charm of rural Nebraska. The farm’s popular U-pick experience allows guests to choose between two options: a small-mouth mason jar bouquet for $20 or a wide-mouth mason jar bouquet for $30. Guests are provided with snips, water pitchers, and even guidance from Joleen herself, who enjoys helping customers create beautiful arrangements to take home.
    “People love the experience of creating something themselves,” says Wrightsman. “It’s more than flowers—it’s making memories.”
    While flowers remain at the heart of Linden Fields, their farm stand has quickly become a destination all its own. Open for approximately a year, the stand features not only fresh flowers but also a growing collection of locally sourced products including farm-fresh eggs, honey products, tallow items, and sourdough products—one of today’s most sought-after homemade staples. The farm stand also features other locally made and seasonal items, creating a true farm-to-community experience. They also added u-pick vegetables and herbs this year near the farm stand.
    Supporting local remains central to the Wrightsman’s mission. The farm stand currently features products from approximately ten vendors, creating opportunities for local makers and producers to connect with customers.
    Linden Fields’ flowers are also making their way far beyond the farm. Joleen supplies fresh blooms to florists throughout southeast Nebraska, including Beatrice, Fairbury, Tecumseh, and Lincoln, helping bring locally grown flowers into communities across the region.  Flowers from big-box stores are often treated with toxic chemicals to keep pests away and extend shelf life. These chemicals are not just harmful to the environment, but they also linger on the flowers. 
    Though customers come from many backgrounds, one thing remains consistent: women of all ages have embraced the experience.
    “There’s something special about flowers,” Wrightsman says. “They bring people together.” She has customers who will stop at the field early on a Saturday morning, put in their ear buds to play music, and will head to the field for some quiet reflection time.
    While the public is welcome at Linden Fields, the farm has also built a growing community around its experiences. Customers can join a VIP group for early access to ticket sales, announcements, and special events simply by giving their email address. Throughout the season, the farm hosts gatherings designed to create connection and community. A Mother’s Day market brought visitors together in May, while future plans include yoga sessions among the flowers, sound bath experiences in the field, and even a midweek Bible study hosted by Joleen’s church.  The flower farm welcomes visitors to enjoy the beauty of the fields, offering opportunities to slow down, connect with nature, and create lasting memories. The farm is located at 1760 W. Linden Road in Beatrice and shares updates, events, and seasonal offerings through its website (Lindenfields.net) and Facebook page (Linden Fields). 
    For Joleen, the busy season begins around mid-July when the fields begin to truly come alive. While customers often see the beauty, they may not see the months of preparation behind it.
    Every flower begins with seed trays carefully nurtured during winter and early spring. Joleen starts almost all her flowers from seed before spending countless hours hand planting each row with help from family and friends.
    “Beginning the season and ending the season are probably the hardest parts,” she says. “Somewhere in the middle is when it becomes magical.”
    Among all the blooms, dahlias remain one of the most labor-intensive flowers to grow—beautiful but demanding. When asked what her favorite bloom is, Joleen said it would have to be the Lisianthus, a rose like bloom which is beautiful in cut arrangements, bridal bouquets and has a vase life of about 5-7 days.
    Before launching Linden Fields, Joleen spent countless hours researching, learning, and visiting other flower farms across Nebraska. Even now, she continues learning while balancing another reality: she still works full-time outside of the flower farm.
    Yet despite the hard work, the long days, and the unpredictable nature of farming, the flower fields have become something much deeper.
    For Joleen and Brian, now empty nesters who both grew up with strong work ethics and never had much interest in traveling, the farm has become their destination.
    “This is what we love,” she says.
    She believes fresh flowers offer something customers simply cannot find elsewhere.  Fresh-cut local flowers, she believes, provide something different—something more natural, more vibrant, and more connected to the season.
    The best time to pick? Early mornings and evenings, when temperatures are cooler and flowers are at their freshest. Beyond fresh-cut blooms, Joleen also preserves the beauty of the growing season by drying many of her flowers to create handcrafted wreaths, bouquets, and floral décor pieces. These one-of-a-kind creations can be found in the farm stand alongside seasonal offerings, giving visitors the opportunity to take home something beautiful long after the flowers in the field have faded. 
    As flowers begin winding down, Linden Fields hosts a popular “Sweep the Fields” event, inviting customers back one last time to gather whatever blooms remain for a freewill offering. Participants are entered into a drawing for a free flower pass for the following season, creating excitement while giving customers one final opportunity to enjoy the fields before winter returns.
    While Linden Fields may still be young, the future is already taking shape. The flower farm is more than a business venture—it is a place where Joleen feels most connected, most peaceful, and most herself.  Joleen often says she isn't just growing flowers—she's growing experiences. A dream of hers would be to add a high tunnel to help extend the season and a pavilion space tucked near the blooms where guests can gather for classes, workshops, celebrations, and simple moments together among the flowers. Because at Linden Fields, the dream has always been about creating something people feel, not just something they see.
    As Linden Fields continues to grow, one thing is certain: what started as seeds planted in 2024 is already blooming into something much bigger.