Mill Spring Monday: Moonchild Flower Farm

Five Generations, One Bold New Chapter.

Mill Spring has always known something the rest of the world is just starting to figure out. You don’t need a downtown address, a neon sign, or a social media ad budget to build something worth driving 30 miles for. What you need is craft, community, and a willingness to show up — which is exactly what the businesses here do, week after week, season after season. Mill Spring Monday is where those stories get told. Each week I spotlight one of the makers, growers, builders, or dreamers who make this corner of Polk County worth talking about. Because they’re not hidden — they’re just waiting for someone to say their name out loud.

Samantha Moonbear Arledge’s family has been farming in Polk County since the late 1800s. Cattle, tobacco, horses, even moonshine during Prohibition — her people did whatever it took to make the land work.

Now Samantha’s writing a different chapter. She’s growing flowers.

Moonchild Farm opened in Rock Springs this past summer with rows of dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers, and cosmos blooming across fields where her ancestors grew corn.

 What Makes It Special

Samantha has degrees in Agronomy, Mycology, and Plant Pathology — she understands soil health and sustainable growing at a level most flower farms never reach. She grows chemical-free using organic methods backed by real science.

She supplies florists across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. But starting last spring, she opened for U-Pick days, workshops, and festivals. Folks were able to walk the fields and cut their own bouquets. Private group sessions available too — bring up to four friends, pack some snacks, and pick 50 stems together for $50.

 Why It Matters

When someone takes family land that’s worked for over a century and figures out how to make it thrive in a completely new way, we all benefit. Samantha’s proving you can honor where you came from while building something new. When those fields open again this spring, people will drive here specifically to see what she’s built. That’s good for everyone.

 Spring opening coming soon — watch for U-Pick dates.

I am all signed up for her newsletter (check on the website) so I can put the Tulip Festival on my calendar as soon as it is scheduled.

Mill Spring Monday — spotlighting the businesses making this community w