PROSPECT, Oregon - Just a few years ago, Michaela Hamilton was like many backyard gardeners - tending the land she inherited from her father, growing vegetables, and waging a familiar battle against hungry wildlife. Season after season, voracious deer made short work of her hard-earned crops. But amidst the losses, something unexpected happened: a small cluster of dahlias, picked up on a whim from a local garden center, remained untouched.

Intrigued, Michaela decided to plant a few more the following spring - 500 more, to be exact. In for a penny, as they say!

What began as an experiment soon blossomed into something extraordinary. Whether it’s the rich volcanic soil of the Cascades, the pure waters of the nearby Rogue River, or Michaela’s own deep-rooted passion for growing things, the results were undeniable—her dahlias thrived. “When they did bloom, I was obsessed … I had my little nieces out, in their little fairy costumes picking flowers and I was like, this is the rest of my life. This is it right here” says Hamilton, fondly. The next year, she went in on about 3,000 plants, experimenting with raised beds and different configurations. At the end of each season, the ground is forked via tractor, and the uplifted tubers are inventoried for either re-planting next year’s cut flower crop, or bagged in dormancy for sale in retail stores. At current count, she grows over three-hundred varieties of dahlias across 18,000 plants.

Now, she has rooted Delicate Flower Dahlia Farm as not only a community icon, but the largest dahlia farm in Southern Oregon. Michaela started with a roadside flower stand, working out of her vehicle in Eagle Point. But shortly after starting at Grange Co-op, she leveraged selling her cut flowers in stores. After just three years, she’s expanded Delicate Flower Dahlia Farm’s offerings to five Grange Co-op locations, and can also be found at local gatherings such as the Jackson County Master Gardener’s Spring Fair. “It’s pure happiness, you know? Building something that brings so much joy and happiness to the world, like to everyone who sees them.”

Growing dahlias isn’t without its challenges, especially in comparatively colder climes than the Willamette Valley (where most of Oregon’s dahlias are commercially grown). Every year, dahlia tubers in Prospect’s hardiness zone (USDA 7-8) must be lifted and divided, otherwise they won’t survive the winter temperatures, even underground. And while most gardeners are patiently waiting for spring seed catalogs and the first signs of warmer weather, Michaela is cleaning and bagging hundreds upon hundreds of tubers. “It teaches you a lot of patience … hard work, respect. You’re out here with nature, and you can’t force it. You have to let [them] take their time, after months and months of work. But then you get your blooms, and you’re so grateful.”

As of 2025, you can find cut dahlia bouquets starting around late summer at Grange Co-op locations in Grants Pass, Central Point, White City, Medford, and Ashland, along with tubers of those same varieties earlier in spring. During the peak of the blooming season, Michaela hosts several events that bring together locals, vendors, and travelers from all over the Rogue Valley to the small town of Prospect.