Everyone deals with adversity differently. When a fall from a ladder at her retail job caused her to fracture multiple bones in both of her feet, Kristen Maness was confined to a wheelchair for 15 months and used crutches for 11 more. She underwent 15 surgeries and counting. Her surgeon told Maness it would be a life-altering injury. The surgeon was correct, but perhaps not in the way they had meant. In the wake of her own stroke of adversity, Maness chose to grow flowers.

Kristen Maness beams in her field of flowers on her cut flower operation, Roots of Truth, which uses sustainable and organic farming practices. 

After her injuries ended her retail career and other accessible options didn’t appeal to her, she and her family made the decision in 2017 to purchase land in Morrilton, Arkansas, and pursue homesteading, starting with a vegetable garden. Soon after, she got her hands on a copy of Erin Benzakein’s book Cut Flower Garden and began reading voraciously about the cut flower industry. She was astonished to learn that a multi-billion-dollar industry was largely reliant on imports from other countries, and this didn’t sit well with her.

“I believe you’re taking the essence—the life—out of these beautiful things when you mass produce them and ship them far and wide. I decided I wanted to see more locally grown flowers right here in my state,” said Maness.

She soon realized she could make a good living growing flowers. She began planting zinnias in her vegetable garden and mowing her property to make room for more blooms. One day, she and her mother loaded their flowers into a van and delivered them to nearby florists just to see what would sell. To their surprise, the florists eagerly bought out everything they had. From there, Maness’s dream of owning a cut flower farm took root, but she needed help getting started.

Maness was advised to visit her local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field office, where she met Conway County District Conservationist Tiffany Williams and her staff. They formed a mutualistic relationship: Williams and her team provided technical assistance and checklists to keep Maness on target, and Maness gave them a unique challenge.

“I had never worked with an operation anything like this before. We were under some restrictions because (Maness’s) operation is situated on wetlands, which creates growing challenges, and we have to be careful not to impact the wetland determination,” Williams explained. “But we are constantly finding ways to make her operation run smoothly and efficiently. (Maness) is still heavily affected by (her) injury, but (she’s) still doing it all.”

With the help of NRCS, Maness has implemented a high tunnel, raised beds, low tunnels, a new water pipeline, micro-irrigation, a nutrient management plan, a pest management plan, crop rotation, no-till, cover crops, and more through Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts.

“Before, the ground was so wet that everything I tried growing would just rot and die,” Maness explained. “Now, with NRCS’s help, I can control the water on my land—where it is and how much there is—and get my plant’s roots in the soil. Plus, Tiffany’s notes keep me on track!”

With NRCS by her side, along with her own extensive research, her background in business and interior design, and support from her mother, coworkers, and cut flower collectives, Kristen’s farm, Roots of Truth, has flourished. Every week, she sells to florists from Sherwood to Van Buren, often making four-hour round trips. Thanks to her consistency and loyal clientele, she has doubled her profits almost every year since starting her business. Her stunning flowers, arranged in bouquets, have even been featured on the covers of bridal magazines.

Kristen Maness and her mom, Patricia, trim flower stems alongside their loyal canine companion, Sandy. Maness and her hardworking team follow an orderly weekly routine of tending to, arranging and delivering their flowers to florists across the state to consistently and efficiently meet their clientele’s demand. 

Demand for her flowers far exceeds what she can supply, which recently led her to join forces with local farmers and other growers to form her own cut flower collective. This allows her to better meet customer demand and grow her business despite the limitations of her land.

“I’ve always loved hard, physical labor. My grandfather instilled it in me,” Maness explained. “That accident could have put me at a desk job, but that sounded like punishment to me. I wanted to be outdoors. And here I am today, spending time outdoors and doing what I want to do with my business.”

Though Maness still endures extreme pain in both feet, she refuses to let it stop her. Anyone observing her working tirelessly in her fields or driving long distances to deliver flowers might think her disability empowered her to do more. In fact, her own adversity called her to become a board member of the nonprofit Accessibility Across Arkansas, which provides adaptive equipment and accessibility consulting to recreational organizations across the state.

“I like that my kids get to see what people are capable of doing. I like being a good role model for them,” Maness said affirmatively. “They can say that their mom had this horrible accident, but she didn’t let that kill her spirit. I’m really proud of that.”