Month: July 2021

What a week it has been. Rain and more rain, but as I write this, the sun is shining and the flowers and I are enjoying every minute of it. While my shoes are having a difficult time drying out this year I haven’t had to water the flower gardens for weeks now, which is a huge time saver. That and I dare not put the irrigation line back across the driveway for fear of a big truck running over it, so there is a silver lining to all the rain.

Speaking of big trucks, for all of you who are navigating our driveway and mud at this moment I thank you for your patience. Now that the garage foundation is in I am hoping that in the next few weeks everything will be regraded, including the driveway parking area and the driveway to the barn. It’s a good thing we don’t have to get hay in ’cause it wouldn’t be happening.

What is happening is that the flowers are going gang busters. Just about everything is in flower or is pretty darn close. The first sowing of sunflowers way back when are getting some big buds as are the asters. Every week is a new week in the floral department.

I read in the July NOFA newsletter that July 30 is International Friendship Day, My thinking is….On Friday, flower day, get a regular bouquet, and then a small bunch, on us at Lottarock, to give to someone who is having a rough time, just moved into the area and is looking for a reach out, maybe a bunch to the local shelter or to just anyplace or person who could use a cheer up, and what better way than through local flowers. Stay tuned to the Friday newsletter that hopefully will be out on Thursday that will give more details.

I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful sunny forecast, I know I am, and I hope to see many of you this week for some beautiful flowers.

Until next week. Allie

Here we are, July 18 and we have had 12.4 inches of rain. It was only last month I was bemoaning the lack of rain and my worries about not having enough water. Well, that thought has gone out the window. The tanks are overflowing, the rivers are overflowing and I feel as though I am going to grow webbed toes if all of this rain keeps up. So far the flowers aren’t complaining too much, I am losing some lisianthus that are too close to the rain tanks overflow and the slugs are becoming abundant for the first time ever, but this too shall pass. Soon, I hope. A few days of sunshine would be greatly appreciated by this flower farmer.

Despite the rain, the flower shed offerings are becoming greater. I have buckets and buckets of assorted flowers and still more that are on deck. The Zinnias are coming in strong, the cosmos are trying to, they are just waiting for a few days of sunshine for those fat buds to pop. The lisianthus are stunning as always, the snapdragons are looking snappy, the grasses add graceful movement to any bouquet that is created. A new flower filler that I am growing this year is the Monarda Lambada and I have to say that I really like it as a flower and a filler in an arrangement.

There are lots of interesting flowers still waiting on the wings. Sunflowers (I would love to see their sunny faces now with all this wet and grey weather), asters, celosia, and keep your fingers crossed that the wet doesn’t affect them, the lovely dahlias. I can hardly wait to see the dahlias, they are so beautiful….

So I leave you with a photo of last Fridays flower shed in all its floral bounty.

Until next week, stay dry and let the sun shine on us.

Despite the week of torrential rain, and mostly gloomy weather the flowers here at Lottarock are really starting to come into bloom. I have buckets of flowers waiting for your selection!

Since the first of July we have recorded over 7 inches of rain. Unheard of for this time of year. Not that I am complaining much, the rain barrels are overflowing which is fabulous, but I would like a day or two of decent sunshine to dry things out a bit and for all those buds to break open. Have you ever met a farmer that is completely happy with the weather gods? We strive for perfection.

The most exciting news on the flower front here at Lottarock is that the Lissies (Lisianthus is their real name but we call the lissies here) are starting to bloom. Yeah! These are magnificent flowers in both bud and bloom and there are lots of shades to choose from.

The other cool flower starting to bloom is the Crocosmia. I love what these flowers add to a bouquet in both color and their form and look great with the rudbeckia, sunflowers, grasses and goldenrod.

It is sad to say that I am stopping the harvest of the beautiful Icelandic poppies. I am letting the remaining go to seed to collect so I can plant many more for us all next spring. But there are so many more flowers to choose from I hope that they won’t be missed.

That seems to be the most exciting news at Lottarock this week, there are lots of really cool flowers to choose from if you are building your bouquet. Some are perennials so their time is fleeting, but that is OK because the annuals are really starting to come into their own. Every week or two is different in the selection of flowers that make it all the more interesting as a flower grower and as flower lovers.

So I leave you with two photos of Shirley poppies that are growing in the beds. They are stunning flowers as you can see but for the life of me I can’t get them to last more than a day or two in a bouquet no matter how I condition them, so I am leaving them in the garden because they are a honey bee magnet and I just love looking at them.

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Until next week. Allie

Happy 4th everyone. Hard to believe that it is already July and the summer is quickly zipping by, although the weather isn’t feeling like July, more like April. One week we are sweltering, the next shivering. God know what the plants are thinking about these temperature fluctuations. Hot, cold, hot, cold so on and so forth. At least we have finally gotten some well needed rain. 3.8 inches! We’re still in moderate drought but improving.

The flower garden is really starting to fill in. The bachelor buttons are going gang busters as is the feverfew and the Icelandic poppies. One of my new favorite flowers to grow. They are amazing. I keep thinking that with each heat wave they are going to peter out but they are still going strong. I do believe the poppies will tide me over until the cosmos and the zinnias really kick in which should be by next week. I am getting a flower here and there so they are close to harvesting. Oh so close. The other flowers are closing in fast on their heals so by Mid July there will be buckets more of flowers to chose from.

I am starting to pull together the seed list for the perennials, bi-annuals and the plants that I am going to experiment to winter over this winter to get flowers to everyone earlier next spring. Lots of planning on where everything will go, as well as other little details but winter is a great time to play with different growing techniques.

As usual, I look forward to seeing you all at the flower shed on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. I leave you with a photo of last Friday’s flower shed door bouquet. Soft and delicate.

Until next time. Allie