The Ardoin Family Farm - Our Story

My Name is Erin Ardoin. I’m the ginger in Ginger’s Florals. My husband John, our two dogs; Winston, Izzie and I run a tiny backyard farm in Port Orchard, Washington. We have both been avid gardeners for many years. John has an eye for beautiful landscaping and I’ve always leaned toward vegetables. I weirdly enjoy all the organizing and planning it takes to grow a productive garden. Over the years we have been able to grow enough that we can share the abundance with family, friends and the community. There’s not much we find more satisfying than the sharing what we’ve grown with others in our life.

In 2020 we decided to make a shift to flowers. John and I spent our 11 year wedding anniversary in Victoria, BC. On that trip we went to The Butchart Gardens. The sheer abundance of vibrant, seasonal flowers, even in October, was inspiring. We fell in love. It brought back so many memories. Daffodils in my grandmother’s yard, tulips in my Aunt Nora’s. My mother’s lilies and my grandfather’s roses. We planted a rose, the same variety that my grandfather, “Papa Watson”, had in his front yard when I was a child. I thought that rose was the most amazing flower I had ever seen. I could stare at it for what seemed like hours. I have such fond memories from when he cut blooms for me. It was so special to have that gorgeous, coral beauty in my hands. I’ll never forget the soft sugary scent. Filled with inspiration from our trip to Victoria, family memories and the need for joy while the pandemic changed all of our lives; I was reminded of the impact something as seemingly small as a bouquet of flowers could have. I knew what that felt like, how much we all needed it and we couldn’t wait to share that experience with others.

The only logical next step that we could imagine was to create a cutting garden. Grow the most luxurious, seasonal and blooms we can and to share them with our local community.