We are grateful for the enriching 5 years we have had. Let’s reflect on just a few highlights. In August 2019 we were busy planning the launch of Wildflower Ranch Inn. Our idea of opening an art-based and tastefully appointed accommodation was evolving. Our search covered the entire Kentucky Bourbon Trail. During the course of 2019, we found our gem inside the well-maintained 150-year-old residence. By September we had a logo and a name and had entered escrow on the former estate in Springfield, KY we call Wildflower Ranch Inn! In December 2019 we got the keys and in January 2020 we launched a new dream.
Our first guests were some longtime Cincinnati friends. With that welcome and optimistic beginning, we plunged into Covid 19 and the pandemic no less than 6 weeks later. As we and the world regrouped many new ideas were launched. Like serving lunches at Wildflower Ranch! Our California-fresh menu incorporated some traditional favorites like Lexington BBQ and Wildflower Hot Browns. Also, many fresh tarts were baked and enjoyed from our kitchen through Carol’s Bourbon Tart business. Overnight guests were trickling back. By the fall of 2020, we hosted our first sell-out Farm to Table Dinner with guest chef Delaney Workman of Chicago.
The Wildflower Ranch Inn Brunches became the mainstay in the following winter. Guests who stayed with us were leaving such wonderful reviews and even returning a 2nd time to the safe comfortable space we offered for getaways. We were accumulating some fine accolades. The Traveler’s Choice Award by Trip Advisor and Style Blueprint’s Top 10 Romantic Get-Aways in the South, just to name a couple.
True to the spirit of our name, we have increased our pollinator and bird habitat by adding a 12-tree fruit orchard, many flowering shrubs, entry gardens featuring grasses and giant prairie flowers, establishing an acre of unfarmed wild meadow flowers, and planting over a dozen native trees.
These improvements greeted our Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear when we honored him at an event we hosted in 2023. We also had excellent news about the construction of Jefferson’s Distillery and Brand Home being built next to Limestone Branch Distillery, less than 5 miles south of our driveway! And Willett Distillery began building rickhouses at a site in Springfield. Yet another new bourbon label broke ground locally. It is called Potter Jane Distilling Company just 5 miles north. Each is racing ahead with 2025 opening dates.
2024, was a special year! We hosted a wedding on New Year’s Day. In addition—with the culinary expertise of Chef Gwyn Artz—we’ve held a Mardi Gras Dinner, a St. Patrick’s Day Feast, and a Luau Pool Party with pupus! We always leave plenty of room for fun with art classes throughout the year in our studio called The Art Distillery.
How can we enrich your visitor experience? We can customize your stay. From restaurant recommendations, bourbon tour suggestions, couples massages, charcuterie boards, and flowers in your room, we want you to have a memorable and relaxing stay. Last but not least, our breakfasts rock! We provide the freshest house-made fare only a few steps from your room with great organic juice and hot black coffee. What more could you ask for?
We are 15 minutes from Maker’s Mark Distillery, and 20 minutes to Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World. Plus, we have some special spots on the “Trail” just for you!
