James Ranch Blog

Fresh cut flowers have been a long-standing tradition at the Gardens at James Ranch. For over two decades Jenn and Joe Wheeling and their family have tended this wonderfully productive plot of land, supplying the Durango area not only with wonderful vegetables, but with gorgeous flowers as well. As the Wheelings move on to other pursuits, Mountain Belle Flower Farm is proud and delighted to be continuing this flower-growing legacy at the Gardens at James Ranch.

2018 will be Mountain Belle Flower Farm’s second year leasing space at James Ranch, and third year to date growing fresh cut flowers commercially in the Durango area. Mountain Belle Flower Farm has sold entirely wholesale thus far- as bulk stems for florists and wedding/event designers, and also as mixed bouquets available at local retailers. Wedding flowers and farmer’s market sales may be part of the picture down the road, but after having her first baby last spring, owner/operator Elaine Vidal has chosen to keep it as simple as possible for now.

Last season was a great success! A vibrant mix of dahlias, zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos, bells-of Ireland, sweet peas and many other flowers filled every square inch of the plot, but you most likely noticed a few thousand sunflowers as you drove by on the highway! Or perhaps you picked up a bunch at the James Ranch Market where sunflowers were available for sale- and thank you for your purchase if you did.

This coming season, Mountain Belle Flower Farm will be doubling its growing area, as well as utilizing the two hoop houses that are visible from the highway. With more space available, and greater options for season extension, there will be many new varieties of unique and heirloom cut flowers available. The focus will continue to be on growing super high-quality, long-lasting cut flowers. And in keeping with the “beyond organic” practices at James Ranch, Mountain Belle Flower Farm uses only sustainable agricultural methods and absolutely no harmful synthetic chemicals.

Luxury farm fresh mixed bouquets as well as sunflower bunches will continue to be available at the James Ranch Market this season- this year grown and arranged by Mountain Belle Flower Farm. Jenn Wheeling of the Gardens at James Ranch put it well in saying, “If there is one thing that I am really proud of in my years as a farmer, it is helping people understand how much better a flower bouquet is, in color and vase life, when it is grown locally and picked fresh, usually on the day the customer picks it up.”

Owner/operator Elaine Vidal and her now 10-month old baby daughter are very much looking forward to a great season ahead. In her words, “I feel extremely fortunate and grateful to be able to grow and share something real, tangible and beautiful; something that has the power to move people and to feed the soul. Real farm fresh flowers have that power. Flowers that have been drenched in chemicals and shipped in from overseas just don’t have the same luminosity, or ethereal quality to them. I feel truly blessed to be continuing a local agricultural legacy in a very special place, and to be growing my own unique local business that I am truly proud to share with our community.”

A website is in the works, but in the meantime you can find us @mountainbelleflowerfarm on both Instagram and Facebook.

After living on the James Ranch for the past 11 years, Xena, the guard donkey for the pastured poultry business starts a new adventurous chapter of her long life by joining a family in Buena Vista that races burros and packs them into the Colorado high country.
READ MORE

The James Ranch Market is thrilled to be offering wild-caught Alaskan salmon to our customers in a partnership with Colorado locals Eric and MJ at Silver Wave Salmon.
READ MORE

Enjoy yoga and Pilates on the Terraces at the James Ranch this summer. Extending your yoga and Pilates practice to the outdoors logs some major benefits.
READ MORE

Joel F. Salatin is an American farmer, lecturer, and author who is now the editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine. The Stockman Grass Farmer brings its readers the latest information on high profit grassland ideas from all over the world; each month profiling leading farmers and ranchers with details as to how and why they are successful. Salatin and his extended family raise livestock using holistic methods of animal husbandry, free of potentially harmful chemicals, on his Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. He is a leader in the regenerative movement and a true mentor for hundreds of farmers and ranchers worldwide. This editorial from the May Stockman Grass Farmer speaks to our hearts as modern day grass farmers.
READ MORE

With a new clue received from a local magazine picked up in Jackson Hole, the Stewarts are headed to Driggs, Idaho to meet a like-minded chef then head to Boise, which has been touted as a new foodie city, then up to Coeur d' Alene which is headquarters for Tractor Sodas, the Grill's new organic soft drinks.
READ MORE

The Stewart's are on their epic research trip and stopping off first in Denver and Boulder. There are a lot of great restaurants in the area, but there are three that actually have their own farms/ranches that supply a majority of their ingredients just like the Harvest Grill. Their goal is to see the kitchens and meet with the chefs.
READ MORE

Due to weather conditions in Jackson, the Stewarts headed a bit south to Utah and had a chance to do a meet and eat with at a restaurant that had one of their favorite kitchen layouts. They also surprised Sasha with a new addition to the family (four legged and furry).
READ MORE

Cynthia and Robert decided to research their next adventuring into the restaurant world by taking a research trip in a motorhome to different restaurants around the western United States. Their goals are to see other kitchens, talk to chefs, understand the restaurant culture and learn how to recruit an employee team that will join in their dream of the ultimate farm-to-table dining experience.
READ MORE

Are there any other parents out there like me who groan internally with the thought of crafting a daily, nutritious, filling school lunch that your children will actually eat? I’m sure there are. I am deeply committed to feeding my family nutrient-dense foods from our farm as much as I can.  So for this reason, I roll up my sleeves and do a little planning. At this time of year, there is such amazing, local food available that it is a natural fit to work some of it into your kids’ school lunch.
READ MORE

There’s a bumper crop of winter squash and pumpkins in the Gardens at James Ranch this year! Instead of hauling it all in, we’d like to invite you to participate and get a great deal.
READ MORE

 Four years ago I (Cynthia) was walking through the Durango Farmer’s Market to see what I could buy for the Grill to serve. I stopped at a booth that had a corn stock that was only 4 feet high but had these large, beautiful ears of corn jetting off the sides of it. This was my first introduction to dry land corn.
READ MORE

Since I have been actively working on the ranch the last few years, I have been paying attention to the wasp populations and actively encouraging their numbers by building housing and planting more and more bushes and plants with flowers to feed them.  Beneficial wasps, both predatory and parasitoid, are another way we accomplish chemical-free, organic farming. 
READ MORE

Cool dew on your feet, gentle mooing in the background, and an experience yoga teacher leading you through morning movement guranteed to leave you feeling refreshed and energized for your day. This is yoga on the Terraces at James Ranch.
READ MORE

The families of the James Ranch provide a well-rounded variety of organically grown food products for the local community: 100% grass-fed beef, artisan raw milk cheeses, pastured pork and eggs, fresh produce and flowers, and our restaurant (Harvest Grill and Greens at the James Ranch Terraces). It's a family affair and we have a lot of moving parts that come together to offer our community the freshest, most nutrient-dense food in the Four Corners.  We are also proud to carry products from other local farmers! We'd love to take a second to introduce to you the current lineup of farmers that we'll be supporting and carrying at James Ranch Market and Harvest Grill.
READ MORE