Jenny Jonak has planted many seeds — both figuratively through her many business and advocacy endeavors and literally, as evidenced by her thriving farm near Eugene.
In the local Asian community, you might know Jenny as president of the the Asian American Council of Oregon, and her advocacy for local Asian households targeted by theft. If you're an educator or parent, you might recognize her as a school board member for Eugene School District 4J. For those who frequent the Lane County Farmers Market, you might stumble across the table where she sells her bouquets. R-G readers may remember her for hosting a snail race in June.
"One of my favorite things about Eugene is that you can have all these different interests, and it doesn't have to diminish your credibility in any one thing," Jonak, 52, said. "I think society used to be more forgiving of people having multiple interests instead of feeling, you have to be so pigeonholed into just doing one thing."
Jonak has also traveled the world pursuing wildlife photography, volunteered at the library, worked with local arts and music organizations, and is an active mother of four, heavily involved in their schools and extracurricular activities.
"It's like cross training in sports," Jonak said. "Doing different things, I think is good for your brain and your life. I think it makes you a more fulfilled person. And I wish people were more encouraged to do that."
Jonak grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, beginning her law degree early. She had her oldest child when she was 19, experiencing early motherhood while going through law school. Jonak remembered being immediately discounted as both a young woman and mother in the legal scene, but her skills spoke for themselves. She was hired onto a prestigious law firm in San Francisco right out of law school and made the cross-country move to the city where she later met her husband.
Jonak didn't grow up gardening. Her interest sparked about 25 years ago, starting with a small produce garden in San Francisco, which expanded as they bought larger properties. In the early 2000s, the Jonaks sought out a new home base to raise a family, settling on Lane County after being intrigued by Oregon's lengthy growing season.
Her exploration into flower gardening started with decorative flora that she enjoyed or species that deter pests. She never intended to run a commercial farm.
Jonak and her husband bought the 80-acre Dragon Song Farm property during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, schools were shuttered and Jonak was doing what she could to keep her three youngest children occupied. They often read J.R.R. Tolkien together, hence the farm's fantastical name.
"It was this idea that flowers are magical because they make people happy," Jonak said. "That's one of my favorite things about flowers versus, say, fruits and vegetables, is you just get this instant delight with people when they get flowers."
In the early days, the Jonaks set up a farm stand at the edge of their property. With urging from friends, Jonak began putting together bouquets for Community Supported Agriculture, a subscription service that boosts the local agriculture scene.
She then expanded her sales and now sells at the Lane County Farmer's Market. Florists and brides visit the farm itself regularly to take their pick of Jonak's crop or collaborate on floral options.
Jonak still operates her own law firm, mostly taking on cases in complex commercial litigation. She also does plenty of pro bono work, which allows her to incorporate civil rights while challenging herself. Jonak often represents "the small person."
"If you own your own law firm, it's fun because you can pick and choose the cases that you take," Jonak said. "I will only take cases I really like. It's fun because you get to work with language, you get to research and learn about things that you didn't otherwise know. It's constantly changing, so you're never doing the same thing from day to day, which I really like.
"That idea of being able to rectify something that's really big for somebody and help them during a time period in which they're really struggling, that's an honor."
Per best flower farming business practices, flower farms should grow a limited number of flowers. Jonak said 10 species is considered ideal for making a profit. But Jonak doesn't follow the typical mold. She said the money was never important to her.
Dragon Song has more than 50 species of flowers, with innumerable variations. She said she grows more than 80 varieties of dahlias alone.
"From a profit standpoint, the general consensus is that you want to grow as few across as possible," Jonak said. "But if you're doing it for the love of it, it's really hard to limit yourself."
If Dragon Song had one specialty, Jonak said it'd be delphiniums, but she also showed off rows and rows of peonies, scented geranium, lisianthus, lilies, gladiolus, marigolds, bells of Ireland and more.
Passion drives what Jonak grows. Aside from her flowers, she grows produce that she and her family consume or occasionally give away to friends, preserving anything they can't eat right away. She said, last year, she canned 60 gallons of tomato sauce and 200 jars of jam.
One of her staples is a an heirloom Korean radish, something that can't be found in most grocery stores. Jonak said she gives them to her mother, who grew up in Seoul, who uses the radish to make kimchi.
Jonak's sustainability can be traced back more than 40 years. As a child, Jonak said she read "Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth," a 1987 nonfiction book about the impacts of the commercial meat industry.
"I was so horrified that I told my parents I was never eating meat again," Jonak said. "They were like, 'This is a phase, and it'll pass.' But I love it, and I've never gone back."
Recently, she began working with Oregon State University's Dry Farming program, which is a method of farming with little to no water. Jonak said much of that work has been on produce, so she reached out to help kickstart a study on flowers as well.
Jonak already said she's extremely stingy with water, but is hoping to push that to the next level. Her farm operates almost entirely on solar panels and most of their water comes from a rain attachment system set up off the barn that feeds into a cistern. She said climate change and water access weigh heavily on her mind, so she wants to help find ways to shift agriculture toward sustainability.
"We're hoping that if we start publishing, then we can encourage other people to take part in it," Jonak said of the collaboration with OSU. "Our goal is to expand that trial to be bigger next year. Then, ultimately, if we are identifying some species that are doing better, we can actually start breeding towards more drought resilient plants."
Another aspect of Jonak's farming advocacy involves accessibility of breaking into the market. Jonak herself didn't grow up with agriculture experience and knows first-hand how challenging it is to start a farm from nothing. She recently joined a statewide committee on land access and is part of the The Friends of Family Farmers' Legislature Committee.
As the average age of farmers creeps higher, Jonak said we're not just losing an entire generation of farmers but also farms.
"Farming is such a difficult way for almost anyone to make a living, and beginning farmers, I think, have it particularly tough," Jonak said. "So many farmers have inherited their land, inherited their equipment, so for someone trying to break into that without that backdrop, it's really difficult to find land with how expensive land prices are.
"We have to figure out ways to make that more accessible for people," Jonak said.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at [email protected] or find her on X @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: How Jenny Jonak went from a prestigious law firm to a Eugene flower farm