Month: October 2023

I know I said last week that it was the end of the flower season, but lo and behold I had enough flowers last Friday to have another open flower/tool shed day.

I don’t think there is going to be another open flower shed this year, but who knows. We are to get our first freeze on Tuesday that will truly put an end to to flowers, but, if you want something special and I can do it, just let me know.

The dahlias are all dug, sorted and ready to join the tulips tomorrow, before the big freeze. Can you believe that we had 32 varieties to choose from this season? Some, like the dinnerplates will be going into the flower bed next summer, that leaves room for four new varieties to add next year. Next on the list of to-do’s is to get the last of the tulips planted. These are the ones that go into the outside beds and I have a group of lovely flower people to give me a hand to get that done. Meanwhile, the new peonies have been planted, and the garden continues to get cleaned up. No rush at this point, all the important things are done, and as long as it all gets done by the time the snow flies I should be good.

I made a lovely thank you bouquet for a wonderful friend who came last week to help be get beds prepped for the new peony roots, just in time, get the spring bulbs in the ground and get the pots of perennials that had been waiting to get into the ground for months healed in.

Meanwhile I finished getting two new beds ready for planting. One I had no intention os doing but it is now filled, and the other will be planted out in the spring with shade loving perennials. I have to stop planting more flowers! Next year, I won’t be adding anymore. “Sure” I can hear you all say.

So between creating new beds and planting I have had a lovely time creating. This image is last week’s #windowframethursday. It is full of late summer flowers and the last of the dahlias for the year.

So things are winding down at the farm. We are sleeping in now until 6. Quite the luxury. By Thanksgiving I expect to have the gardens completely asleep, then come mid January we start all over again, I will be rested, have a healed wing and ready to go.

I leave you with the last flower sign of the year. Don’t worry, I will still be here, blogging away for a bit longer, then I will give you a well deserved break.

I dream about flowers. Do you? Until next week. Allie

The grand circle of gardening is an interesting thought. I have truly started to tear down the cutting garden, but also getting ready for spring with the planting of the tulips and other spring bulbs, sowing cover crop on the cleared beds, then looking ahead, because every flower farmer must look ahead. I see that this past spring’s tulip crates were being pulled into the dirty room and cool crop seeds were being started the first week of February. I will still be working in the gardens somewhat until the snow flies and stays, because everything I can get done this fall, makes spring easier.

This past week’s project was getting the dahlias taken care of. I put out the call for help and you came to my rescue. Unfortunately the weather gods were not going to cooperate so I cancelled the harvest party not wanting you all to work in the rain. I started Thursday afternoon and got them all cut down, labeled, dug and in their crates by the end of Friday. let’s just say it was an Aleve evening. But, the good news is they are all in crates, in my cave waiting to be sorted, sorta cleaned and put in the bulb room with the tulips. It is going to be a very full bulb room in another week for sure.

Now that the dahlias are out and safe, I sowed cover crop seed, fingers crossed that the birds don’t eat all the seed and the seed isn’t so old it won’t germinate. After our expected low temps Tuesday morning, the weather looks really good. So good weather for getting the remainder of the garden cut back, composted, landscape fabric up, irrigation pulled, more cover crop sown, and if the weather holds, get the paths mulched!

We did have some fun, decorating the tractor with flowers!

You might ask what is left? I mean, the flower shed is closed for the season! Well, I still have the in ground tulips to get planted, but more spring bulbs, a stack of perennials to get planted that so far I haven’t killed yet while they were waiting for their space to open up, I have more peonies to plant….finishing up making another flower bed….Then, do something with the house gardens. I am setting Thanksgiving as my deadline. Then I will rest for December and most of January, then the circle starts all over again. Yay. And fingers crossed, we will have flowers again by Mid February!

So I leave you with a front porch scene. There was no #windowframethursday last week, too busy in the garden, but I created this instead. I kinda like it. I hope it makes you smile.

So, until next week, may we all dream flowers. Allie

Flower friends! I have so much to say, I just hope I can remember it all. Lots of announcements, so pay attention. Please.

This coming week will be the last week of the flower shed for the 2023 flower season. You people have knocked off my floral socks off with your dedication, understanding and support, especially these last few weeks with me because of my broken wing, and Steve being out of commission. Your generosity with your time to help out here at the farm and just moral support is keeping my head above water. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It takes a village of flower lovers and others to get us through this.

As you can see, I still have flowers.

So even though I won’t have open shed days, I will take take orders for special orders until I really don’t have flowers. Mixing fresh with dried or just dried. I just need a few days notice to pull it together please. Please email me with your request. My goal of being able to do Christmas and dried wreaths is on hold until my wing is mended and our life isn’t quite so…chaotic.

That being said, after Tuesday I am going to start to cut back the dahlias. I think my wing is good enough if I take it slowly I can get the stalks cut down, bit by bit. My plan is for Saturday, weather permitting, to start lifting the tubers and getting them into the crates, then I can sort through them at a slower pace. Here is announcement #2. On Saturday, or Sunday if it is a rain day I am having a harvest party. Like what they do in Europe to harvest the grapes. I will supply a simple lunch and wine or beer to anyone that can come by to give a hand, arm and or back. Rain day will be Sunday. If you come for an hour, that is great, if you can come for longer that is great as well. The most important part is getting them lifted and in crates in an organized manor, and into the floral cave so I can deal with them when I can.

Meanwhile, cut back of the annual beds has commenced. The netting is laboriously removed, stems cut back to the ground, irrigation wrapped up…weed mat lifted and labeled, cover crops chopped and dropped…

The good news is…All of the tulips that I ordered, and didn’t order, that is another sentence, are safely tucked in their crates and in the bulb room.

The interesting news is, Thursday I received an email from my tulip supplier that more bulbs were on their way. Apparently they wanted to make up the numbers of what I didn’t get because of all the tulip problems. Announcement #3. So. I now have an extra 1000 tulips. I have already planted 125 of each of the 2 varities, will plant 125 each in the ground, which leaves me ….500 tulips available to you at cost. They are Strong Gold, which is a beautiful yellow, and Purple Raven, which looks like a deep pink by the photo. I am selling them in bags of 20, so when you plant them in the garden it looks like you did it on purpose rather than an oops. So, a bag of 20 tulip bulbs will be $8.00. If you are interested, send me an email and I will get them ready for you. These are beautiful bulbs by the way. I wish more of the crop they sent me looked that good but oh well.

I think that is the end of my important announcements. #1 Flower shed done for the year but bouquets on demand, #2 Help on Saturday or rain date Sunday with the dahlia digging and #3 Tulips bulbs for sale. I think that is it. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything.

So I leave you on this #windowframethursday image for those of you not on Instagram. I call it a study of purples.

So, until next week, may you think flowers, especially dahlias and tulips. Allie

The long awaited delivery of the tulips for next year’s flowers has happened. They were shipped on the 29th of September, great, that was the week they were to be planted, they arrived on October 4th. Meanwhile, while I was impatiently waiting, I got my numbers sorted, figured out what I didn’t get, tried to order replacements, cleaned crates, made the call out for help, and lo and behold…it all worked out.

I asked for help, and you most amazing flower people helped. On Friday, Kathy, BJ, Ann and Nancy got all 2500 but 375 tulips planted, and hauled into the cooler. I was waiting to hear from my bulb supplier about three substitutions before they got planted. They were speedy with their reply, and Gary and Shelly helped me get the last ones planted this afternoon. Thank you so much for all your help. If all goes according to plan, I should have tulips available by mid February. When we need the color the most. I figure I will get the outdoor tulips planted by early November, and my wing will be fixed by then right? Just say yes.

The gardens are still going strong believe it or not. Steve took this really cool drone shot last Thursday of the flower garden. The light was just right.

Meanwhile, with my broken wing I will slowly get the garden ready for take down. Slowly, bit by bit it will happen. My next big call out for help will be after the freeze, when I need to tackle the dahlias. Even if you can spare me an hour or two that gets so much done. Once the dahlias are done, the pressure ifs off, and I will get done what I can. It will always be there next year waiting for me.

Besides planning for the tulips delivery, and getting them planted I have had fun with flowers this week. I love being able to be creative with my own flowers. I actually take the time to do the #windowframethursday, the rest are just hit or miss. I did a large arrangement for Steve in the garage for this photos for the Monadnock Art Tour that was Saturday and today. Now that was fun, and I think it turned out well. What do you think?

It looks as though, by the weather forecast, that we won’t have a frost this coming week, so at this moment, there will still be flower shed this week, but please stay tuned to the newsletter which will give you more up to date info. I haven’t had time to do anything with the dried flowers. I just don’t have enough mobility, but, if you want a dried bouquet, put in an order and I will get it done. The Christmas wreaths are still in my mind, but I really need to have two fully or mostly fully functioning arms for that project so please stay tuned and think positive thoughts.

I think that is it for now. I will keep you posted, thank you for all the healing chocolate, yum! The help that you are giving me and the positive vibes you are sending. It all means so much and I am so grateful. Thank you.

Your one winged flower girl, Allie

Happy October 1st everybody, what a floral year it has been, and that is an understatement in many ways.

So, let’s get on with the exciting news. The tulips have been shipped and should be here this week. That is good because after a very sleepless night last Thursday wondering if I was even going to get tulips, they were scheduled to be shipped the week of the 25th, it came through on the 26th that they were enroute. Yay. And Phew. And Oh Crap! I had told you that because of the growing year they had in the Netherlands that many varieties were crop losses, and shortages, and fusarium, and I had no idea what I was going to get. Well, with some substitutions I got all the ones I wanted for forcing, and missing about five varieties missing for the ground ones. I went onto almost every tulip website looking for replacements, but man dear I would say 90% of them were sold out, but I did manage to find enough to make up the gap. Phew.

The holy crap part is they should all be in the cooler by the end of this week to make Valentine Day’s sales. That isn’t going to happen, but I will have tulips for sale, if no spanners are thrown into the works by mid February. So here is my question. Do any of you have time in the next weekend to help plant bulb crates? I am only asking an hour, because it is Dublin Art Tour Weekend, Wool Tour weekend, Football game weekend and foliage weekend, but a lot of bulb planting can happen in just an hour. If you can give me a hand just send me an email so I have an idea of treats to have. If you can’t don’t worry, I will be asking for help later in the month with the dahlias…This only having one truly functioning arm is a pain in the a**!.

It looks as though we are going to be in for a beautiful week this week so there will be plenty of flowers. The dahlias, celosia, zinnias, chrysanthemums are still going strong the pumpkins on a stick are showing color, and fall arrangements are the go. Tomorrow I plan to start playing with the dried flowers. No promises, but I am hoping to have some cool dried stuff avail by Friday, between tulip planting and everything else going on these days.

That being said, pay attention to the newsletter that will give you info on what is up in the flower shed and my call for help.

I will leave you with two images of flowers that went out this week. Enjoy.

So, until next week, may you enjoy our beautiful Indian Summer and flowers. Allie