HOMESTEAD A COLORFUL

Flowers aren’t the only colorful touches in the garden. Amy gets most of her vegetable seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company in Mansfield.

In Amy and Alan Taylor’s garden, there are whimsical touches throughout. Chinese long beans dangling on an arched trellis, cheerful zinnias, colorful vintage patio furniture and a brood of photogenic chickens make it feel like the setting of a nostalgic children’s storybook.

“Every year, I have so much fun planning our garden,” Amy says. “I ask myself, ‘How can I make it the most magical space that I can?’”

The pair purchased their land just outside Ozark city limits in 2018 and moved to their 6-acre homestead that September with their three children. The rst year they lived there, they gardened directly in the ground. “We had no raised beds, and it was a disaster because the weeds there were just ridiculous,” Amy says.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Taylor family had extra free time to help their garden ourish. They built a greenhouse and raised beds made with reclaimed materials atop one large rock bed. Some of these reclaimed materials included castaway windows and doors, old fence posts and retired electrical conduit.

The Taylors have since added a chicken coop and a pink, yellow and orange mural by Amy, and they designated a section of the pasture speci cally for the goats. Scattered throughout the garden and greenhouse, you’ll see vintage decor and patio furniture. Amy is an avid ea marketer, and she curates almost the entire top oor at Camp Flea in Ozark along with her friend Megan Cunningham.

Each year, Amy tries to plant a few new vegetables and owers and several repeats. Some of her go-to owers are zinnias and sun owers. “Zinnias are so easy to grow because they are really tolerant, and sun owers are so dramatic and have a magical feel when they get so big,” Amy says. The Taylors always include herbs in their garden to garnish drinks and even use as greenery in bouquets.

While she and Alan do their research before trying out a new plant, they aren’t afraid of trial and error. “We’ve just had really good luck, but I think it’s because we love to garden and it’s exciting to us,” Amy says. “You just kind of have to go with the ow and realize not everything works out, but you learn from it.”

Each member of the Taylor family plays their role in the creation and maintenance of their garden bursting with bright red, pink, orange and yellow hues. Amy (pictured here) is the creative visionary and chooses which vegetables and plants to add each year.

To give the greenhouse a cozy feel, Amy decorates it with some of her signature vintage finds. “It’s almost like an extension of our home,” Amy says.

Arden (left) and Milli (right) enjoy tending to their backyard chickens and goats. Their older brother, Asher, moved out but played a big role in building the homestead’s structures like the chicken coop and greenhouse.

RESOURCES

Starter Plants

Family Flowers Greenhouse 2150 W. Jackson, Ozark 417-869-1788

Seeds

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company 2278 Baker Creek Rd., Mansfield rareseeds.com

Vintage Garden Decor Camp Flea 1900 W. Elm St., Ozark campflea.com 417-581-2575