Nestled on a sun-drenched patch of land in West Paducah, the Stay family has spent the last few seasons cultivating more than just flowers, veggies, and eggs—they’re growing a whole way of life.
After moving into their 1930s farmhouse in early 2023, Jordan and Bryan Stay began a complete home renovation, and simultaneously found themselves drawn to the rhythm of the land. “We wanted to live simply, to slow down,” Jordan says, recalling the challenges of their past careers in the music industry and police force. “Now we’re building something steady, sustainable, and beautiful.”
Life on the new homestead is made all the sweeter with four-year-old Ollie around, who loves to call in the hens. “Girls! Girls!” he bellows, as they come scrambling up to the porch for a snack. Stay Family Farms is bustling with over thirty hens, fresh baby chicks, bees, and a garden loaded with veggies—some for keeping, some for selling.
Second only to her heart for faith and family, it’s easy to see that for Jordan, a passion for the ever-expanding rows of flowers runs deep. “I started with zinnias because they’re just happy. I think I needed that—something easy and colorful that would show up no matter what,” she explains.
“Every year we add more peonies,” she beams, gesturing to one that survived a late-season planting. Dahlias, Canterbury Bells, snapdragons, rudbeckia, and towering sunflowers line their fields. They’re experimenting with lesser-known beauties too, like hellebores, Baptisia, and rows of perennials meant to pay off in year three and beyond. In choosing what to grow, Jordan values beauty with endurance. Perennials aren’t just practical crops; they’re helping the Stays to weave roots into the land and build a long-term relationship with the place.
Though the flower business only officially launched in summer 2023, it already has regular customers and a growing reputation. “The farmers market has become a joy,” she says. “Talking to people, sharing what we grow—it fills me up,” Jordan comments.
As word has spread, Jordan’s flowers are finding their way into more hands and homes. She recently became the official florist of the Paducah Country Club and launched a local flower subscription service, offering deliveries to customers in the Paducah area.
One of Jordan’s favorite things has nothing to do with selling flowers—it’s about sharing them. She recently hosted a “flower potluck,” which has become a new tradition among some flower growers in Paducah and southern Illinois. They take turns opening their spaces to each other, and now Jordan’s soulful kitchen has become a place where friends new and old can gather to share their blooms, build arrangements, and enjoy an afternoon of flower talk and fellowship.
Beyond the flowers and flock, there’s a forest trail that goes deep into the woods on their land, a treehouse planned for Ollie, and bees whose hives have been lovingly relocated away from the pool to keep party guests comfortable. Bryan relishes the opportunity to catch a swarm when he can, and looks forward to the first honey harvest.
Jordan and Bryan make an inspiring team. In a relatively short time, they have jumped right into a wide range of homestead projects, and the most attractive part about it is that they are clearly having a blast together, always laughing and learning. Near the roadside they’ve built a chic, rustic farm stand made from reclaimed barn wood from their property, stocked with eggs, blooms, and (hopefully soon) fresh herbs and homegrown tomatoes. Payment is on the honor system—drop your cash or check in the box and go. It’s homey, inviting, and a joyful way to share the harvest with the locals.
The long-term vision for Stay Family Farms is to become a destination for the community—within a living, blooming, working landscape. Jordan has plans to build a small venue for baby showers and workshops. Another dream on the horizon is to add a massive field of sunflowers as a backdrop that photographers can come to for photo sessions. And perhaps even a u-pick veggie garden one day. “Eventually, I want this to become a place where people create memories, beyond buying a bouquet,” says Jordan.
For now, they’re letting the land shape them and learning from each season. After a hailstorm destroyed some early crops, they patched the gaps with second successions and cuttings. When heavy rain damaged the dahlias, they salvaged what they could and made new plans. “It’s trial and error,” admits Jordan. “But there’s beauty in that too.”
Backed by a legacy of gardeners—her mom, her grandmothers, one who ran a floral shop—the work feels ancestral. Jordan tends her land the slow way, with vision, grit, and gentleness. The farm grows when and how it can, season by season, held together by grace in the small things. Rooted in soil, and rising always toward the light.
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Follow Jordan on instagram @stayfamilyfarms and more at stayfamilyfarms.com.
