Webster’s New World Dictionary defines paradise as “any place of great beauty … or condition of great happiness.”
You may think of paradise as a place of captivating bliss, far off on a blue horizon. But it is closer to home than you think. Right here on Nutty Brown Road, the Nutty Brown Farm tucks itself like a secret behind a forest of cedar trees. A sign at 13900 points west to the Market at the Barn, where Kim Stearns and her market day partners Chris Warwick, Sara Novesky, and Hannah Warwick will sell you a bouquet of paradise or a basketful of happiness.
Inspired by a love for hand-cut flowers, the Market began in 2015 in a tiny, pioneer-style log cabin at the farm’s front gate. It has since moved deeper onto a ranch that has been in Kim’s husband Joel Stearns’ family since 1941. To get there, follow the caliche country lane where it emerges from the cedar grove, skirts a pasture of prairie grass, and eases across a cattle guard into the shallow ripple of a low water crossing on Bear Creek.
The lane ends in the shade of an expansive canopy of stately red oaks, cedar elms, and bodarks. The scene is a veritable postcard of Hill Country splendor. There, a massive wooden barn might make you think of wizards and magicians. No fire-breathing dragons here, but inside you’ll find Kim, Chris, Sara, and Hannah working their magic.
The Market specializes in organically grown flowers Kim and Chris have personally cultivated—Kim in her field behind the barn and Chris at her farm and in her urban garden.
Kim’s passion for growing flowers bubbles up within minutes of conversation. She is mesmerized by Mother Nature’s ability to take a tiny seed, pry it open with a splash of water, and reward you with a beautiful splay of color. “It’s always nice to hear our customers say how much longer our blooms last and how much they enjoy the wonderful bouquets of aroma that fill their homes,” says Kim. To make sure of that, she harvests her flowers in the morning just before the Market slides open its big doors.
After 30 years as a marketing executive, Chris now grows flowers as proprietor of Ranch 101 Flowers and Provisions. She arrives at the Market with contagious enthusiasm. “I'm proud to partner with Kim and Sara to bring local wholesome goodness to the community every Saturday during the growing season,” she says.
Kim and Chris coordinate what to sell like a carefully choreographed ballet, knowing which variety enters the dance at the right time. If you have a princess in your family who needs a crown of dried flower petals to celebrate her birthday, the Market will weave one just for her.
Sara adds a baker’s touch to the emporium with such delicacies as fresh scones, classic and rosemary rye sourdough breads, strawberry jam tarts, and cookies from her Goodbake ATX bakery.
She will tell you her first love is bread. “I started my baking career in a small, family-owned bakery surrounded by mixers, huge buckets filled to the brim with dough, and a multi-deck bread oven, and it is there where I fell in love with the craft.” As an alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California, she brings to the Market years of experience in restaurants as a pastry chef and baker.
Few things are better than sitting on a porch rocker overlooking an immense, flower-covered field while enjoying one of Sara’s brown-butter chocolate-chunk cookies and watching the quiet beauty of life at work. A red-shouldered hawk might soar overhead on warm thermals while you decide whether to return to the table for another cookie.
But there’s more than green thumbs and baker's mitts at the Market. Shoppers will also find a thoughtfully curated collection of local goods that invite them to linger as they meander through the barn. Tables and shelves are filled with handmade gifts—pillows, tea towels, floral décor, wreaths, and candles in scents like eucalyptus and firewood from Hannah’s Menagerie Candle Company. Kim and Chris also often set out on adventures to hunt for vintage treasures, which they mix throughout their own collection.
Behind the flowers and merchandising is Joel, who keeps the farm’s infrastructure running smoothly as demand grows. Often on duty on market days, he enjoys sharing stories about sourcing parts to tune up his grandfather’s 1955 Massey Ferguson tractor with front-end loader. The classic tractor is parked by the barn, where visitors can see the masterpiece of antique farming machinery up close.
Each Saturday morning, the Market opens its doors with fresh offerings from Kim, Chris, Sara, and Hannah, inviting visitors to explore their Dripping Springs paradise. It’s a beautiful way to start a weekend!
NuttyBrownFarm.com | @nutty_brown_farm
Each Saturday, the Market invites visitors to explore its Dripping Springs paradise.
Farmer Kim
Fourth-generation Texan Kim Stearns brings hard work, honesty, and a passion for growing flowers to the farm, sharing blooms many visitors never imagined could thrive in Texas.