Story & Lesson Highlights with Stephanie Walker of Queen Creek

We recently had the chance to connect with Stephanie Walker and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
This year we have a lot of travel on the calendar. It was kind of stressing me out, because as a farmer, I have to be present during the growing season so that I can weed, water, and harvest my flowers to sell. All of my flowers are watered via our well water. Last summer, while we were out of town for a week, our well pump went out and I lost my entire crop. It was devastating. After a lot of back and forth, trying to figure out how I was going to make the growing season work with all this travel, I finally decided to take a season off and allow myself to enjoy traveling. Once I made the decision to shut down my field, I felt such relief and I could start planning our trip. I was able to go on a 30 day backpacking trip around Europe with my daughter and not feel any stress about my flowers and who was watching them. It was a magical experience and something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Stephanie Walker. Owner of The Potter’s Bench- a small flower farm in Queen Creek, AZ. I grow specialty cut flowers for florists and the general public. I am an author, educator, and flower farmer. I love growing flowers and find that flowers are something that unites us. Almost everyone has a favorite flower and a memory associated with it. Inevitably, when I post a certain flower on my social media, someone will comment that it reminds them of their grandma or aunt or neighbor who used to grow that flower. Flowers are present at every major life event: birth, birthdays, graduations, recitals, holidays, weddings, anniversaries, and death.

I have always loved flowers. Whenever I find a space to grow them, I will. I realized that I could sell my flowers after a friend told me I should start selling them. One day I nervously walked into a local flower shop with a bucket of flowers from my backyard landscape and walked out with $94. I’m sure I was super awkward, but it lit a fire under me. After that, I dedicated a 600 sq ft corner of my backyard to growing flowers to sell. It was my first small field and since then I have fenced off a quarter of our property for growing, which equates to about 1/5 of an acre.

A couple years ago I received an email from someone with an email address from one of the top five publishing companies, asking if I would write a book about growing flowers. I thought the email was spam so I promptly sent it to the trash. About a week later, I received another email from the same person stating that they would really love to talk to me about the possibility of a book. This time I took it seriously and answered the email. To be honest, I didn’t want to write a book, but I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. My book How to Grow Flowers in Small Spaces was published in April 2024 and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I had to write it.

One of the things that brings me the most joy in my business is sharing my knowledge with others. I love teaching workshops and meeting all the beautiful people who love gardening just as much as I do.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
My parents taught me to work hard and to play hard. I hated gardening as a kid, because gardening meant weeding. And we weeded a lot. It seemed like most Saturday mornings we weeded the garden. But, after the work, we would have a water fight or go swimming or enjoy the harvest from the garden. I loved being with my family and having fun with them.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Before I started my business, I had a fear of failure and also a fear of being too much of an annoying salesperson. Once I finally committed to what I was doing, I found that most people appreciated the information I had to share and that what I was sharing was valuable. The comment I hear the most when a customer comes to pick up their flowers is, “I can’t believe you grew all this.” So many people don’t realize that Arizona, and the valley in particular, is the perfect place to grow year-round. We are blessed with a climate that can produce beautiful blooms 365 days of the year. With a little knowledge about what to grow and when, anyone can find success in growing in our desert climate. The best advice I could give is to just begin. Figure out our growing calendar and plant something. And when it dies, plant something else. You’ve got this!

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is really the real me. What you see is what you get. I am often on social media looking like I was just hit with a hurricane- hair a mess, no make up, dirt under the fingernails, and sweating like a pig. I used to think that I couldn’t post until everything was picture perfect. I soon found that I missed out on so many opportunities because nothing was ever perfect. So, I started to film content, close my eyes and hit the post button. What I have found is that I have become more relatable to my followers. There are so many picture perfect gardening accounts and I have found myself comparing my posts to theirs. It has often left me feeling a little depressed and wondering about the worth of my information compared to theirs. I don’t know the answer, I don’t know if I am as well-recieved as the perfectly polished accounts, but I have found that what I do brings me joy and I love sharing it with others. So, Imma keep on sharing 🙂

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I hope people know that faith and family were my priorities, followed by flowers. My family brings me the most joy. I love being around them. I love watching them grow and succeed. I love cheering them on from the sidelines. I love being a follower of Christ, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. These are the things that are most important in my life. But, a beautiful bunch of flowers in my garden or on my table sure does provide a nice backdrop to my wonderful life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepottersbench.com
• Instagram: @the_potters_bench
• Facebook: the_potter_bench

Image Credits
All images were taken by me and are my own