Originally published in Yellowstone Valley Woman.
Andi Thatcher uses homegrown picks for her creative bouquets
Andi Thatcher is a farmer. But instead of a crop of farm-fresh food, she creates joy growing beautiful and fanciful flowers. Her fresh-cut blooms take centerstage for all kinds of special moments — birthdays, sympathy and weddings. Life at Rimrock Flower Farm, just south of Roundup, appears to operate at a slower pace. But don’t let the easy breezy nature here fool you. Andi works overtime, dreaming up ways to create beauty in this slice of fresh flower farming.
On this day after a late season snowstorm lingers, I drive the 50 miles from Billings right into the beginnings of the ponderosa pine forest at the edge of the Bull Mountains. As I turn off US 87 toward Klein, I make my way up the road and spy two high tunnel greenhouses and a log home in the background. After I pull up, Andi, a tall woman with long brown hair, slips out of the greenhouse dressed in nutmeg-colored cotton duck canvas overalls. June, a golden retriever puppy, excitedly follows her out.