Owner of local U-Pick flower farm invites community to ‘spread a little bit of happiness through flowers’

IDAHO FALLS — A local woman hopes to continue lifting others up while providing an opportunity for others to do the same by sharing her love of flowers with the community.

Jessica Smedley owns 3 Girls Garden, a U-Pick flower farm located at 5959 1st Street in Idaho Falls. She, her husband, and their children manage the family-run business, but she also has a friend’s daughter and an intern from Brigham Young University-Idaho who help.

“It’s grown quite a lot over the years,” Smedley told EastIdahoNews.com about her flower farm that opened in 2020. “I always tell people the best part about it is that nobody leaves the flower farm sad. Everybody leaves happy, and I think there needs to be more places like that in the world.”

When Smedley was pregnant with her fifth child, she was on and off bed rest. Towards the end of her pregnancy, she felt like she needed something to do, but knew she needed to be sitting down to do it.

She took a class called “Simplified Flower Arranging” from one of her favorite bloggers at the time. The class taught her how to take flowers from the grocery store and make them “look prettier” instead of just putting them in a vase.

“I took this class and after my baby was born, when people would bring meals or help with the kids, I started cutting flowers from my yard, and me and the kids would arrange them then take them to the people who served us to say, ‘Thank you,’” she explained.

By doing this, Smedley realized that more people need to have flowers in their home on a regular basis because of the joy they can bring.

That’s when Smedley got the idea to start a U-Pick flower farm, and she spent that winter, while she had her baby, researching everything she needed to know about growing flowers.

“(I thought) that would appeal to families and people that want something to do, and then also have that impact of having flowers in your home,” she said about starting the flower farm.

Smedley used part of her vegetable garden at the time—a roughly 10-foot by 15-foot area—to start growing flowers. The Smedleys eventually rototilled flower beds on the front two acres of their property.

In 2022, they expanded and added almost 400 peonies. Smedley added another 150 peonies last fall and plans to add another 150 this fall. They held their first-ever Peony U-Pick events earlier in June of this year.

Smedley said their garden features a variety of flowers, including cosmos, snapdragons, zinnias, sweet peas, celosia, gomphrena, and perennials, in addition to peonies.

The regular U-Pick season will open at the end of July and run until mid-September. The hours are Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. At the U-Pick events, kids can participate in activities like a children’s garden and a five-sensory scavenger hunt.

“We try to make it so there’s something for everybody to do, whether they come as a girls’ night or with family or on a date,” Smedley said.

This summer, Ammon Art Garage will come twice to teach painting classes, and a few yoga classes are also planned.

Smedley also offers different classes throughout the year. She’s taught people how to grow a cut flower garden in southeast Idaho and how to grow dahlias, and she holds Peony Tea Parties, which are flower-arranging classes where she teaches people how to arrange peonies in teapots.

Smedley invites community members to “come and connect with nature” by visiting the flower farm.

“I think it’s worth it to have flowers in your home, and if you can serve through flowers, that’s even better,” Smedley said. “(Come) pick some flowers for yourself and then share them with others. Let’s spread a little bit of happiness through flowers.”

For more information on upcoming events, prices, monthly bouquet subscriptions, and photo session opportunities, visit ‘3 Girls Garden’ Facebook page or website.