written by: Mary Beth
Being wedding photographers, we are lucky to be surrounded by beautiful florals on the weekends and see the magic that artistic floral design can bring to a wedding. At this point, we have photographed so many weddings with the team at GardenView Flowers and I can honestly say that each and every time that Loren and I walk into a reception space, there is a completely different vibe from the last wedding we worked together on – but equally stunning are the arrangements.
We have seen Jenny VanHoutte-Bass, Ellie VanHoutte and the GardenView crew so many times while they’re setting up, but it’s rare that we get a few minutes to chat about anything other than wedding talk, so I wanted to visit the farm, learn a little bit about their exciting new shop that opens this weekend and hear about their journey from little girls on the farm to big dreams and curating and designing.
The GardenView farm has been a family run business which launched in 1972. Jerry VanHoutte (Jenny & Ellie’s father) has taught the sisters the value of working hard with their tight – knit family. Among the farms’ 60 acres sits a white farmhouse at the edge of the property, mostly seen in the distance as you visit the sprawling grounds. This house is where the VanHoutte girls grew up, spending summers among the fields wearing little bonnets (how cute they are now but I’m sure were cuties back then!!!)
The two sisters always look great and healthy, but Jenny has struggled with her health over the years which impacted her journey to where she is now. “I found out I was diabetic in junior high and I was really struggling, dealing with that and trying to grow up.” Jenny shares.
Ellie went away to college and Jenny followed with enrolling in Savannah College of Art & Design. “That’s when all of my sickness started was freshmen year of college. So my parents came and brought me home.” Jenny opened up about her health and the continuous trips in and out of hospitals year after year would require her to pivot from art and design school. ” I did classes at Owens and I’ve just been self taught through the years.” Jenny says. Then Jenny started to take over the farm and flower business, still working with her dad, Jerry by her side.
“I would always visit Ellie in big cities, which is inspiring for me because I would get to travel. When you travel, you see things – not just the art and music but all kinds of things opens your mind.”
Ellie also has paved a way for herself with being off in different cities, working in fields such as photography and journalism. Ellie’s love of photography can be seen through out the GardenView website and marketing.
“She came back to help me.” says Jenny. Ellie is the one who is responding to emails, working flower markets and managing the behind the scenes of their flower business.
“We’re going on year 11 in the wedding business.” Ellie says. “Now it’s over 1,000 weddings since we started which is pretty amazing.”
Now, the sisters have ventured into opening IN SEASON – an on the farm shop that has so many thoughtful gifts and will soon be filled with flower farm loving customers who are looking for fresh, fun floral wares. Walking into the shop, it already feels like it’s been around for years – established is the word that comes to mind! Although Jenny had been thinking of having a shop on the property, this all came to fruition in the last four and a half months…yes, you heard that right!
Jenny and her husband, Corey Bass have worked on building and filling the shop over the winter. “We would have built our house, but there is already a house on the property that is two houses – in – one, so why are we gonna build another?” Jenny says. “So I was like, ‘Forget the house that they would have charged us a billion dollars for, we’ll just pour some money into this, right, and make improvements [to the house] up there.” She has put her heart and money into IN SEASON and it shows. “I give a lot of credit to my husband. He did all of the insulation, we did the lighting and all of the electrical. He has done everything!”
Corey has come into Jenny’s life and quietly supported her from helping around the farm to fully immersing himself into the building of IN SEASON. Jenny and Corey had their own dream wedding on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, where she helped design her own gown with a favorite seamstress and the dress was nothing short of stunning! When I saw pictures of her in her dress, it exceeded all of my expectations (I mean, who am I to have any expectations of Jenny’s wedding dress???) but I just thought it was perfect for my friend who loves the flower world and design!!!
Jenny has created a shop around the things she loves most. Each item that IN SEASON offers is hand picked by Jenny as either a brand that she has found while on her travels or products that she believes in and uses herself. “The smaller products are hand sewn by a group of women and are lavender filled. I’m eclectic but everything in the shop I believe in.”
The shop is an extension of Jenny. “[She] is very decisive, a visionary. When she wants to do something, she just puts her mind to it.” Ellie shares about her sister.
Jenny loves Anthropology and is excited there is a shop coming to Toledo. “It’s not even about the clothing, it’s about some of their floral patterns and installs. I just want to do an install in their window someday!” Jenny beams.
“I want to feel fresh when I walk into the shop. There’s a lot of things that I just really like. The blankets, the vintage floral inspired blankets” Jenny says as she lovingly shows off the high quality of the velvet trim. “Yes they are a little pricier, but I absolutely love them.”
The majority of the items offered inside the shop are floral or botanical themed. From jewelry to bags, puzzles and floral Lego kits. Soft, luxurious blankets and flowing robes to quilted hats and embroidered hand towels to handmade greeting cards – everything has been specifically brought into the shop because it is loved by it’s owners.
“We want to have flower bouquet bar pop ups in this space.” Ellie says. “Still hosting workshops and other events through out the season.”
“Jen brings a special creative touch to her work. We’re gonna do monthly arrangements – maybe tulips – that’s why it’s called ‘IN SEASON’ because we still want to keep that the base of everything.”
When the U-Pick flower farm just opened years ago, we purchased one of Jenny’s first resin pieces – a floral magnet that still sits on the side of our oven! The U-Pick garden is so much fun to bring friends, kids in to hand select flowers that they can take home and enjoy.
Over the years, Jenny has been perfecting her floral preservations which first started as souvenirs for brides who wanted to remember their gorgeous wedding bouquets – and now their selections range from full fledged table tops, serving trays, floral gifts such as ring holders and boxes. These pieces are dried and added to resin molds that create stunningly preserved arrangements that last forever.
Weddings will still be the biggest focus for Jenny and the GardenView team, but they want friends to know that the IN SEASON shop will be a place where people can come to the farm for their every day floral arrangements, too.
Ellie says: “There’s a reason why people like being here; flowers make you happy. There is an energy when you have a small business, you wear a lot of hats and get to feel like you’re making an impact, which is really exciting!”
“There are a lot of places where the job is varied,” Ellie said “one minute you’re on the farm picking flowers and an hour later, you are at the farmer’s market interacting with customers – then maybe Jenny needs help with a wedding project so all of the sudden you’re learning how to do garlands or fill a bud vase. Then all hands on deck, who wants to go to a wedding delivery???”
The farm is currently hiring – they’re looking for positive energy people who are open minded, ready to jump in, intuitive, proactive and pick things up quickly. Jen says she values her employee’s opinions and wants to empower them and to take ownership. Along with the farm being a family business, they have been blessed with friends like Kim Limes who has been Jenny’s right hand woman for years. “Kim’s great!” says Jenny. “She’s like a secondary best friend, probably in my business too much and I’m in hers but we’re like therapy for each other.” Kim is often the one we see on wedding days – helping with wedding floral design and delivering bouquets and arrangements. Creating a flexible and empowering workplace is something that Jenny and Ellie continue to strive for their employees.
“I would say this is Jenny’s golden decade!” says Ellie merrily. “Jen’s always wanted a space that represents more of what she wants to be. It’s like more of the future. This is Jenny’s evolution!”
The grand opening of the IN SEASON shop is this Saturday: April 12, 2025. IN SEASON will be open 10am – 5pm weekends until U-Pick flower fields open up for the summer on June 25th, then open daily.
Visit the IN SEASON shop at GardenView Flowers: 11160 S. River Road, Grand Rapids OH 43522
Looking to join the GardenView girls??? You can submit an application here 😉
Thank you so much Jenny, Ellie, Jerry, Corey & Kim for having us out the farm and sharing a sneak peak at the shop, we can’t wait to go back!!!