Sam & Donna Marlow
Owners of Rows and Rose

We developed a desire to live on a farm as children. Sam’s fondest childhood memories include his trips to Wisconsin to visit his aunts and uncles on their dairy farm. I moved around a lot as a child, but my mother always found time to plant flowers and gardens. Living in rural communities, I spent summers walking beans and detasseling corn.

We met in northwest Indiana, married and bought our first home in Merrillville, Indiana. Despite living in the city, we found the perfect starter home on two acres. Sam put in a huge garden while I wrangled Chase, Gatlin, and Ciara; the three children we had in three years. As our oldest son was approaching kindergarten, we decided it was time to find the small rural community in which we both dreamed of raising our children.

God blessed us with a property in Roseville, Illinois with 75 acres of woodlands, a creek, deer, farm ground, and a pavilion in the center. Sam built a small cabin, then our home, a chicken coop, and a second larger cabin. Since he is affectionately called a “serial hobbyist” he also got bees for honey, planted grape vines, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, fruit trees, wildflowers, lavender, peonies, roses, sunflowers, and a huge yearly garden. (This does not include biking, running, barbecuing, raising quail, canning,...)
What a gift it was to be able to raise our three children on the farm. Our children share memories of picking black raspberries in the woods, walking in the creek, having picnics at the pavilion, building forts in the timber, hauling rocks from the creek to make flower beds, and running trails in the woods.

When our prayers to find a property in the country were answered, we knew we needed to share our blessings with others. We were able to have our childrens’ classes and my class out for field trips, host family reunions, church events, baby showers, cross country team retreats, and our second son’s wedding reception.
In 2016, our three children each had their weddings. We experienced the joy and challenges of having three weddings in one year. We did decorations, food, cakes, candles, guest favors, and flowers. In June 2023, we were able to do the same for a family friend in a small woodland ceremony. This led to the dream of hosting weddings and get-togethers for others on our farm.

Our mission is to provide beautiful, memorable events for families using flowers grown on our farm, the beauty of God’s creation, and the gifts and talents of our children and grandchildren.

We are so happy you are here.