Welcome to my home, Petal Creek Farm. With its roots traced to the early 19th century, our thirteen acre property was once part of an extensive network of family-operated fruit farms spanning over hundreds of acres in Milan and beyond. The main house, built in 1850, overlooks the long meadow at the northern end of Spring Lake and is defined by its gently rolling hills and namesake creek. Since acquiring the property in the winter of 2019, my partner Jake and I have made it our mission to restore the house and outbuildings, rehabilitate the landscaped grounds and gardens, and make a meaningful contribution to a property with history, charm, and the potential to grow and share this beauty with others.

Quickly following the onset of COVID-19 here in New York, we were forced to close the doors to our previous passion, a café named Murray’s that consumed us for nearly a decade, like all restaurant owners can attest, in the best of ways. Above all else, it cemented my love for the Hudson Valley and all its beauty. In a quest to write a new chapter together, we first decided to focus on what was right in front of us— a landscape in need of some serious hard work and care. We happened upon our love of plants and flowers in that spring of 2020 when, like so many others, we were rediscovering the ways in which being immersed in nature’s beauty can counter (even somewhat) the harsh reality of a global pandemic. Work on the farm outdoors began with cleanup and with each week’s project came a different prize of beauty. It was through revealing old stone walls and buried brick pathways, and watching in delight as peonies broke through the warming soil’s surface, that we felt the magic that comes from both finding and creating beauty within a landscape.

In the following years, I had made the decision to grow plants and flowers on a large scale, and to feel the enormity of the commitment as a test of my passion. Well, it sure worked and I’m hooked! The lessons learned were vital in embarking on what is now just the beginning years of a lifetime’s commitment to understanding what it takes to not only find and create beauty in nature, but to share it with others like you (and make a meaningful living doing it!) By means of planting, planning, or designing, I’m delighted to share the fruits of our team’s labor with supportive patrons, neighbors, and friends. Our offerings and services reflect the creative passion we share and the hard work we contribute to this project of ours, Petal Creek Farm.

-Jesse