BLACKFOOT -- Raising flowers in the Idaho desert may seem a futile occupation.

But Bindweed Farms near Blackfoot has turned its five acres above the Snake River plain into an operation that supplies high end florists in resort regions such as Sun Valley and Jackson Hole.

The expansion into cut flowers started by chance.

Owners Ralph Thurston and Jeriann Sabin planted hundreds of wildflowers, hoping to raise leafcutter bees to sell to nearby alfalfa growers.

When that didn't work out, however, they kept the flowers and started selling them.

Sabin says that in a state better known for its russet potatoes than its roses, "This business is all about luck."

Still, she adds, "It's a lot more fun than Vegas."