We fell in love with growing, together.

When we got married in 2019, neither of us had planted a single thing. We thought we’d try our hand at a few herbs, maybe some veggies. But as is usually the case with gardening, we were quickly hooked. Now it’s our desire to use every square foot of our yard - front and back - to grow flowers, vegetables, berries, herbs, and fruit trees.

One of the things we’re most proud of is the number of pollinators that have buzzed through our yard this last year - even our neighbors have noticed the influx!

2022 was the first year we went “all in” on cut flowers, and we’re excited to continue honing and sharing our craft!

What makes Joy House unique?

Here’s what makes us different from the flowers you’ll find at the supermarket

Grown in Nashville, for Nashville! We’re literally growing all this in the front and back yards of our Cleveland Park home. You’re investing locally, and we’re avoiding costs & emissions from shipping flowers long distances. The flowers you receive are fresh fresh fresh!
Adding chemicals harms the ecosystem, so we only use natural fertilizers. This includes our own kitchen scraps for compost. Starting spring of 2023, our chickens will support our fertilizing endeavors!
We grow with nature, planting and harvesting according to what would naturally be growing in each season. While this means some flowers can’t be accessed “on demand”, it also makes them that much more special when they are growing!
We value the health of our soil, which means we do what we can to protect and nourish its microbiome. It knows what it’s doing, and we do our best not to interrupt this (pretty amazing) natural process. This means we keep nutrients in the ground, and the whole ecosystem benefits.

Dreaming

It all started with a book, a dream, and some spray paint.
Prepping beds

In September 2021 we said goodbye to our grass and hello to some small burial mound looking flower beds.
Starting seeds.

We packed a room full of seedling trays and grow lights. Neighbors assumed we’d started a small cannabis operation. We disappointed them.
Building our greenhouse

Youtube videos, borrowed tools, secondhand windows, and one hot summer later, we built our greenhouse together!
The first seedlings going down

We were so excited to finally drop some growing seedlings into our new beds!
Joyful Blooms!

After months of prepping and planning, we finally had a front yard full of blooms! We also noticed a ton more varieties of birds, bees, and butterflies in the yard this year.

Rachel Lykins

Grower / Owner
Rachel has her doctorate of Occupational Therapy and has worked in a hospital setting for the past four years. She switched to part time to pursue her love of flowers and start JHB. A highlight of hers has been to combine her interests; she helped start an outdoor garden for patients at the hospital where she works!
Zach Lykins

Grower / Builder
Zach works as a product manager in the healthcare technology world. But what gets him most amped is being outside with his hands in the dirt. When you can’t find him outside, however, he’s definitely in the kitchen experimenting with sourdough. Follow his sourdough journey at East Nashville Daily Bread.
The Lykins

We got married in October 2019, and fell into our love of growing together. What started as a hobby has become our shared passion, and on any given week you’ll find us outside watering flowers, tending to chickens, harvesting vegetables, or reading in the greenhouse.