The temperature hovers around a brisk 40 degrees on an overcast March afternoon. But Pamela Arnosky, who farms full time with her family on their Blanco County land, pays no mind. She's got buckets of fresh ranunculus to grade and band into bunches.

Clad in a heavy wool sweater, corduroy jeans, and sturdy gloves, Pamela works at a towel-covered table in an open-air shed. In the grass, family dogs Biscuit (abandoned at a junkyard) and puppy Paddy (another furry rescue) wrestle over a red ball.

In a nearby shed, baby dairy goats, Valentino and Daisy, bleat loudly for a bottle of milk while more than 190 chicks in an adjoining partition huddle beneath heat lamps. For a few minutes, workers in from the fields stop by for afternoon instructions from Pamela.

Life on a farm never slows.

"These are for my do-it-yourself brides," Pamela says, selecting a handful of crimson red and lemon yellow ranunculus. A quick whack on the floral stem cutter neatly evens up the bottoms.

"Typically, for weddings and special events, folks order ahead and come to the farm to pick up straight bunches of flowers or pre-made mixed bouquets of whatever's in season," she continues as she rubber bands them together. "Or we can tell them where to buy our flowers in Austin and San Antonio, which is at all Central Markets, select H-E-B Blooms stores, and select Whole Foods Markets stores; and at the Austin Flower Company."

Growing cut flowers wasn't part of the plan when Pamela, her husband Frank, and their four children–Derrick, Janos, Hannah Rose, and Elena–started farming in 1990. On 12 acres of rich bottomland east of Blanco on FM 2325, they built a small home from salvaged lumber, put up a greenhouse, raised bedding plants, and bought more acreage.

As an experiment, they planted 2,500 delphiniums in 1992. Only 10 survived, just enough to inspire Pamela to grow more long-stemmed, pastel-colored beauties. Today, the Arnoskys run a 90-acre farm with 20 acres in cultivation along with 22 greenhouses and cold frames. For their Texas Specialty Cut Flowers label, they grow more than 50 flower varieties throughout the year. (Frank is the current president of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.)

In 2008, more than 200 friends gathered for an old-fashioned barn raising on the Arnoskys' second farm location at the corner of FM 2523 and FM 165. The huge Blue Barn, so named for its vibrant sky hue, is a self-serve roadside stand, where they sell bedding plants, hanging baskets, flower bouquets, farm fresh eggs, and goat cheeses produced by Pure Luck Farm and Dairy in Dripping Springs.

Pamela staffs the stand most Saturday mornings so she can chat with customers, which she enjoys. Recently, the Arnoskys installed a concrete floor at the barn, which they'll celebrate with a community potluck and dance (music by Zydeco Blanco) set for Saturday, April 25, at 6 p.m. Eventually, they'll put in a hardwood floor, a more conducive surface for the two-stepping that Pamela and Frank so adore (ask Pamela how they met).

After the kids left, one by one, for college, the couple bought 87 acres in Minnesota near Lake Superior and established a new flower farm called Superior Peonies. This summer, they'll harvest their first blooms.

Meanwhile, Arnosky Family Farms in the Texas Hill Country just keeps evolving and growing. "We considered becoming just a vegetable farm and wedding venue," Pamela reflects. "But we came back to our mission statement. We are a flower farm because that's what we do best. But we also want to offer people a richer Saturday experience at the Blue Barn."

Toward that goal, Hannah Rose, who graduated from Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts and worked in fine dining restaurants, will market her own labels–Blue Barn Bakery and North Star Jams–at the barn starting April 1. She's already got a line of Texas Meyer Lemon marmalade processed and ready to sell.

"On Saturdays, she's going to serve four selections of sweet and savory baked goods," Pamela says. "Her products will use fresh, high quality ingredients, including vegetables and herbs raised here on the farm. For her jam label, we're growing some of her fruit. Frank planted raspberries, apples, and cherries in Minnesota and an orchard here with 80 peach and 20 plum trees. Pecan trees are also planted here at the farm."

A new retail greenhouse (and soon a shadehouse as well) near the Blue Barn will house garden transplants and flowering hanging baskets. There will be seasonal selections of vegetable plants, annuals, and perennials, including many that the Arnoskys grow as cut flowers. Folks can meander through and choose their own plants. Pamela's Texas Garden Bouquets change with the seasons, and her spring bouquets feature larkspur, snapdragons, queen anne's lace, iris, and tulips.

"We are cultivating more vegetables for sale this year," Pamela adds. "But honestly, we hope to encourage people to plant their own gardens, so they can experience the pure pleasure of eating a fresh tomato right from their own garden."

Next fall, Elena, who's finishing a landscape architecture degree at Cornell University, will return to the farm. Whenever they return home for visits, sons Derrick (who's married, holds a master of urban planning, and works in Seattle) and Janos (a Texas A&M horticultural major who teaches at a flight school in College Station) always pitch in on the farm.

In the grass, a calico cat passing by momentarily distracts Paddy from the red ball. Biscuit grabs it, drops it at Pamela's feet, then stares at her with "Please throw it!" eyes. Pamela laughs and tosses the ball as Biscuit shoots across the caliche drive in hot pursuit.

"This spring is going to be just beautiful because of the wet winter we've had," she says, smiling. "I can't wait!"

The Blue Barn market at Arnosky Family Farms is located at the corner of FM 2325 and FM 165. It is 16 miles west of Wimberley on FM 2325 or 8 miles east of Blanco on FM 165. Gates open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(830) 833-5428

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