Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue Pearson.
Hi Sue, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I come from a long line of plant enthusiasts. Grew up in Miami, in the suburbs. My parents bought a house without a pool, one of the few, so they could have more green space for plants and fruit trees. I’ve always had a need for plants and trees, wherever I have lived. My life took an unexpected turn 8 years ago when I lost my husband to cancer. We owned a business in the North Georgia mountains and I found myself in my mid forties in need of a new beginning. I had no idea what I was going to do. I sold the business I had with my husband, and landed in a completely different career. Along the way, I was introduced to a wonderful man that was friends with my boss. My second chance at happiness was born. We were lucky to find a little gem of a property in Jefferson, it had local heritage and was part of a large farm owned by one family for many years. I wanted to create something beautiful and to be a good steward to the property that remained undeveloped for so long. We started planting blueberries and fruit trees right away. We put in a garden, converted an old playhouse into a chicken coop. We still had so much open space and wanted to create a natural habitat for pollinators and wildlife. The second year we added flowers, the next year more flowers! This year was the first year we sold flowers and opened the farm up to florists. We had a small photography venue with sunflowers. We grow many varieties of flowers, but my true love is the dahlia. I am in awe of these flowers, the color variations, the different types, the way they grow and reproduce. It is truly amazing. They are resilient yet fickle. They are a challenge to care for but they reward you after much hard work with incredible blooms. A true labor of love! The best part is seeing them come to life after they leave my farm and land into the hands of a florist. Our local florists create incredible arrangements, they are truly floral artists. It’s my favorite part, seeing what becomes of a flower I grew from the beginning , seeing the joy it brings people in the end. We are so excited for the future, I’m so fortunate to have a partner in life and business that’s up for anything. We will continue to expand, the flowers will at least double next season and we will be adding more photography venues on the property. Our vision is to have a beautiful place people can visit, I love sharing the beauty and the process. And when the neighbors that have lived here for over fifty years tell me they have never seen so many butterflies, I know we’re on the right path!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have rarely found a smooth road in this life. But you don’t learn anything from a smooth road. There have been many times that we have had to start over after hours and days of work. Farming is hard work with many failures along the way. The main challenge is that sometimes it takes an entire season to realize a mistake that can’t be corrected until the following season. Failure and farming go hand in hand, but failures are the best way to learn. For example, we have changed our dahlia field 3 years in a row now. We started with them in the ground, only to realize our soil needed to be amended. We put them in bags in a new location the next year, only to discover it was too hot for them, this year the bags and soil were perfect but we found some challenges with the ground underneath them. 2026 will be the fourth time we redesign the dahlia field, but with the failures, we learned, and I’m confident the new field will be the perfect set up for them. Back up and punt is a lifestyle for us, but with every season the flowers are more abundant than the previous season. So even with lots of frustrations, there is satisfaction in learning and growing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a flower farm. We sell to florists, the public by appointment, DIY weddings, and host a photography venue for local photographers. We are known for our dahlias. In the floral industry, dahlias are difficult to find from large wholesalers. Because of the challenges with growing them, they are rarely offered for import. I’m am so proud of our dahlias, the feedback has been incredible. There are many flower farms around Atlanta but not all of them grow dahlias on the scale that we do.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
We are so thrilled to have a beautiful place to share with people nestled right in the middle of two small cities. It’s an oasis and as the places around us continue to grow, I want to preserve this little sanctuary and inspire people to plant their own trees and flowers.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sueberryhillfarms?igsh=b3NqZ2NsbHJtcHdq&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A7aYjEPG7/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Alexis Sandberg
