Katherine Brozek remembers her grandmother’s flowers – snapdragons and daffodils especially. It’s those memories that started her own love of flowers, which has now become the most recent addition of offerings at Hilltop Harvest located just outside of Redwood Falls, Minn.
In the 1970s, Katherine’s father had taken a class on strawberry growing, but it wasn’t until after he sold his beef cattle in 1997 that he returned to the idea. In 1999, he plowed up an alfalfa field and put in strawberries. “Our first crop was in 2000,” Katherine stated.
Katherine, and her husband, Nick, took over the business in 2017. They added flowers to the operation in 2023.
The couple enjoys having people come out to the farm and giving them the opportunity to be in nature. In a world where choice can be limited to outside of a Monday-Friday 9-5 scenario, Katherine is happy to allow her customers the agency to simply choose joy. She stated, “People come and they feel so good when they leave, and it’s because they’re outside. And they’re picking the strawberry that looks the best and tastes the best to them. Or they’re picking the flower that they think is most beautiful.”
Walking through the flowers and listening to the birds is an important part of the you-pick to Katherine. Nick added, “Even in Redwood County, which is obviously a rural county, most of the people are not farmers.” And while 25 years ago, people came to the strawberry field to pick 100 pounds to make jam, now sales are less pounds per customer, but with more people willing to travel an hour and a half for the experience of Hilltop Harvest. “Giving them that experience is a big part of why we do it,” Katherine stated.
The strawberry picking season is a very busy two- to three-week period mainly in June. The you-pick flower season begins on Saturday, August 2 and will last through September. Visitors can come to the farm on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m., as well as Saturday mornings from 9-11 a.m.
For $25, visitors can fill a cup with flowers of their choosing. The farm provides the needed clippers, instructions, and then the fun begins.
There are many flowers to choose from including sunflowers, cosmos, even basil and eucalyptus. Katherine stated customers especially love the zinnias and dahlias, which she relates to as dahlias are also her favorite.
“Even when we lived in a townhome in the [Twin] Cities, I had them in pots,” Katherine stated. Besides those in the you-pick garden, she also has an additional 600 growing in a separate garden specifically kept for her work with florists, weddings, and tuber production.
To create a bouquet, Katherine’s advice is to pick whatever brings joy. “I’ve never had anyone come and fill up their cup and thought, ‘That doesn’t really work.’ Everything goes together,” she stated.
A simple guideline, however, is to build a bouquet with varying shapes, such as some big focal flowers alongside plumes like the celosia or snapdragons, and perhaps adding the gomphrena, which is orb-shaped. “But otherwise,” she added, “just put in what you love and it will be great.”
Plant food is provided for the flowers, and the cup purposely fits in cup holders to make the drive home easy.
An additional service Hilltop Harvest provides is flower subscriptions. “We’ve had several people gift subscriptions to their loved ones. And then they get that excitement every week of looking forward to their bouquet, and seeing what’s in it,” Katherine stated, adding many of the flowers may be varieties they grew up with, providing some nostalgia.
The Brozeks have also followed Katherine’s parents in continuing to grow a wide range of pumpkins that are sold to The Market in Redwood Falls. “We sell about 10,000 pounds of pumpkins to them each year,” Katherine stated.
With changes in audience needs as well as facing climate change, the business is marking its 25th year with success. The key, Katherine stated, is experience. The knowledge gained, advice they can share, even anticipating questions from guests has all aided in their efforts to make the Hilltop Harvest experience an enjoyable one.
Hilltop Harvest is located at 33343 Hunter Avenue, Redwood Falls, Minn. To learn more, visit facebook.com/HilltopHarvest.
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