May 26th, 2024

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Recently, a complaint was made to the Barrington Hills town hall regarding our U-Pick operation. As a result, we are required to shut down our onsite U-pick activities while we address the concerns raised.

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We operated under the village's Home Occupation regulation, which allowed for limited business activities within an R1 zoning district, alongside permitted agricultural use. However, the village has raised concerns, stating that they believe our operation constitutes retail business use of the property, especially as it extends beyond the confines of a building which is strictly prohibited. They have asked that we “cease allowing visitors to the property in association with prohibited outdoor flower-picking, flower purchasing, and *special events business operations”.

 

This decision comes as a significant blow to us, especially considering the substantial investments we have made this year, with the hopes of providing you with the freshest, locally-grown flowers and a beautiful experience on our farm.

 

We want to assure you that we understand why codes and ordinances are in place, and we plan to work closely with the town to come up with a reasonable solution. If it does come down to a public hearing to request for special use (in our case, U-Pick/agritourism), we would greatly appreciate your support. If you believe that having our flower farm has benefitted this community, your voices and presence could make a significant difference.

 

Despite this setback, we will continue to plant out our crop. Our plants provide nourishment for pollinators and birds, and we believe in maintaining this benefit for the environment.

 

We know that this news may be as disappointing to you as it is to us. Our farm has always been a place for the people to come together, enjoy nature, and experience the joys of cutting their own flowers. We want to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation as quickly and amicably as possible.

 

Your encouragement and patronage have always been the heart of our farm, and we will keep you updated on any developments. We remain hopeful that we will soon be able to welcome you back to enjoy the fruits of our labor and the beauty of our blooms.

 

This website has been updated to reflect the changes to our operation. The specifics of how the farm will operate in the interim is listed below. 

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*The majority of special events at Little Ducky Flower Farm were community service projects in collaboration with nonprofits, tours for local gardening groups, and planned educational programs with schools and co-curricular groups (e.g., Girl Scouts, 4-H), as well as with schools catering to children with special needs, providing them the opportunity to safely explore our flower field with their carers and teachers.