Walking into Katrina Rosa’s and Cesar Queiroz’s house in Greenfield, the first thing you notice is plants – trays of green seedlings on every available surface, flowers and herbs hanging in dried bunches from the rafters and a profusion of houseplants crowding the windowsills.
Katrina cautions that her flower fields are a little behind schedule after the harsh winter, but everything appears to be thriving.
I met Katrina and Cesar last summer at the Greenfield Farmers’ Market, when I admired their gorgeous cut-flower bouquets. Katrina, a Monadnock region native and ConVal grad, and her husband Cesar bought their cottage and land in Greenfield in 2010.
Katrina, who was the longtime barn manager of an alpaca and cattle farm, and Cesar, who grew up on farms and ranches in Brazil, have been rescuing exotic pets and livestock from abusive situations for a decade.
While Cesar and Katrina moved to their Greenfield property because knew they wanted more land and space for their animals, the flower farm grew out of unexpected life events. Katrina, who grew up with two deaf parents, laughingly apologizes for the way she tells her story, “jumping from event to event.”
“My first language is ASL, which is rich in complexities … so much more can be conveyed at once than is possible in English!” she explained.
In 2019, Katrina’s mother, who was living in Maine, became terminally ill. When Katrina realized her mother was not being provided with a medical ASL interpreter (which is required by law) and would be unable to manage her illness, Katrina and Cesar brought her to Greenfield. The couple cared for Katrina’s mom for more than two years, until her death in September 2021.
“After my mom died, all of a sudden, my hands became still,” Katrina recalled. “I needed to have something to do with my hands, and to keep communicating with and caring for my mom in some way, so I started gardening intensively.”
As she began to plant seeds that fall, Katrina was increasingly drawn to flowers.
“When my mom was sick, people were so kind and would bring us this beautiful fresh produce, but we didn’t even have time to cook it!” Katrina said. “But whenever people brought us flowers … it just meant so much. It brought beauty and hope to the house.”
One month later, Cesar’s father, a farmer and cattle rancher, died in Brazil.
“My father loved these yellow flowers that grow on trees in Brazil,” Cesar said. “We can’t grow those here, so we planted the daffodils his memory.”
Katrina formally established Rosa Moon Farm LLC in November 2021. As she was launching the farm, she was also investigating her genealogy and cultural heritage on both sides of her family. Her father is a native of the Azores, and her mother was French-Canadian and Mi’kmaq, a tribe of the Wabanaki people.
After learning about Indigenous seed rematriation, a term used by Indigenous and Native people that means “bringing seeds home again, ” Katrina began to plan an Indigenous heritage garden in honor of her mother. The garden will incorporate the “Seven Sisters” of Wabanaki agriculture: corn, beans, squash, sunchokes, ground cherries, sunflowers and ceremonial tobacco.
“Everything we do here is regenerative,” Katrina noted. “Outside, everything material we use is compostable; we don’t use any landscaping cloth or plastic. We harvest rainwater and surface water from the property.”
Katrina and Cesar have thousands of flower bulbs and seedlings ready to go for the summer of 2023. You can find their beautiful bouquets at the Greenfield Farmers’ Market, Delay’s Harvester Market and various retail shops; just look for the Rosa Moon Farm label.
Katrina also provides custom flowers for events such as weddings and parties, as well as dried herbs and flower arrangements, and is available for barn/farm care services. You can find Rosa Moon Farm on Facebook at facebook.com/rosamoonfarm, on Instagram at instagram.com/rosamoonfarm or send her email at rosamoonfarm@gmail.com.
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