Our farm was first settled in the 1880s, and since then it has been home to all kinds of farming ventures, including dairy cows, sheep, horses, hay, wheat, corn and vegetables. Over the decades, buildings have come and gone to fit the needs of the farmers. When we bought this farm seven years ago, there were five outbuildings and we tried to fit our vegetable and cut flower business into this assortment of structures. The tractor and implements and miscellaneous junk that accumulates on a farm fit into the hay barn, the workshop fit into the tiny Model T garage, and the gardening tools took up residence in a low-slung, open-sided sheep shed. The cooler was outside, and we put up a tent to shade the vegetable washing area. The bouquet making counter was in the garage up near the house. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time walking from one building to another in the course of our work days.
We started dreaming about a new building several years ago. We wanted something that was, first of all, clean, bright and pleasant to work in. It had to be efficient, close to the fields, and have vehicle access. It also was important to us to have it fit in architecturally and esthetically with our farmhouse and the other barns. And we didn’t want to build any bigger than we absolutely needed, both to save money and to save our landscape, as every roof blocks a good view in our beautiful valley.
With those criteria in mind, we started searching the internet for barn plans, and found a great site at www.barnsbarnsbarns.com. We spent a full two years considering various sizes, shapes and locations for the new barn. I found it helpful to visualize this barn as I went about my work. As I brought flowers from the field to the cooler, for example, I would think about bringing them instead to the potential new barn. That helped me spot the flaws, and actually led us to relocate the barn far from the place where we originally thought it should be built.
Finally, last summer we decided we were ready. We bought plans from the aforementioned web site, and hired a barn builder. It was finished in fall, and we moved everything in during the winter.
The barn we chose is 24×30, which is big enough to accommodate the walk-in cooler, an L-shaped counter for bouquet making, one vehicle, and all the hand tools, drip tape, buckets and other supplies we use daily. The double doors in the front are wide enough to bring in a cart full of flowers, and the back end has a roll-up garage door so we can drive the van right up to the cooler. One one side is an open porch with two wash sinks. Upstairs is a loft for drying flowers and storing little-used items.
Our little red barn feels just right for the scale of our business. We’re looking forward to the pleasure of working in a space that is tailored to our exact needs.

Lynn Byczynski
Editor and Publisher