Tramonto is a small family farm run by the Cristman family in Hanover County, Virginia.
My name is Ashley. I’m wife of Adam and mom to six kids from 4 to 14 in Hanover County, Virginia. Like so many others, I began growing flowers in 2020 in response to a deep longing to do something for my community. With a newborn and all of us stuck at home due to the pandemic, I ached to serve in some capacity. After stumbling upon the “Growing Kindness Project,” I knew flowers were the answer to that. I fanatically researched how to begin – we laid tarps, ordered compost and seeds, set up grow light shelves inside our living room, and sowed hundreds of seeds. Fast forward a few months, and together, we made hundreds of bouquets and delivered them to anyone who needed a smile and could use a reminder that we still had hope. The freely giving of flowers was more powerful than I could have imagined.
A Family Sewn Together
A few years post-pandemic, we are still making and giving away bouquets. In 2023 we started sharing the healing power of flowers by working with an organization dedicated to serving the most at-risk in our community. The kids we served that first Saturday had seldom seen a real flower. Several of the adults verbalized their dreams of working on a farm or as a florist, but when encouraged, it was clear that none actually believed their dreams were possible. Their complete lack of hope, stirred my heart and planted a seed for Tramonto’s future.
Bringing Hope into the Community
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
Our big dream is to create a place of respite and peace paired with meaningful employment for the most at-risk in our community. We are grateful for the opportunity to grow and sell flowers, but my desire is to develop an environment where those in need can build confidence in their dreams and feel the healing that comes with tending to a beautiful garden. We want to create jobs that give people hope for new beginnings and, through flowers, allow God to do His great work. We have been blessed and want to be a channel of blessing to others.
Flowers, Farming, and the Future
Flowers share beauty and hope. I found hope in flowers at a time when life was especially difficult and I could not see a way forward. God spoke to me very clearly through bachelor buttons that had blown over weeks before in a bad storm and were somehow still growing. I heard, "Your story is not over. I can still make beauty out of broken things." I knew then that the flowers I was growing had a purpose bigger than myself.