Meet the Gardening Gays, a couple planting the seeds of LGBTQ+ acceptance

"Planted along US-301, a major highway and I-95 bypass that tens of thousands of people travel every year between and New England, it reads in large, unambiguous letters: Gardening Gays Farm. No small print. No apology. That sign, and everything behind it, is the story of Kevin Graham and Dragan Kurbalija, a married gay couple who left Washington, D.C., traded cocktail parties and nights out for 4 a.m. chicken chores and lambing season, and built something that conservative King George County, , did not know it was waiting for."

"They have been voted winners in multiple categories of the "KG Best of the Best" awards two years running, served on the county's Tourism Advisory Committee, received an economic development grant from the county board of supervisors, and become, in the words of the county's community engagement director, "a pinnacle member of our local agricultural sector." Their congressman has entered them into the Congressional Record."

"They are also unambiguously and unapologetically gay. In a county that votes Republican by wide margins, that turns out to matter less than the quality of their eggs. courtesy Gardening Gays Kevin grew up the youngest of seven children in rural Florida, watching his parents work themselves to exhaustion. He spent 15 years as a fitness instructor before building a career in government."

"Dragan grew up in Serbia, the son of a father who leased him as child labor to neighboring farms. "I hated farming," he says without irony, sitting in the couple's living room, a cocktail and charcuterie at the ready. He went on to spend two decades in hospitality, eventually managing restaurants with $10 million accounts. They met online - Adam4Adam, they clarify, the web version, not the app - and married in Woodbridge, Virginia, in 2017."

A farm sign along US-301 announces “Gardening Gays Farm” in large, unambiguous letters. Kevin Graham and Dragan Kurbalija, a married gay couple, left Washington, D.C. for early farm work and seasonal animal care. Their farm gained local recognition through “KG Best of the Best” awards, service on a Tourism Advisory Committee, and an economic development grant from county supervisors. Their congressman entered them into the Congressional Record. They are openly gay in a county that votes Republican by wide margins, and their agricultural quality is presented as the main factor in their acceptance. Kevin grew up in rural Florida and worked in fitness and government, while Dragan grew up in Serbia and worked in hospitality before farming.

Read at Advocate.com