Growing Roots
In the heart of tech, there lives a garden that grows a spectrum of fowers of every shape and color. Glowing pink dahlias spring out of the bushes and equally vibrant blooms of variegated petals creep out into the cozy space. Countless blossom varieties are grown from the dry earth beneath. Looking into the nursery of fowers, it’s as if one had walked into a rainbow of riches. Each fower represents hours of love and care required to grow from the soil of Los Altos Hills. From the climbing windows of the estate, the view is littered with bursts of color that speckle the grounds. At the center of it all lies Charmaine Turbow, the Head Farmette of Turbow Farms — practicing chiropractor, mother, and wife. She, much like the fowers she cultivates, draws you to escape the real world with her charming personality and razorsharp wit. From the early mornings into the late afternoons, Charmaine lovingly tends to her plot with occasional help with her family of fve. Sporting a handmade Turbow Farms hoodie and signature green leggings, she begins her harvest as the
Alex Sakamotodoors to jam-packed offce buildings creak open just 15 minutes away.
Today, especially in Silicon Valley, the addiction to screens and constant, competitive work culture plague thousands. This hustle culture is centered around maximizing productivity, ignoring the resulting stress and burnout that isolates workers, and perpetuates a sense of constant competition. Turbow notes the similarities to the chronic pain her chiropractic patients experience, with the stress of constantly trying to hustle in the workplace: “We all kind of grin and bear it and our bodies have just gotten used to accommodating the pain and just moving forward and moving on…”
In contrast, Turbow’s micro farm challenges the industry giants that surround her through her community-centered events that promote togetherness and relaxation. At Turbow Farms, all one needs to worry about is tending to the garden — nourishing the plant life, and in return, nourishing themselves. She explains that, similar
Floral arrangement by Turbow“We all kind of grin and bear it and our bodies have just go en used to accommodating the pain and just moving forward and moving on…”
to her chiropractic practice, that her farm serves the same purpose of reinvigorating oneself. Turbow notes, “Like when people come here, it’s like they have a little transformation in who they are.”
At its surface, the bouquets are simply a combination of dirt, nutrients, soil, and other organic matter. However, like most things in her life, Turbow pushes others to look beyond. Her fowers are a culmination of unique varieties just like the people she helps bring together. Her assortments represent each and every individual not as a singular person, but as a blend of the people, events, and memories that have shaped them. To her, Turbow Farms represents healing and a sense of comradery of all who came before us, and all who will come in the future — the seeds of what will soon become a beautiful community garden.
Step One: Seed
Professionally, Turbow began as a chiropractor at a local practice for over 20 years. The medical feld, much like the corporate jobs in the Bay Area, tend to have a rigorous work culture and schedule that often burns out their employees. However, it wasn’t until the tragic death of her best friend and her mother-in-law until she frst planted the seeds of what would become Turbow Farms. Everyone in her tight-knit family felt the weight of these losses, and with it, a new perspective on how to live life to the fullest. Her husband’s second cousin, in particular, was integral to forming Turbow’s out-of-the-box outlook on
life and how it should be spent. Charmaine recalls his inspirational words, reminding her of her own role as a mother, guardian, and protector: “So what you’re going to do is spend time with your kids. You’re going to do things with your kids that matter.’” With newfound motivation and dedication to create a space that would emulate just that environment, Turbow, her husband, Dan, and children began to cultivate what was to become Turbow Farms.
Living in the headquarters of technology, Turbow’s decision to pivot towards farm life certainly turned heads. Though extremely proud of her business and what it has accomplished, she recalls the fear of judgment and offhanded looks of other parents in the school pick-up line. Due to Silicon Valley’s emphasis on all things STEM, many people do not hold respect for time, effort, and labor that is not related to the discipline. However, this did not deter Turbow — she understood that there was meaning in the work she was beginning to do. Despite hardships and uncertainties, she persevered forward towards actualizing her dream. From her own healing journey, Turbow invites others
“One of the big things for me was to get people grounded again. It’s not just cu ing flowers or designing”
to become part of a community that is there to support and uplift one another, just as she had in a time of need. Through hosting team-building events — held in-house— Turbow seeks to allow individuals to decompress, opening themselves to unlock creative freedom, as well as granting access to a larger community of connection. Her goal: to break up the machine-like monotony and grow a place
Turbow harvesting fowers
Turbow and her giant arrangement
where people come to escape.
Step Two: Sprout
The infamous work culture and stress that has come to be synonymous with Silicon Valley is not without reason. This clustering of tech giants have championed a corporate model that aims to blend work and personal life alongside generous pay, fooding their buildings with talent and other hopeful hires. Allured by the promise of a sustainable work-life balance with bountiful pay, this model was quickly popularized across Santa Clara County. However, this bred a highly competitive environment that sacrifced factors like job security and quality health insurance (Lyons). Additionally, “Stack ranking”, a practice that ranks the performance of employees against the whole workforce, have been reported in large companies like Amazon and Meta (Rawlinson). Although these companies are wildly successful in the eye of the public, this is not remotely refective of what their employees feel. Stack ranking tends to foster a culture that centers around isolation instead of community. It tends to
“ a lot of them come in very uncertain but by the time they leave, they’re all smiling.”
pit workers against one another, dissolving any sense of cooperation or collaboration in the workplace, and leading to unfulflled and a stressed out workforce (Lyons). In fact, the US Department of Labor states that roughly 65% of US workers classify work as a signifcant source of stress (OSHA) .
Turbow, through her workshops, aims to alleviate the corporate-induced chaos of constantly overworking, while fostering togetherness and connection that is so glaringly absent in the workplace. Green spaces, areas generally reserved for plant life in urban cities, have been linked to being critical parts of human development and public health in general (Roy). Increased interaction with such spaces has proven benefcial, positive effects on mental health and overall wellbeing. These areas have also been described as potential buffers against stressors such as job insecurity, heavy workload, long hours, and various other demands (Lee et al.). Much like watering her seedlings and sprouting plants, Turbow enjoys nurturing the creative sides of those who visit her farm, hoping that they will together reap the benefts of
increased mental and physical health in the process.
Last November, a team of about 40 CISCO employees booked one of Turbow Farm’s workshops as a team-bonding event. Once they arrived at the farm, it was clear to Turbow that this was a group flled with “typeA’s,” who are highly proactive individuals that struggle to relax. Nevertheless, they all expressed interest at the idea of trying something new (and admittedly, not related to their actual employment). Through these workshops, Turbow aims not to completely overhaul the meticulous nature of these people, but rather give them space to freely express themselves. She instructs them to simply “set that (their emotional baggage, their anxieties) all aside and let go,” an objective that is often easier said than done. From this small escape cultivated by Turbow, connection sprouts both during and after their visit. There is a newfound sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and joy that is achieved through this unique experience with nature.
A lot of what keeps Turbow going is seeing the community that forms as these individuals begin to learn about their peers. She sees the small things — like when she gets complete strangers to share bits about themselves, when suddenly, another head excitedly pops
“People who are in these really, really high production-type jobs, they actually need this space,”Turbow tending to the garden
up and shares something similar. Even outside her farm, Turbow still creates a sense of community that uplifts every party involved. “People who are in these really, really high production-type jobs, they actually need this space,” Turbow recounts with pride, “ a lot of them come in very uncertain but by the time they leave, they’re all smiling.”
Step Three: Nurture
Marie Clifton, a former psychologist at Amdahl Corporation (now Fujitsu Corp), volunteer at Turbow farms, and dear friend to Charmaine Turbow shares her experiences in the delicate art of balancing work and life. Clifton’s professional journey began at 11 years old and blossomed into creating health programs for company executives and employees. Later, she noticed an increase in mental and emotional health issues that led her to pursue her PhD in order to better help her patients. She met Turbow after ordering fowers for pick-up online — upon arrival, Clifton was entranced by the oasis that is Turbow Farms. Now, they meet together at the farm regularly, indulging in their tea tradition where Clifton and Turbow sit down, drink, and talk before tackling the plants. At the start, Clifton recounts the seedling trays being a source of worry. Clifton vividly remembers her anxiety surrounding the seeds sprouting under the grow lights then ensuring they take root into the ground where they
“she can grow a community, she brings people together…I think it’s beautiful, the legacy she brings…she really instills confidence in you”
will reside. Seeing this, Turbow reassured Clifton’s anxieties, reminding her that mother nature will decide what lives and what doesn’t, that it is impossible to control everything, and to simply live in the moment. Clifton continues to help out on the farm, looking forward to their time together each week. “She is defnitely a grower,” Clifton remarks excitedly, “she can grow a community, she brings people together…I think it’s beautiful, the legacy she brings…she really instills confdence in you”.
As a consumer and a propagator of Turbow’s vision of relaxation and grounding oneself in nature, she provides a glimpse into the effect that Turbow Farm’s philosophy has had on Clifton’s physical and mental health. Translating this outwards, Clifton is more mindful of the people in her periphery, wondering how she can help make someone, anyone’s day better. “And so being able to help an individual, it’s a larger community. I’d be going like, ‘oh my God, I can help her.’ The exact way my interns helped me develop my programs years ago at the hospital.” With just one chance encounter with Turbow, Clifton has now found herself all the richer — she is now with a lifelong friendship, enjoying improved mental and physical health, and continues to be mindful of how to help out the people surrounding her life.
Step Four: Germinate
In the end, the value of Charmaine Turbow’s work is underlined in her ability to germinate true, meaningful connection between individuals that emerges into a
Above the Turbow Farms workshop
Turbow preparing fowers
community that is as healing and rejuvenating as the one that she had in a time of need. Marie Clifton, just one of the many that Turbow has affected, adds to the web of connection that Turbow Farms spins. In her shared tea tradition, in her volunteering, and in her actions, she refects the values of what Turbow has created within her home. Certainly, Clifton is only one of many unique individuals that Turbow has touched with her farm, her workshops, and her nurturing guidance.
Turbow continues her commitment to grow and nurture the community around her with blog posts, helpful online videos, and lively workshops. With family and friends by her side she works to “create a magical space for people to come and escape to” (Turbow). Though boxed
in by the tech-dominated world nearby, Turbow remains dedicated to her philosophy of helping and healing others through her humor, fowers, and mindset. From seed to sprouting plant, she continues to tend her fowers, which are unique and special as the people who walk through her doors.
“What’s really remarkable to me is that when people are feeling be er, they are nicer to everybody else around them, right? They’re kinder”
About the Author
Alex Sakamoto is a Junior at Mountain View High School and design student at Freestyle Academy. She lives in Los Altos with her parents, older sibling, younger brother, and Noodle, her dog. She is part of the Varsity Volleyball team at Mountain View and continues to play on a club team. When not at school, she enjoys watching movies, rainy days, long drives with the windows down, napping, and going out with friends.
