About Us

Rolfe Farm is owned and operated by David and Kelly Rolfe and is located in Gilmanton, NH. It began as a flower farm in the spring of 2019.  My husband Dave and I built a house here in 2018 after nearly 20 years of operating a chicken farm in a nearby town.  Our youngest of six kids had flown the coop and we were ready to downsize, never really thinking our new location would turn into a flower farm.  We bought some laying hens and began selling fresh eggs to locals, mostly because we missed having our own hens and fresh eggs during the build.  I also planted 8 dahlias along with a few other perennials and some vegetables for our own use.  The dahlias turned out to be very prolific and I decided on a whim to put some in canning jars down at the end of our long driveway at a makeshift stand using what we had on hand, two sawhorses and a piece of plywood.  Well, surprise surprise they all sold!  So I put more at my little stand and they too sold.  I needed more dahlias next year,  We also could not keep up with the demand for fresh eggs.  Little did we know when we moved in, but the "small lake" at the end of our dead-end road had over 300 homes tucked around it and the only way in our out of Sawyer Lake Road was right by our driveway.  Rolfe Farm in Gilmanton was a success and we began planning on doing more flowers and laying hens the next year.

The next year March of  2020 brought us Covid and lockdown.  This meant that within days Dave was working from home instead of an office an hour away and I was on leave (unemployed) from my part-time job.  What to do?  While Dave got used to working from home, I had to keep busy - or busier than I was because within a week or two my to-do list had shrunk to nearly nothing and I had already caught up on long-range projects including completely redoing a wooden swingset given to us by a friend for our grandkids.  We needed garden beds and began constructing 4 raised beds.  "That should be enough," I declared.  Ha ha - well, four turned into 11 and then we decided to put a few beds directly into the ground.  In the moments when I was taking a break during this 3 1/2 month long work hiatus, I also discovered both YouTube and a bit of an adoration of Amazon.  I found one, then two and then three favorite gardening YouTube ladies and became an avid fan, devouring all types of information and tips I was surprised I never knew, even after gardening (mostly vegetable) for nearly 40 years!  Of course, supplies were necessary and these wonderful new YouTube mentors shared where to get everything - delivered!  No need to go to stores that weren't even open anyway.  That summer I planted more flowers than vegetables for the first time ever.  I believe the ratio was 90% flowers and 10% vegetables and I confess that some of the vegetables suffered as I was totally in love with everything FLOWER! 

The next year, 2021, saw one of our sons who lived 12 hours away moving back with his wife and young son, with another baby on the way.  This son, Mac, also was bringing his talent as a self-taught carpenter.  Mac offered to help design and build a flower stand that could replace the very sad two sawhorses and a piece of plywood.  We needed to up our game down at the end of the driveway.  

We had also been selling camp fire wood that was our grandson, Wes' gig for years, transferred to this new farm.  The folks up around the lake loved it.  This too was done at the end of the driveway.  A need also came about for hardwood for the occasional Sawyer Lake person who wanted a better campfire experience using hardwood.  "We can do that!" the guys said.  "The guys" were another one of our sons, Jon (aka Wes' dad) and Dave.  They had been cutting, splitting and delivering cordwood for years and had a ready supply.  

So folks could buy 2 types of wood, fresh eggs and flower bouquets all from the same convenient spot on their way up to the lake for vacation or daily for those lucky enough to live up there year-round.  We had unknowingly found a piece of land perfect to build not only our downsized home but continue our farm and expand its offerings.  

By 2022 we had purchased an official high tunnel kit.  We could extend our season on both ends.  I needed more growing space and the high provided it.  I planted 6 new 50 ft rows and he and our boys (we have 5 sons & 1 daughter, all grown and mostly living nearby) built the high tunnel around the growing flowers and never once injured a single flower!  It was an amazing feat.  That year we planted and grew thousands of flowers, starting them all from seed, corm or bulb without using pesticides or herbicides.  You can lean in and smell Rolfe Farm flower bouquets as they are what flowers should be, safe to touch and smell, unlike many flowers offered for sale elsewhere.  We are not certified organic but adhere to organic  practices.  And it is truly helping the bee population on Sawyer Lake Road too.  We also attended Gilmanton farmer's market this summer and met some great new customers and fellow farmers.  We were also able to offer some of my favorite things I enjoy making during the winter months; handknit hats, things made with wool and cotton fiber and even a book I wrote, took photos for and had published about a bunch of laying hens.

As of early January 2023 we have some salad greens, radishes, spinach and a few other cold hearty crops in one row as an experiment for us and also to nourish the soil through the winter along with fancy tulips planted in another row (another experiment).  Over 2,000 seedlings of just two types of long growing cold loving flowers have been started in our grow room in the house with many more to come.  We hope to be able to offer flower bouquets as early as the beginning of May for the first time.

We love seeing folks, some of whom have become friends, stop by to grab a bouquet, bundle of wood or fresh eggs and say a quick hello or wave with a smile.  Personally, I love when I'm working in the gardens and I catch sight of a vehicle stopping at the flower stand and see someone jumping out and choosing a bouquet; especially if its a guy getting a bouquet for his sweetheart.  Fresh flowers = Smiles I don't care who you are. 

We are looking forward to a busy spring and summer season.