There’s just something about flowers, the garden and nature that keeps me grounded.
I truly just can’t ever get enough.

There’s just something about flowers,
the garden and nature that keeps me grounded.
I truly just can’t ever get enough.

My life had changed. My heart became fuller. My thoughts became clearer. I knew I was where I was supposed to be and doing what I was meant to do. Fast forward to the Fall of 2021. As the old saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I was put into a position where I had to make the best lemonade ever to exist in order to survive. I side-hustled out of my parent’s garage and made Winter Porch Pots like I had never made them before. I marketed them on Facebook and I couldn’t believe the “business” I had created. As I was standing in the garage my boyfriend, also referred to as my Bearded Beast, was watching me. I don’t think that he had ever witnessed me working before. I was in my zone, and out of nowhere he says, “I don’t understand why you don’t just start your own business.” I turned around, humbled, but laughed as if he had just told the funniest joke I had ever heard. He was not joking. I quietly pondered the idea.

November 26, 2021, I signed the lease to my 300sqft store front in downtown Monticello. I was scared. I sat in the car with my mom for almost 2 hours before I finally found the courage to listen to my gut and just sign the piece of paper. As I was signing the next 3 years of my life away, another person walked in for the space, that was now mine. That was the sign I needed. It was then, that I knew I had done the right thing. Queen Bee’s Gardens & Floral opened in April 2022. 

I grew up in the small town of Hamel with my parents and younger brother. It was there that I learned of my true love and passion. Flowers. It was the frequent trips to the local greenhouse with my mom and the visits to see my aunt as she worked as a florist that kept my interest. I had finished up my freshman year of college and waltzed into the local greenhouse and applied for a summer job. To me, there was not a more perfect job; I would be home during their busy seasons and always have work. That summer job turned into my second home, my second family, and where I worked for 19 years. 

During those 19 years, I was in and out of school, working in different industries but always maintained my work during the busy seasons at the greenhouse on the weekends. I found my career as an Occupational Therapist Assistant and worked at the Minnesota Masonic Home for 8 years, where I specialized in neuro-rehab and stroke recovery on the transitional care unit. I loved my job; despite the physical and emotional taxation it took on me, the reward was worth it. I was very good at what I did. I loved my coworkers and my team. However, something was missing. The Spring of 2020, I decided I needed to take a break from the medical field and put myself back in my “happy place” at the greenhouse and work there full-time. So, I made that scary decision of leaving my successful career, all my benefits, for my happiness and for my mental health.

An active Monticello Chamber of Commerce member that strives to support the community programs and maintain involvement in any way possible. With the vast majority of my knowledge base 

Queen Bee’s Gardens & Floral is a
full-service shop offering, fresh flowers, seasonal containers, and garden design. 

Queen Bee’s Gardens & Floral is a
full-service shop offering, fresh flowers, seasonal containers, and garden design. 

being in the garden and container business, I am going to school to get my Certified Floral Designer certificate to allow my client’s to receive the best quality fresh flowers and designs. 

An active Monticello Chamber of Commerce member that strives to support the community programs and maintain involvement in any way possible. With the vast majority of my knowledge base being in the garden and container business, I am going to school to get my Certified Floral Designer certificate to allow my client’s to receive the best quality fresh flowers and designs.