Thousands of flowers enhance the wide-open views and natural beauty of Lynx Creek Farm
By Hilary Dartt
Wendy Temple has had a lifelong love affair with plants, and now she’s sharing it with the wedding couples and guests at Lynx Creek Farm, a wedding venue nestled into the hills of Prescott, overlooking the creek.
“I’ve always loved plants, animals, and children,” she said during a recent interview. “I love taking care of things. When I was a child, my room was full of plants and animals.”
Wendy and her husband Greg started offering weddings and other events on their 30-acre property four years ago (their son Grant and his bride Sofia were the first to get married there).
Hosting events at Lynx Creek Farm is a family affair. Wendy and Greg live on the property, and their daughter Raphael is the day-of coordinator.
Between events, the trio works to constantly beautify the property, adding color and depth to its wide-open views.
For Wendy and Raphael (who inherited her mom’s love of growing things), this means planting and nurturing thousands of flowers.
“We almost go overboard,” Wendy said, “but no one ever looks around and says there are too many flowers.”
Flowers, she said, have always been part of weddings, from bouquets to boutonnieres to the flower petals on the aisle. By planting a variety of blooms, the Temples are just adding to that.
Starting each February, they plant about 1,000 seeds, which they keep warm in a greenhouse. Every month thereafter, they plant a few flats so fresh plants are always available to replace those that die or don’t thrive.
Between the last frost and the first wedding of the season, the women plant, which takes about a week. Then, they water, a job that takes five hours with the two of them splitting the work. Wendy monitors daytime temperatures to determine how often to water.
With three wells and nine 50-gallon collection barrels to gather nitrogen-rich rain, water is plentiful.
This past summer, they grew more than 30 varieties of flowers, including four o’clocks, alyssum, shasta daisy, gerber daisy, painted daisy, African daisy, marigolds, sunflowers, delphinium, hollyhocks, dianthus, calendula, bachelor’s buttons, baby’s breath, aster, and more.
“The most interesting flower we grow is amaranth,” Wendy said. “Wedding guests are always asking what this is. It’s a tall plant with a large, bulbous, spectacular flower that’s actually edible. Javelinas love it.”
Zinnias are the star of the show, she said, calling them the venue’s “showcase flower.”
They can grow up to 40 inches tall and have ray florets that surround disk florets (the two florets can be different colors). The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals to a dome shape and may be white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, or lilac.
The wedding package at Lynx Creek Farm includes a day-of coordinator, three vacation rentals that sleep 18 guests, an in-house bar and bartender, tables, chairs, tablecloths, and a beautiful bridal suite. The space features a fire pit, lawn games, and an arch with amazing views.
“The flowers are just the finishing touches,” Wendy said. “Everywhere you look, there are glorious bursts of color and lush green abundance. Wedding couples, and their guests, are always amazed.”
Learn more at https://weddingsreunions.com, or by emailing [email protected] or calling 928.710.5029.
