Episode 788: Harvey Hess joins son-in-law Joel Martin to form Outlook Flower & Bulb Farm, expanding a fourth-generation flower farm in eastern Washington

https://youtu.be/3b8sXWElGzQ?si=MEoPebVs3zY_zakt

Today’s episode tells the story of Outlook Flower & Bulb Farm in Outlook, Washington, where Joel Martin and his father-in-law Harvey Hess are reviving a flower farm that originated when Joel’s ancestors moved from the Netherlands to the U.S. and settled in Eastern Washington in 1949. John Friend, Joel’s grandfather, took things over in 1965 and continued to operate it as Friend Bulb & Flower Farm. Known for a wide assortment of cut flowers and premium bulbs, John at one time grew more than 300 varieties of gladiolus and managed a very large footprint in the region, serving the floral marketplace in Portland and Seattle. Having helped his "Opa” during summers when he was in school, Joel fell in love with farming. In 2019, he returned home from college with a degree in agriculture economics at a time when Friend Bulb & Flower Farm had scaled back considerably. Fast-forward to January 2026, Joel formed Outlook Flower & Bulb Farm with his father-in-law Harvey Hess, a transportation and logistics expert. Together, along with a team of long-term employees, they are developing a broader market for the farm, not just in bulb and root sales to nurseries and flower farms, but in finding new markets for their premium crops, including Eremurus, Allium, Peonies, and other gorgeous blooms.

Harvey Hess of Outlook Flower & Bulb Co.

Last month, I drove from Seattle in Western Washington to the agriculture community of Outlook, located about 3 hours to the East in the Yakima Valley. This is a rich agricultural region, known for fruit trees, wheat, vineyards and commodity crops. There are a few flower farms in the area – in fact, this trip also took me to meet up with Sara Groeneweg of Bloomz Flower Farm, who we recently featured on this Podcast.

Peonies spill from the rim of a vintage pickup truck

A stop in nearby Outlook was the other destination on that road trip, where I met up with Harvey Hess. Harvey has teamed up with Joel Martin, his son-in-law, to revive and expand a generations-old flower farm with roots in post-world-war migration of his Dutch ancestors to the region.

Spring peony fields

With Joel’s upbringing working side-by-side with John Friend, his grandfather, and learning bulb crop farming, this was a small but vibrant operation. As Harvey got to know what his new son-in-law was doing, and saw the potential of fields of blooms grown just for their roots and bulbs, a lightbulb went off. “How can we deve