Our Farm's story

Why we call it Grandpa’s Peony Paradise

This land has been farmland since 1931. Almost 100 years. It has been in our family for four generations and with our kids, it will be five. In just a few years, excited to officially call it a century farm!

Our great-grandpa, Lee Torman, purchased this land around 1931 after his family journeyed to the United States from Brandenburg, Prussia (Berlin today) and from Poznań, Poland. They came searching for freedom and opportunity, eventually finding their way to Ogden.

During the Great Depression, Lee worked tirelessly to provide for his family, taking jobs near the railroad while building a life on this land. He and his wife raised ten children in a small 1,000 square foot farmhouse that still stands today.

He planted peach, apricot, apple, and cherry trees. He raised chickens. He sold fruit at Union Station, and his peaches shipped all over the country.

Our great-grandpa, Lee Torman, is pictured here with his mother, Martha Martin Torman, on the family farm.

Eventually, his daughter, our Grandma Bette, married the man we all lovingly call Abuelo. He purchased the land and continued caring for the fields, balancing life as a firefighter and electrician while tending the farm he loved deeply. 

Liz’s mom, Cindee, was born and raised here. In 2004, she moved back to the farm with her kids. Liz and her sisters became the fourth generation to live on this land.

Grandma Bette and Abuelo had Cindee, pictured here with Grandpa Torman on the farm. Cindee was born and raised on the farm. Cindee is Liz’s (my) mom.
Grandma Bette and Grandpa Leavitt “Abuelo” when they were first dating in front of the small farm house

Growing up here as a teenager meant 6 a.m. mornings working alongside Abuelo for $3 an hour driving the old tractor, tilling the soil, doing whatever needed to be done. Those early mornings instilled a deep respect for hard work and a lifelong love for the land.

Abuelo not only raised his grandkids here, but also his great-grandkids. He had a way of teasing us, pointing and saying, “Pretty finders,” reminding us to notice beauty in everyday things.

When Abuelo passed away in 2023 at 92 years old, we spent a lot of time thinking about how to honor him and Grandpa Torman. With many of the old fruit trees gone, we felt it was time for something new, something that would bring fresh life back into the fields they worked so faithfully.

That’s how the peony farm began.

 

We like to think both grandpas would be proud to see the soil being worked again. They would love the beauty of the peonies.

Today, we’re honored to continue growing our beautiful flowers on the land they once farmed, carrying forward the legacy they started here all those years ago.