THE GLORY OF FLOWERS

From planting 100 bulbs to 100 beds, Brooke Neal Freeman has turned a love of blooms into a successful business venture.

- Heather Barnes

Aboat ride changed the course of Brooke Neal Freeman's life.

While on a fishing trip with her then-fiancé, their boat capsized 10 miles offshore. The couple was eventually rescued by the Coast Guard, and surviving the ordeal gave Freeman the confidence to change direction and start a new venture growing flowers.

Freeman's love of flowers began as a child, planting with her parents around her playhouse. Both her grandmothers love flowers and as their health declined, she would visit and bring each of them small bouquets.

Her adult ventures started small. She planted a raised bed in her Goldsboro, North Carolina, backyard with 100 tulip bulbs she bought online. Her dad joked they wouldn't look like those at Disneyland, but she says, "They were the most beautiful flowers."