I Guess I'm A Farmer

What the heck! I'm a farmer now?

Hi! I'm Jessica VanNatta, and I guess I'm a farmer now. I decided to write a blog because my mind has been exploding with the constant transformation that is my life. This first post might be a little scattered. I want to start from the beginning and get to where I am now, but like most people's stories, it's long, it's weird, and most people don't care - so I don't want to bore you either!

It began in 1742, when a pair of English settlers...just kidding. I told you, I'm not trying to bore you! If you've made it this far, God bless you!

Most flower farmers started because they have a love for flowers—makes sense. Not me. I don't hate flowers. I've always loved looking at, smelling, giving and receiving them, but could never have comprehended that I'd meet a man on eHarmony, move to the country, and end up taking over something that is so dear to this small, hardworking farm family. I think my eHarmony profile said, "I'd love to find a beach, a little hut, and live there forever creating palm art." Or something like that.

But that's not what happened. Clearly, flower farming wasn't in the original plan. I do want to take a minute from my light-hearted take on farming and mention that I know full well that most of the community that lives around me has farmed their entire lives. They were raised in it, around it, and have breathed farming since they were born. As a "city girl," a loving description my father-in-law and stepson call me, I don't have these roots. But that does not mean I don't respect it with my every being. In fact, I've fallen in love with not just my husband, but the life that he has introduced me to. I have since found that farmers are the most intelligent, innovative, multi-faceted people I've ever met. I feel honored to live among them.

VanNatta Family Barn

So, how did this city girl get here? It's not what one would consider an 'easy' life. If you weren't raised in a farm family, this lifestyle can seem too hard, too far away from society, or too quiet. I felt a bit of that in the beginning. But I'm also a history buff. Not just the stories from the people who stayed alive to make history what they wanted it to be, but the history of family generations past. My daylily story begins with Sheila VanNatta.

I never met this woman. I've heard plenty about her, as she is my husband's late mother. And Sheila was the one in the family who loved daylilies—she even founded Daylily Connection. Together with her husband, Matt, and sister-in-law, Donna, she created a farm that sells over 1,200 varieties of daylilies. Pretty amazing. She lost her second battle to cancer and left Colt with a message that rings in my ears any time I wonder if I should be a farmer: "Take care of my daylilies." She didn't say it to me. She didn't even know me. But her legacy makes me want to make her proud. Sheila and Colt 1984

Weird, right?

Since I moved to Rush County, I've always thought the daylilies were magical. They were something to look at and think - 'wow, how did God do that' (for about a month each year). Colt and I got married in the middle of the daylilies. It just felt right. But I don't think I fully appreciated it until Matt's health started telling him that he can't keep this up, no matter how hard he tried. I imagine the emotional toll of working the daylilies without Sheila was just as painful as the twinge in his knee or the pesky back pain. It was then that he asked Colt and me if he should just mow it, till it, and make it a hayfield. He had been pondering that idea for a while. That thought didn’t just bother me—it stopped me. After five years of helping during daylily season—checking folks out, weeding, and just learning how it all works—I had a guttural reaction to thinking that all of this could be gone in an instant.

And what did we do? In 2025, we said we would take over, but we realized fast that we were going to have to prepare and learn the business side of things a little better. Sadly, after 17 years, Daylily Connection was closed for the season. It was a difficult decision. It was hard on the loyal customers too. But now, we are ready (ish) to tackle the 2026 season. And it's true, I'm a daylily farmer. This is going to be a bumpy ride, but I've always liked rollercoasters. So, let’s do this—time to get dirty!

Jessica - ready to chop weeds for the rest of her life

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