FREEPORT DAHLIAS

I started growing dahlias in 2018, and a few years later, turned it into a business. In 2021, I bought a highly distressed acre of land in Maine and started a flower farm.

I’m also a playwright. I studied with the late Tina Howe, and had productions regularly in cities like NY, Chicago, Boston, and LA. In 2018, a brain injury put my writing and my life on hold for several years.

Growing dahlias was a significant part of my recovery. I’ve regained my cognitive abilities fully, and am working on a book (or possibly a play) to offer encouragement and meaning for others who’ve experienced similarly difficult events. I named my farm Perseverance Farm, and planted my dahlias in a truckload of the soil that was scooped up from the set of my play Perseverance at Portland Stage.

I sold the land in January 2026 and now teach Playwriting at Middlebury College.

If you actually followed all of that, you can understand why 2026 will be a fallow year for the business.