How we started.
Family Farming in Tualatin, Oregon Since 1869!
FarmHER.
We are a 7 generation family farm located in Tualatin, Oregon. The 6th generation of Lee Farms has 5 siblings: Erika, Teagan, Kara, Annie & Tommy. We have a long history in Tualatin (we began farming here in 1869) with the Jurgen, Nyberg, Martinazzi & Lee family.
Our farm origin began with row crops, cattle & custom hay work. We then opened up our farm to the public with strawberry u-pick fields & Christmas trees. Our main ‘seasons’ now are the Easter Egg Hunt, Berry Festival, Fall Harvest Pumpkin Patch Festival, U-Cut Christmas Trees & Sunflower Festival! Teagan & Kara started the Sunflower Festival in 2019 with the help & support of the entire family.
Teagan.
I attended OSU and PSU graduating in 2007 with a communication studies degree. I worked for a pharmaceutical company for 7.5 years while marrying my husband, Luis, and starting my family which began with my daughter, Rory. After my second baby, Finn, was born I decided to leave the corporate world & boomerang back to the farm as my dad was needing help managing the daily operations due to expansion. We finished our family with the baby, Kane, in 2018. My entrepreneurial itch resurfaced which led to the partnering with my sister, Kara, to create our Sunflower Festival Journey!!
Kara.
After college I opened my own massage therapy practice & loved being able to connect & help people. I met my husband, Jeremy, while down at OSU & we got married & had three kiddos: Ryder, Makenzie & Hannah! I really enjoyed being a therapist but I wanted to be able to raise my babies & teach them the meaning of hard work by example which led me back to the farm! I currently manage logistics of the farm for my dad which includes our Fall Harvest Pumpkin Patch & u-cut Christmas Tree’s. I do have to say that my favorite project has been the Sunflower Festival with Teagan!
Dream it.
In 2019 we attended a national conference for agritainment (NAFDMA) & gathered the idea to start a Sunflower Festival as a few east coast farms had hosted festivals focused on sunflowers the previous year. We started with just 2 acres of sunflowers & used all of the festival experience we had from our annual Fall Harvest Festival (that our parents started in the early 90’s). We learned so much the first year-mostly how much people LOVE sunflowers!! We had a vision of endless sunflower views, live/local musicians, good food & a tranquil yet fun event for anyone to attend.
Grow it.
We meticulously research & plan which sunflowers to grow every year. We hand plant all of the sunflowers. Typically we enlist our kids & round up our husbands to help too :). Its a family affair! Our dad is a huge help when it comes to working the ground, fertilizing & irrigating. We start planning in January, planting in April, hand weed from May-July & open our fields to our beautiful guests in August. We truly love getting our hands dirty, working long days & physically catering to every flower we grow.
Share it.
The reward comes from all of the incredible guests that visit our farm. We are beyond thankful to be able to live off of our land & benefit from the sweat & tears we pour into planning, working, planting, sewing & harvesting. We wouldn’t be able to maintain our 7 generation farm if it wasn’t for our amazing visitors! We look forward to sharing our family farm with you :). We are so thankful for each & every one of you!
