We’re closing out 2025 with a soulful, grounded, and beautifully honest conversation with Brooke Stewart of Meadowbrook Flower Farm. Set between Port Fairy and Warrnambool, Brooke’s six-acre farm is shaped by wind, weather, family, and the deep desire to build something meaningful from home. Brooke shares how flower farming became the anchor she needed during motherhood, a FIFO lifestyle, raising a child with Williams Syndrome, and the isolation of early COVID. What started with a handful of Aldi dahlias, a cottage garden, and a suggestion to “go for a walk and listen to a podcast” has grown into a thriving, seasonal farm that reflects her resilience, curiosity, and huge heart. This episode is rich with learning, laughter, and the kind of honesty that reminds us why Dish the Dirt exists: to celebrate the growers, the stories, and the small everyday triumphs happening on farms across Australia. As the final episode of the year, it feels fitting, grounding, and full of hope. Thank you to every listener who has tuned in, shared an episode, spread the word, and supported local flower farmers in 2025. This community is a gift. 🌿 What We Talk AboutHow Brooke discovered flower farming through motherhood and a well-timed podcast recommendationBuilding a flower farm around FIFO schedules & family lifeMoving from a 120-year-old cottage to six acres of possibilityFloods, droughts, crickets, windbreaks & the unpredictable reality of farmingHer love for bulbs (especially gladioli!) and planning crops around life, not perfectionSoil regeneration, composting & reducing inputsThe power of showing up at conferences and finding your flower farming “village”Overcoming imposter syndrome and claiming the title “farmer”Community dinners, local networks & the importance of women supporting women💐 Brooke’s Quick-Fire Answers3 things she’d take if she had to leave quickly: Her zero-turn mowerA sunflower head for seedsA handful of trusty snipsOne flower to repopulate an empty island: Bells of Ireland (or Gladioli!)Flower hero: Lisa Mason Ziegler ✨ End-of-Year NotesThis is the final Dish the Dirt episode of 2025. Thank you for: every listenevery shareevery messageevery time you’ve supported a grower featured on the showYour support builds this community, lifts up our growers, and keeps these stories alive. I can’t wait to bring you more voices, more farms, and more beauty in 2026. 📣 Connect with BrookeAdd any links here if you’d like @meadowbrookeflowerfarm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
