Just a few seconds' drive from Mendocino's famous Point Cabrillo Lighthouse sit fields of dahlias exploding in color, young pumpkins on twisting green vines and a farmstand of bouquets for any passerby to purchase on a whim. EarthSpoke Farms, which was just an empty field a few years ago, is the dream of the Deaton family, one of many families who moved to the Mendocino coast during the pandemic.
Back in 2021, Lydia Ashford, then Lydia Deaton, was getting ready to marry Corey Ashford. Her family, who had moved from Southern California to Mendocino the year before, decided to grow the flowers for her wedding at their house in Mendocino where the wedding was to be held.
"They turned out so beautifully that the kids, who've always wanted to do something like this, move out of the city to raise their family, said, 'This is it, this is what we want to do,'" said Shelly Deaton, wife of David and mother of the four adult Deaton children, including Lydia.
Their dream began after they hired a local construction company to do a remodel on their home. Company owner Ishvi Aum was fascinated by what the Deatons had done in their garden. Aum mentioned that he wanted to show the family a property that he thought would be great for them to expand on.
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