‘Labor of love’: Hmong couple turns flower, vegetable farm into a refuge for visitors
Yia Lee and Chong Ge Vang opened Rainbow Garden Farm in Harris, Minnesota, to the public after the pandemic to offer a peaceful escape for citydwellers.
Yia Lee and her husband, Chong Ge Vang, ride their small John Deere utility vehicle, crossing their farmland in Harris, Minnesota, on Oct. 3, 2025. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
The pandemic kept Yia Lee and her husband Chong Ge Vang apart — Lee staying in St. Paul for her nursing job and Vang living in the couple’s small farm north of the Twin Cities.
When the risk of infection finally ebbed, the couple decided to make their Rainbow Garden Farm in Harris a refuge for others as well.
In 2023, they opened the farm to the public, allowing visitors to spend the day at the farm, taking pictures, enjoying a meal, even picking fresh corn and lettuce from the couple’s plot. Initially they charged $5 a person, later raising that to $15.
The farm has a rice field, a reminder of their homeland in Laos, and a Southeast Asian-style thatched pole shelter that has become a popular spot for photos.
“The environment we try to set up here is more closely related to back home, as you noticed these shacks, we wanted to create a nostalgic longing to the past, a yearning to see what it’s like in the past — that’s the key word is nostalgia,” Chong Ge Vang said.
The couple hopes to keep the farm open next year, possibly on a donation basis. What they charge now only covers a little bit of the cost.
“There is no money to count, it’s just labor of love, not making money but enjoy and healing,” Yia Lee said.
Yia Lee cuts a cucumber for her husband, Chong Ge Vang, to eat at their farm in Harris, Minnesota.
Yia Lee uses a curved machete to peel a cucumber at Rainbow Garden Farm.
Yia Lee and her husband, Chong Ge Vang, pick cucumbers at Rainbow Garden Farms.
Visitors to Rainbow Garden Farm in Harris are invited to pick their own produce including cucumbers, corn and lettuce. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalA Southeast Asian-style thatched pole shelter at Rainbow Garden Farm has become a popular spot for photos. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalClockwise, from top left, cocks comb, marigolds, spider flower and sunflowers at Rainbow Garden Farm in Harris, Minnesota. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalRice is a nostalgic crop for Yia Lee and Chong Ge Vang, a reminder of their Laotian roots. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalChia Lee takes photos of her friends at Rainbow Garden Farm on Oct. 3, 2025. This is the second time she has brought her friends and family from St. Paul to the farm for a visit and photo shoot. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalYia Lee picks corn at her farm in Harris, Minnesota, pictured on October 3, 2025. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan JournalLee and Vang ride their small John Deere utility vehicle, while crossing their farm in Harris, Minnesota, on Oct. 3, 2025. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
Dymanh Chhoun is a multimedia journalist at Sahan Journal. He comes to Sahan Journal from KARE 11 News, where he worked as a full-time photojournalist. Known for his breaking news coverage, Chhoun documented...
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