Carrie Moritz, Gazette

            Kyle and Brittany Lessman just wanted to grow some pumpkins. And their land southeast of Garretson was a perfect spot to garden, as it had once been a dairy farm.

            "We didn't like seeing the empty lots anymore. That's when we had the bright idea to start growing some pumpkins," Brittany said. The business that grew from that seed was Two Little Bees Family Farms.

            Since then, the idea has grown to encompass flowers, farm-fresh eggs, and a hobby agri-tourism business, along with pumpkins.

            This year, they opened a "You Pick" option for their flowers, where visitors can come and pick their own flower bouquets from the patch of land they've devoted to the colorful blooms. They began hosting the events on Friday and Sunday evenings, and have been pleased with the turnout so far.

            Kyle, a graphic designer at Quality Printing in Luverne, graduated from SDSU with a major in ag journalism. Brittany, a Senior Marketing Specialist at Sanford, grew up as part of a farm family just north of where they currently live. Knowing that they wanted to instill a work ethic and agricultural knowledge into their children, Kyle and Brittany realized they could move into gardening. What started as just pumpkins grew from there. Their two children, 7-year-old Beau and 4-year-old Bria, are the two little "Bees" that inspired the name.

            And the children have been very involved in the family's endeavors, whether it was planting seeds in February or pulling weeds in June. Beau has enjoyed interacting with the visitors to their farm, educating people about the types of flowers they have. Bria has enjoyed making bouquets.

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