Profiles

Prairie Life

Steps You Can Take

Web Sites of Interest

About the Program

 

 

From peas to potpourri, New Town woman has gardening covered

Kari Warberg admits she "didn't know the difference between a pea and a bean" when she started gardening.

But once she realized there was more to picking strawberries than "going down to the miracle market," Warberg's options grew tremendously. She started thinking about ways to balance her natural talents with her high regard for family time.

Since her husband frequently traveled for business, Warberg decided to search for an alternative source of income - one that wouldn't keep her away from her children.

Gardening seemed like the most feasible option. It was a way to supplement the farm life she and her husband led. It kept her close to home. It also allowed Warberg to "diversify" her interests and to succeed at something she enjoyed.

She dove into gardening not by digging in the dirt, but by surrounding herself with gardening books.

"I started going to the library," she says. "I talked to other people who grew gardens. I learned everything." Eventually, Warberg grabbed her gardening knowledge and her hoe and prepared to get her hands dirty. Today she has more than two acres of garden.

Warberg sells organic produce at a farmer's market she helped to establish and at area grocery stores. She also creates her signature potpourri from dried, fresh flowers and sells it wholesale to businesses.

Visitors from as far as Tennessee are customers. Warberg says they want to bring back "something that says North Dakota." The customers have many reasons to be pleased. Warberg always adds a personal, homegrown touch to her products. "I hand-place everything in each bag even when I'm in a hurry," she says.

Warberg's potpourri is natural and subtle, unlike a lot of what's on the market. She got interested in making potpourri because she was tired of the overpowering scents many commercial brands give off. "I wanted to make a potpourri that wasn't going to give you a headache," she says.

After a lot of hard work and intensive study in the industry, Warberg has found her niche. "I realized if it was ever going to be, it was going to be up to me," she says. "I want to use my talent and creativity while at the same time providing an income and lifestyle I'm pleased with. It's a wonderful outlet for expressing myself."