The Blooming Flowers Farm project was an idea planted in the hearts of Ervin Olson and Margaret Olson, brother and mother of Colleen who was born with a chromosomal abnormality. Colleen carries a heavenly joy in her heart, keen awareness of her surroundings, ability to think critically when given an opportunity, and an excellent sense of direction as she navigates in her wheelchair. Colleen cannot speak with words but knows how to communicate her needs to family and staff. Her life was more fruitful in a school environment with more one-to-one and group focused interactions.

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You will find Colleen in many sections of our website.

The Blooming Flowers Farm was officially founded in February 2021 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the state of Illinois. Since then, we have been planting the seeds of research, resource gathering, and networking into a cohesive vision of a sensory and botanical garden community with the long-term vision to provide forever homes for adults with special needs.

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A home within a community where each resident lives a life of purpose in a safe, secure, stimulating environment. Contributing, creating, and lending a hand in an inclusive environment.

Through our resident centered approach, organic ideas, and sustainable planning, the Blooming Flowers community refuses to place a limit on the growth of our residents. It is our purpose to directly work with residents in developing their critical thinking, identification, and hand/eye coordination skills to develop tangible working skills in their own special way to assist with tasks in the resident home and in the garden.

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Our vision for the Blooming Flowers project is to integrate an exceptional home for special needs adults with a community focused garden community. Initially providing 2-4 adults a forever home with the goal of becoming an Illinois CILA (Community Integrated Living Arrangement) provider and increasing the number of residents to 8 specifically focusing on adults in the severe to profound range.