Iowa State Bank

Photo courtesy Holland Flower Farm. Jade and Alysa with a flower arch they created for a wedding at Lake Okoboji. Photo courtesy Holland Flower Farm.

Holland Flower Farm is in Sioux County’s Holland Township where Jade’s parents, Ryan and Sue Moret, operate Ryan Moret Trucking Inc. “Growing up, we got to be home with my parents because they were running their own business. I got to see them be entrepreneurs and see the late nights – so I knew what I was getting myself into. My parents have been a huge help for me. Mom started the business with me. She likes to be out here and still helps at our peak harvest season. But since I’ve hired help, she's been able to take a big step back which has been really good,” she said.

A PASSION FOR PLANTS

“I grew up in 4-H and FFA and just loved agriculture, but I never knew what direction I wanted to go with that passion.” She graduated from Dordt University with a degree in agriculture. She was inspired by summer internships which were oriented toward environmental and ornamental plants. After college graduation, she and Alysa Reitsma worked together at a landscape nursery. Today, Alysa works full-time with Jade. Jade’s four-year-old daughter, Cecelia, is picking up on the passion for plants. “She has her own little garden out here, too. She gets to pick the seeds or plants she wants to grow. She checks on it and she waters it. Every year, we try to grow something new and fun. She loves to grow watermelon and she's growing celery this year. Kids will get excited about eating vegetables if they are growing them and get to go out there and pick them themselves.”

When Cecelia was born in 2018, Jade leaned into creating the farm lifestyle for her daughter. “I wanted to raise her where she could be home with me more often and be outside and have a childhood similar to what I got to have.”

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Life’s adversity pushed her to propagate bigger plans. “Two years ago, I went through a really awful divorce and became a single mom. And so, for me, what was once my side hobby had to become my full-time income. No way was I going to let the divorce define me and take away the joy of creating this business. It ignited a new passion inside of me for not just having this fun side hobby, but really switching to think: How do I build a company?” She has a vision for the company looking out two years and five years into the future. This year, a major step forward is the construction of a design studio adjacent to the flower field. The most important part of the structure is the 10x18-foot walk-in cooler. With the continued growth in their production, the temperature- and humidity-controlled environment is necessary to store a greater inventory of tulip bulbs and dahlia tubers. Harvested flowers will also have a little longer life if placed directly into the cooler.