JACKSONVILLE, Texas — It's not exactly gardening season for most folks in East Texas, but at Rowe Farms flowers are blooming year-round.
The farm sells everything from annual flowers, perennial flowers, hanging baskets, produce and herbs, succulents and more.
What originally started as six greenhouses in 1999, has now grown to 60 greenhouses.
"It has grown from well 17,000 square feet of grown space to 150,000 plus outdoor space," Rodney Rowe, owner of Rowe Farms said.
The wholesale plant nursery sells to national chains such as Lowe's, Home Improvement and The Home Depot, but after more than two years of effort, the farm is officially independent.
"We noticed the grass is greener on the independent side of things," Matt Rowe, son of Rodney Rowe and sales manager for Rowe Farms said. "The benefits are you get to work one on one with people. You get to watch their business grow, and you get to help their business grow."
The change means that the flowers at Rowe Farms can be sold to local grocery and retail stores.
"You get to leave your mark on a personal note, where Home Depots and Lowe's it's just out of here," Matt Rowe said.
"We're going to do this our way now," Rodney Rowe said. "We're not tied to the hip with anyone else."
Rowe Farms also provide landscaping for businesses and people all over the state of Texas.
If you're interested in flowers from Rowe Farms, you can visit their Facebook page.
"Through social media, we've been able to reach out to folks we never imagined we could," Matt Rowe said. "Just from your basic residential buyers all the way up to the Dallas Cowboys at the Star in Frisco. We've been able to work for Christus Hospital. We've picked up some of the larger retail buyers in the state of Texas."