When Alyssa Allen jokingly told her son to grow pineapples for his FFA horticulture class, she never thought Barrett would take the suggestion seriously. 

The then high school sophomore, however, got it in his head that the tropical plant would be perfect. Pineapples were a featured snack at his recent birthday party, so he cut the tops off the fruit and planted them two days later. 

“No joke, it’s that simple,” Barrett laughs. “I had six pineapple plants growing in the school greenhouse and producing fruit by the end of high school.”

The class assignment had been to “grow something,” but it sparked a passion in Barrett that’s generations deep. 

Alyssa grew up in a horticulture family; her parents owned a pumpkin patch and raised crops like corn, soybeans, peanuts, wheat and rye (with a few cattle on the side). She found her match in Zac, as her husband came with an ag background of his own.

“My [mom’s family] started out with row crops and then moved to turf grass, which is really, really different,” Barrett explains of his father.

Following in his father’s academic footsteps, Barrett found Oklahoma State University (OSU) was his perfect fit. Today, the 19-year-old is studying horticulture business, with an emphasis on production flowers. But it hasn’t just been tradition that’s kept him focused on horticulture. 

Planting an idea 

As an avid fan of the Farm for Profit podcast, Barrett tuned into an episode featuring a woman who ran agritourism for Iowa State University — his mind circled back to a long-treasured dream.

“It really, that day, just for whatever reason, hit home. I called my parents and said, this is what I’m doing,” he explains. “Dating probably back to the beginning of my senior year, I’ve always talked about having an agritourism business. I’ve always thought that with the way that the world’s going right now, the only way a farm can sustain itself to be able to show off what a farm does best.” 

After a summer working out of state, Alyssa could tell her son was ready to come back to the red dirt. 

“He learned a lot,” she explains. “It was a good experience to get away from home for two and a half months, but at the same time, he realized that he really wanted to be here … and he wanted to run his own business.”

She’d known he always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and after a few conversations about the logistics of starting a new company, Alyssa realized Barrett was serious.  

Thankfully, he came with a solid business idea. 

Beyond fitting in perfectly with his family’s experience in the horticulture world, Barrett knew the social media craze that came with “you-pick” tulips might be just what his hometown of Admore, Okla., needed. Businesses in Texas were doing the flowers in a big way, but Barrett thought he could do the flowers in a great way. 

“How can I make my little community have something that nobody else around us does?”

Barrett asked himself. “I had a feeling I could pull people from the southside of Oklahoma City and a little bit of north Texas because I could advertise myself as a small business.” 

There at home, tucked behind his parents’ house and just 15 minutes off of I-35, Barrett found the perfect spot for the new venture. 

“Since we lived on Dogwood [Road], we were like, ‘Well, we’ll just use Dogwood Blooms [as the company name] because it’s real,” he adds. “There’s nobody else like that in our region.”

Growing upwards 

A lot of the family owns their own business — mom, dad, grandparents, aunt and great aunt — so Barrett says it was a fairly smooth transition into the role himself. The abundance of mentors provided him with both support and self-confidence, but Alyssa says as a parent, she made sure her son “had some skin in the game.” 

Alyssa and Zac guided Barrett through the process of taking out a loan in his own name, and they’ve helped him in the startup with things like building a website and creating a brand. He’s been paying them back with hours on the farm, trading back his time as free labor. 

“I think that partially comes from just kind of how we’ve handled him in general as a young adult,” Alyssa says of the decision. “You get out of something what you put into it.” 

In the process of building up an online presence, Barrett quickly realized his mom had a great grasp on what it took to attract the right type of customers. He happily says she’s his business partner, dubbing her the social media mastermind of Dogwood Blooms. 

Knowing Alyssa had their communication plan handled, Barrett could focus on things like equipment and planting. With their farming background, he says his family already had a lot of what he needed to turn soil and prep fields. 

Last summer, they planted about an eighth of an acre of tulips, totaling 20,000 bulbs. Barrett says they’ll double that number in the upcoming season, but he doesn’t plan to ever get more than 60,000 in the ground. 

There’s an exciting challenge that comes with growth, but Barrett’s realistic with his time as both a full-time student and a business owner. 
“My job during the week is school. My job on the weekend is business,” he adds. 

Alyssa’s also a crucial piece to this puzzle. She steps up to the plate when Barrett’s at class, helping keep Dogwood Blooms going while Barrett focuses on school. 

Making deeper roots

It was during these weekdays in the offseason without Barrett in Ardmore that Alyssa noticed people started asking questions about something other than tulips.

“‘We’re doing sunflowers,’” Barrett remembers her telling him one day. 

As a son, he initially disagreed with his mom. But when he looked at the potential addition to Dogwood Blooms as a business partner, he could see the idea’s merit. 

“I drug my feet about it,” Barrett admits with a hint of a grin. “Tulips are big media, big marketing. But the sunflowers, at the end of the day, is where I’ll make my most money.” 

The plants themselves are a cheaper investment than tulip bulbs, and they’re both studier and come with a longer season.

While Barrett did have to invest in new equipment to make the most of his initial sunflower crop, he says the payoff is going to be worth it. 

Both flower varieties have also proven to be a great backdrop for clients interested in getting the perfect selfie or family photo. 

“We have really exploited the agritourism photography market this summer,” Alyssa explains. “There’s been some people that have taken some really cool pictures here.”

The you-pick flower world is all about aesthetic and experience, she explains. It’s a business that typically draws in women who either fall between the ages of 16-25 or 50-plus. Instagram and Facebook have been the perfect tool to draw in the ideal clientele. 

Barrett says future plans include having a plot of land dedicated solely to photographers with annual “photography passes.” He hopes that’ll draw other small business owners and add a specialized component to Dogwood Blooms. 

Alyssa recently took a master floral design class at Mississippi State. She says she’s looking forward to passing that knowledge on to her son. Though she jokes it might help Barrett with a girlfriend, knowing how to create arrangements can also help Dogwood Blooms when it comes time to start selling cut flowers. 

Grounded in the best

He might have a natural urge to try new things and succeed, but Barrett says being a part of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) taught him a lot of the skills that are helping him succeed today. 

Barrett joined The Business Breed in 2019. Black-hided cattle were rising to the top at his county fair, and Barrett’s competitive streak came out. 

“I bought my first ever [Angus] from Kyle Conley,” he says. “I owe a lot of my success in the show ring to that man and his crew that helped me along the way.” 

The animal helped up Barrett’s placing in the ring, but he says it was really people like Cole Atkinson, Conley Cattle’s herdsman, that helped him fall in love with the breed. 

And after attending a key NJAA event, Barrett was truly hooked. 

“I went to LEAD (Leaders Engaged in Angus Development) in Kentucky, and that was probably one of my fondest memories,” he says. 

Friendships were formed that have lasted through the years, triumphing even over the distance separating the juniors’ homes.

“I would say Angus has set me up in networking,” he adds. “That’s the biggest thing, being your own business owners … being able to make connections with people and create a lasting memory, a good lasting memory.” 

Alyssa has seen the proof herself, as the business’ social media following is comprised of not just clients, but Barrett’s friends and supporters. 
She credits the NJAA with the leadership and customer service skills she’s noticed in her son. 

“The American Angus Association definitely has a premier level of leadership development,” she says. 

Even Barrett’s younger brother and fellow NJAA member, Brandt, has found the start-up spirit. He has plans for another you-pick experience this fall, featuring about two acres of different varieties of pumpkins. 

There’s no doubt Alyssa’s sons are blooming into great young men. With each visitor they welcome to the tulip field and pumpkin patch, they’re ensuring the success of not just their own futures but that of the agriculture industry and their hometown, too.