Est. 2018
WE ARE A WOMAN RUN FLOWER FARM & AROMATHERAPY COMPANY GROWING SPECIALTY CUT FLOWERS FOR FLORAL DESIGN AND AROMATIC FLOWERS FOR SKINCARE.
Nestled on the Frontrange of Colorado between Denver, Boulder, and Golden, SHEGROWS is a 3 acre farm in Arvada that grows double tulips in the dead of winter, spring flowering lilacs and viburnum, rare cultivars of bearded iris, blousy peonies, fragrant garden roses, medicinal lavender and herbs, and show stopping dahlias along with a field of fall blooming annuals until the frost. Building community and educating is at the heart of why we do this work. We have a 4 season Flower CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), design arrangements for special occasions, distill and infuse oils for small batch skincare products, offer apprenticeship programs, and host creative retreats throughout the summer.
We are in a constant state of growth and now that our garden has reached our gate, we are focused on going deeper in relationship with flowers through distilling their essential oils and sharing them through skincare products.
Meet Gina
“My mother died when I was two years old but before she left she planted a garden.
This is my story.”
My life started with a tragic loss, when my mother Barbara was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the young age of thirty one and died when I was only two years old. Cancer took her life, and rocked my family's to the core. But before she died she planned accordingly—-she planted a garden. Collectively with several neighbors, she tilled up a half acre of land and started a garden. That neighborhood garden silently spoke to me throughout my childhood, and into my adult years. My mother was the type of person who made food for her own wake. My brother remembers making pigs-in-the-blanket with her and she told him when he ate them she’d be in heaven. I was too young to remember any goodbyes she had with me, but I have a feeling she would have told me she’d be with me in the garden.
Her garden, and many others in my life, have called to me throughout the seasons. They have taught me valuable lessons about life, death, and everything in between. They called to me as a child, they call to me in my sleep, when I'm driving down the road, or when I'm building a compost pile on a really rainy day. They force me to contemplate my own individuality--my beauty, my strengths, as well as my own and my mother’s, immortality.
Now as an adult, my love for gardening has called me to explore the world of growing as a career. Please join me as I take this leap of faith. May my trials be shared with courage and my successes with humility, helping you cultivate the garden, and life, of your dreams.
Walking in the World,
Our gardens are dedicated to my mother Barbara Ann Costanzo, to my grandmothers, Thelma Nowak and Ann Costanzo, and to their everlasting love through the seasons of life. And to my daughters, Sophia and Cecilia, may they always know the embrace of a mother’s love and believe in the beauty of their blooms.
how we got here
At SHEGROWS, we STRIVE TO HELP PEOPLE GROW AS MUCH AS our gardens GROW.
Like most women, Gina had different interests from her husband, Rodman, but has taken her marriage on a journey to figure out how to live authentically, and to honor her husband’s dreams while not sacrificing her own. While Gina’s drive is steeped in gardening and raising children among simple pleasures in life— Rodman’s entrepreneurial spirit is a never ending hustle. This struggle of opposites birthed a television series on PBS and Create TV called Urban Conversion., which launched in 2019 and is now airing across the country.
Over the years of filming, they learned sustainable practices in urban agriculture, green building renovation, and the many facets of video production. In 2018, they purchased a 3 acre farm in Arvada and Gina started building a farm and growing a business, while Rodman continued in real estate by day, and fixing things on the farm by night. Along with a farm crew, apprentices, and volunteers, Gina can be found on the farm each season growing gardens and Rodman can be found speaking across the country on building wreath through real estate. Together they have found that while their passions may be different, it is possible to honor each other’s dreams while still remaining true to oneself. Growing together, and helping people grow has been the backbone of their life work together, which in the end has been the most beautiful part of their journey.