North Texas Daily

Focusing on the beauty of what nature provides, alumna and owner of Little Seed Flowers Audrie Patterson shares her passion for plants through her small urban farm. Based in the backyard of her Denton home, the former art teacher said the business helps her share her love for artistry in a new way.

Bouquet arrangements are given out at the Denton Farmers Market on June 3, 2022. Photo by Anthony Rubio

“My creativity just took a different form,” Patterson said. “It first took the form of interior design […] making things look beautiful in my own home. After that, I was able to cultivate a garden and it is my outlet for creativity now.”

Patterson has been surrounded by nature since she was born. Her grandfather owned a ranch in Mexico and when they immigrated to the United States he began gardening to provide for his family. Her grandparents taught her how to plant herbs and vegetables, which initiated her love for farming began.

After welcoming her son in 2013, Patterson began to spend most of her days as a stay-at-home mom. Her aunt and university alumna, Rose Weitzman, reached out and asked if she would like some plants that were on sale at Calloway’s for $1.

The flowers Weitzman bought Patterson were purslane flowers, what Weitzman described as a simple starter plant. Patterson started to reconnect with her love of nature as she began seeing how these plants would slowly but surely bloom.

“She is a very creative and artistic person – she just took it and ran with it,” Weitzman said.

Patterson would soon get the pleasure of seeing the plant’s growth happen right in front of her eyes. 

“My son and I would sit on the front porch and we would go out there to do some activities or have breakfast, some [of the flowers] would look like they were about to flourish then 15 to 20 minutes later they were fully open,” Patterson said. “I was so captivated and in awe. I loved witnessing that on the daily basis. That is truly what captured my heart and drew me into the garden.” 

To further the growth of her garden, Patterson began to plant an assortment of flowers in her backyard. While this collection of flowers continued to expand in variety and size, she started to craft her own homegrown bouquets. As Patterson’s love for her garden grew, she established her own flower farm, Little Seed Flowers.

This is the first year that Little Seed Flowers is an official small business. The business began its gardening season in the spring and plans to continue until the end of summer. In the fall, she plans to extend the season further by harvesting and making dry flowers into bouquets. 

A bee flies towards lavender at Little Seed Flowers on June 3, 2022. Photo by Anthony Rubio

Patterson grows the garden mostly on her own, with occasional help from her husband, Josh Patterson, 40. His help includes lending a hand on the website and heavier duty work. Josh emphasized that she is the gardener of the family and does all of the dirty work in the backyard.

The couple made the decision for her to take a course through Floret, an intense online workshop that focuses on growing flowers. 

“We wanted to have our home flourish, and a lot has come out of that,” Josh said. 

Growing a garden has made Patterson slow down in some ways. It has given her a different perspective on life by teaching her how to rest and stay busy in a balanced manner. She said all aspects of nature, even the death of a plant, are beautiful things to witness and reflect on.

“I am a follower of Jesus and I feel like that reflects God’s heart for its people,” Patterson said. “That even when we think something is dead, useless and not good for anything anymore, I feel like what’s reflected in the journey and the cycle of a flower is that it shows us that his heart for us is hope and he leaves us seeds as a sign that is more to come.”

Patterson sets up her shop at the Denton Community Market and provides flowers to multiple florists in the vicinity of Denton. She hopes to help people connect to growing and cultivating to help the wildlife that is around the community as the city grows. Patterson also plans to open online ordering through the website as flowers bloom. 

Within the first year of Little Seed Flowers being an official business, Patterson hopes her business has planted a little seed in her community and plans to continue to grow as part of the heart of the local flower movement. 

“God is using humanity and a local flower movement as a part of a bigger story and picture for Denton, Texas, and all of humanity,” Audrie said.

More about Little Seed Flowers can be found on its website littleseedflowers.com or Instagram @littleseedflowers.

Featured Image: Audrie Patterson holds a basket of flowers on June 3, 2022. Photo by Anthony Rubio