The therapy in gardening

Growing a business was never something Julie thought she would be doing at her Tullyvin home.

Having embarked upon her micro flower farming business venture just over a year ago, Oak Hill Flowers is going better than Julie Magee Karlshoj could ever have dreamed, plus it’s a hit among all the family.

“I’ve kind of been looking for my calling for a long time. I thought I was going to be a therapist or something but this came in from the side,” she tells the Celt.

The mum of three had worked in a health food shop, a garden centre and the Cootehill chamber in the past while also studying anthropology. Since making the move from her home in Denmark to Cootehill with her husband Marcus 12 years ago, Julie has taken great pleasure in colouring her garden with native flowers.

“Over the years I thought, wouldn’t it be great if you could live from selling flowers?”

However, she always told herself “that’s never going to happen” and kept her blossoms where only those travelling deep into the maze of Tullyvin local roads could see.

“It was thanks to Instagram that I saw other people doing micro flower farming. I couldn’t believe that you could actually live on that. I became a bit obsessed then.

“I have to just try it,” she encouraged herself, not knowing if there was even an interest in home-grown flowers in the area.

Meant to be here

She started working part-time in a women’s refuge, just two days per week and began planting the seeds of her micro flower farming business, growing “anything that works well in Ireland”.

“Whatever works here is what’s meant to be here, native stuff.”

Julie explains the likes of cosmos, dahlias and chrysanthemums work well at this time of year. As we speak, autumn rain is thumping down on the steel shed that has become her business base. Her workshop is tucked into a corner of the shed, with a wooden bench, a light, a few vases and some cutting tools. It’s therapeutic standing inside watching rain splash on the concrete. The shed is airy and dry, so much so that Julia has flowers hanging from the ceiling to dry out for a winter bouquet. With so many flowers drying above us and fresh bunches sitting on the counter, the smell is divine.

Anyone who grows or noses into other people’s gardens will know that sunflowers did really well this year and Julie confirms her garden produces many. Branching sunflowers were also a success and make for an excellent bouquet addition as they produce ten mini sunflowers per stem rather than one large one. Yarrow, sedum, Amaranthus and artemisia also feature in Julie’s creations at this time of year, the latter of which will envelop your home with a delicious, fresh sage-like aroma. Most interestingly, raspberry leaf sits among the blooms also.

“I have used them [raspberry leaves] all summer literally from Spring until now, they are unbelievable.”

“They’ll last like three weeks,” Julie explains.

Gardening roots

Her love of gardening comes from both of her grandmothers. Reds, yellows and more “tropical” plants feature in her maternal grandparents’ garden, with roses too, while her paternal grandmother was “more the creative side of the family.”

“She was into big jasmine bushes and lots of roses again and lots of peonies and more wild, natural plants. I have definitely taken more of her style but the love of gardening comes from both of them,” she believes.

“That memory of smelling the roses, feeling the sun and looking at the Gunn flies and the bees, I think that is what I have, consciously or unconsciously, been wanting to recreate for my kids as well.”

The many new additions and colours to her garden came to the delight of her family and many butterflies this year, which has given Julie “a lot of joy” in equal measure.

“Now that I have a more extended season of flowers, I see the biodiversity multiplying here and that’s big for me.”

All of her flowers are grown organically.

“Flowers should be good for the environment. I think that’s the whole purpose of them, to feed the bees to keep them going and also pollinate all our food and keep the whole system going. They’re beautiful and they give me a creative outlet as well.”

She believes micro flower farming is on the rise in Ireland, and is “hopeful” that more Irish-grown flowers will come to the market.

Seasonal

Describing herself as a “seasonal person”, Julie’s “winter job” which may be completed a little earlier if the streams of water outside are anything to go by, is to establish a website.

“I love to go with the energy of the seasons, it suits me down to the ground,” she says, describing how summer was her busiest period but now finds herself winding down and focusing on sowing cool season flowers such as cornflower and sweet pea.

Oak Hill Flowers are currently selling at O’Leary’s cafe in Cootehill and other locations around the town, while she also visits The Green Box in Cavan town.

“I’ll keep going as long as the flowers are there.”

Meanwhile, Julie has also been giving classes and demonstrations on her work, most recently she showed those in Cornafean how they can make a bouquet from their own garden.

“I would like to do more of that because I really enjoy the teaching element.”

Healing

Social farming is also something she is “looking into” where people who “aren’t able” to work a nine to five job come and help out on the farm.

“I would love to do something for the likes of the women from the refuge, something for them to come out and use their creativity and get their hands in the dirt.”

This is where she believes she can morph her idea of becoming a therapist with her love of gardening.

“It’s so healing and I’m so happy to be able to do this myself and I would love to make this space available for more people to come out and get that experience for themselves.”

Outside, the rain has ceased and we go out to look at the origin of the perfect vase of flowers that sat on her workshop table. The business is a “real win” for her entire family; this year’s summer meant the they could “live outside” with her kids playing in the garden around her. With that, her three children come cycling down the lane after getting off the school bus and it’s time for Julie to take off her gardening gloves and chat about the school day.

“It’s gone much better than I thought,” she reports of the business venture.