Some places ask you to slow down before you even realize you’ve been rushing. The gravel crunches beneath your tires, flowers sway in the Tennessee breeze, bees drift from bloom to bloom, and an old tobacco barn stands watch over it all. At Perry Family Farm in Lebanon, the pace feels different. It’s quieter and softer here. Conversations linger a little longer, and the weight people carry from everyday life seems, if only for an afternoon, a little lighter.
That’s exactly what Clint and Melissa Perry hoped to create.
When they purchased their seven acres in 2016, there wasn’t much waiting for them besides open land and an aging tobacco barn. But where others may have seen an empty field, they saw possibility.
“We saw a dream waiting to happen,” Melissa said. “We believed it could happen because we were ready for it — ready to plan and work hard to make it come to life.”
The couple first lived upstairs in Clint’s parents’ home while transforming the property. Soon after buying the land, they found an old Airstream trailer. Though he had no construction experience, Clint gutted it and taught himself how to rebuild it.
“He is smart and used YouTube for a lot of the how-tos,” Melissa shared.
The renovation took more than two years. Melissa treasures the time they spent living with Clint’s parents, whose encouragement carried them through those early seasons. She also remembers the excitement of finally moving into the little trailer they had worked so hard to finish.
“We told ourselves if we ever needed more space, then we’d look at building something bigger,” she said. “We’ve been in our little Airstream for so many years now and have had such special moments and memories to hold onto. I can’t imagine needing anything else.”
That love for simple living is reflected throughout the farm.
The old tobacco barn remains one of its most treasured landmarks. Rather than erase its history, Clint gave it new life as a gathering place for family and friends, preserving the original beams and repurposing the weathered tin roof as interior walls.
“It’s a very magical space,” Melissa said.
That same care extends to the land itself.
“I plant for pollinators and wildlife,” Melissa explained. “We try to be very respectful to Mother Nature.”
Her flowers, she said, changed her own life before they ever brightened someone else’s.
“When I had no direction in life, I decided to start working with flowers,” she said. “I love doing something that brings a smile to someone and makes them feel special.”
Farming has also taught her lessons she couldn’t have learned anywhere else. She can nurture healthy soil, plant with care, and spend long days tending the fields, but the weather always has the final say.
“I can’t tell nature when to rain or have the sun shine or get warmer,” she said. “I can’t plan exactly when flowers will bloom, and sometimes they don’t at all. It definitely makes you appreciate and enjoy them when they are here.”
As Melissa plants each seed, she quietly repeats three simple words to herself — peace, hope, and love.
“As woo-woo as it may sound,” she admitted, “that’s the intention I want the farm to have.”
Again and again, visitors tell her they can feel it.
“In the first few moments after arriving, people talk about the peace they experience just walking around,” she said. “The world is not all sunshine and rainbows these days, so I try to create a place people can come and feel that, even for a moment.”
There is no typical day on the farm. Spring brings careful attention to the forecast before tilling and planting, while other days are spent mowing, weeding, and tending the endless list of jobs every farm requires.
“My favorite rhythm of the farm is that it keeps me moving,” she said. “I love having a career that requires me to be active most of the time. It’s what makes the moments of just sitting and enjoying it even sweeter.”
Not every season has felt certain.
Melissa admitted there are years when she wonders how growing flowers fits into a world carrying so much hardship. When those thoughts come, she reminds herself that it doesn’t always require having all the answers.
“This is what I know I’m supposed to be doing in this moment,” she said. “I’m supposed to be on this land being a good steward.”
That purpose has looked different from year to year. One season, she planted flowers for visitors to cut and take home. Another year, when she felt overwhelmed, she planted simply for herself. This year, the flowers belong to the birds, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, deer, rabbits, and every other creature that finds its way across the fields.
“We’ll wait and see what I plant for next year,” she said.
As neighborhoods and businesses spread across the surrounding land, she dreams of preserving these seven acres long after she and Clint are gone. In her mind, the fields remain covered in wildflowers she planted years before, returning season after season, welcoming birds, butterflies, and anyone searching for a quiet place to breathe. GN
Visit www.theperryfamilyfarm.com or email the Perrys at perryfarm2017@yahoo.com.
