Hello and welcome to Driftless Oaks Farm! We are Tom and Julie, two high school sweethearts turned empty-nesters who finally decided to leave the hustle and bustle of chaotic urban living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.
We traded the urban rat race in for country living on a 10 acre hobby farm in in the Driftless Area of Western Wisconsin on the outskirts of a little town called Maiden Rock, and we are NEVER looking back. Here we are finding peace and serenity by building gardens and community. We are connecting with Nature and growing all the things!
“Farmer” Tom
Tom is an engineer by trade, but he is a long lost farm child of the 1970’s. Tom’s parents owned and operated a small farm in Central Wisconsin in the early 1970’s, and Tom owned and operated a tree farm near the family farm from 2009 to 2021.
“Farmer” Tom found his love of gardening as a way of unwinding and grounding when engineering life got overwhelming. He has spent years honing his gardening skills in our urban backyards, mastering the art of growing abundant, delicious produce in small spaces. Through trial and error, he learned that designing and building self-watering systems was the key to making gardening possible in an urban setting with a fast-paced lifestyle or when faced with severe drought conditions. Self-watering systems do not require daily watering. In fact, some only require water be added every two or four weeks, even in the hottest part of the summer! So, on those weeks when he was traveling for work and Julie was busy working and running the boys around to their many activities, nobody had to worry about watering the gardens daily.
Talk about a game-changer!
Now Tom is excited to teach you how it can be done. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge so that everyone can have fresh, healthy produce no matter where you live. In 2023, he will be expanding into beekeeping, so we can share our yummy honey, well-pollinated produce and gardening tips with our friends and community.
Julie “The Flower Child”
Julie has been a wedding and events floral designer for over 20 years. Her mom passed on her love of flowers to her, and she learned floral design working with the talented designers in her mom’s flower shops in the Twin Cities. When her mom decided to sell her shops in 2001, that’s when Julie launched out on her own, and has since owned and operated successful floral studios in the Twin Cities and Chicago.
Julie is finding inspiration in the beautiful gardens here at Driftless Oaks Farm, and the beauty of the Mississippi River and entire Driftless Area. She can provide floral arrangements for events in Western Wisconsin, Red Wing, MN and surrounding areas. With Tom’s help, she will be expanding the flower gardens on the farm and has visions of providing flowers for friends and customers in the future.
We are blessed to be part of this beautiful property, and can’t wait to share our little slice of heaven with you! We are dreaming up some fun events and workshops that will be coming to you soon. In the meantime, follow along with our journey here at Driftless Oaks Farm.
Come grow with us!
Tom & Julie