Our story here at Thunderwood Farms began back in 2008.  Gray & I wanted to move to Woodbury to be near family, to put down roots, and hopefully find a new career path that was more attuned to the type of lifestyle we envisioned for ourselves and our growing family.  Gray's background is in business, real estate and real estate investment.  This is how we earned our living prior to moving here.  But, with the sharp decline in the real estate market in 2007, we knew it was time to do something different.

 

I am well rooted in Agriculture with my area of expertise in Horticulture.  So, in July of 2008, with family support, on family land, Gray and I stepped out on a huge limb and invested our entire savings from our real estate ventures and we were able to launch Thunderwood Farms.  And, for the past 12 years, our focus has been on growing the best perennial cultivars for the southeastern United States, providing the highest quality and fair pricing to the Green Industry, all while working diligently to be good stewards to the environment, our county, and our Green Industry.

 

On December 20, 2017, we received a MAJOR setback that threatened our future and the future of Thunderwood Farms.  On that day, our entire facility was destroyed by a tornado.  We lost several other structures on the farm, which included my grandfather’s old peach packing house, the peach stand (the 1960’s and 1970’s version of locally grown and farm to consumer), and the roof of another barn directly behind the main house.  Our hearts were broken.  We were very worried that all of the work we had put in over the last 9 and a half years had been in vain.  At the same time, we experienced such relief that no one was injured.  Our workers had no warning and were in the greenhouses as they came down around them.  The tornado hopped directly over the house where our children and my mother were settling in for a rainy afternoon on the 1st day of Christmas break.  

 

After all of this, Gray and I were uncertain as to the future of Thunderwood Farms and even our lives here in Woodbury.  But this industry rallied around us in a way that we never expected.  In the 2 days following the tornado, area nurseries, family members near and far, and some mighty good neighbors came with encouragement, man power, machines, and food to help us move our plants to safety before the weekend freeze that had been forecasted and to disassemble the wreckage left by the tornado.  As for housing our plants until time to sell and making it through spring, two local wholesale nurseries, and one local farm loaned us greenhouse space, free of charge, to help us re-establish after this disaster.

 

In the 7 months following the tornado, connections from the Green Industry and other sectors of Agriculture from all over this state have continuously offered genuine support.  Now, just know, I’m not talking about the sometimes hollow, ‘Let me know if you need help’ support.  I’m talking about ‘where the rubber hits the road – we can be there tomorrow to help with x, y, and z’ kind of support. 

 

We are so very grateful for each of these people and we are so very humbled by their outpouring of generosity and caring, for we certainly would not have made it through this far without each of them.

 

So, here we are, entering our 12th year in business.  We once again find ourselves going through a change. We are now a custom grow facility. We are specializing in Perennials, Herbs, and Vegetables.  Things certainly look different around here, but in a good way.  Even with all of the change, our commitment and focus remains on growing the best cultivars for the southeastern United States, providing high quality and fair pricing to the Green Industry, all while working diligently to be good stewards to the environment, our county, and our Green Industry.