Month: April 2024

Things are really ramping up here at the farm. The narcissus are going gangbusters and they are getting harvested two times a day now. I harvest at what is called the gooseneck stage, so they haven’t been kissed by a pollinator, then they go into dry store so just before you get them they will be rehydrated and will last longer for you. Sorta like what I do with the tulips.

Speaking of tulips, the last crate of tulips will be harvested tomorrow, Yay! And it looks as though the first two varieties of the outdoor grown ones will also be harvested. With these temperatures higher than what we have been having, the flowers come on fast, so it is a race to get them harvested while still in bud.

Meanwhile, all of the perennial seedlings have been planted, all transplanting and dividing that needed to get done is done and everything has had a good soak. I wish we would get a good soaking rain. The last of the plants that were ordered during the winter are here and planted out, and the chrysanthemum plugs are potted up and ready to have their first cuttings taken, hopefully this week.

The high tunnel is full, the irrigation is up and running and you can actually see the plants now without having to squint and use your imagination that they are there. The next batch of seedlings goes out into the big garden this week with protection once I get that row prepped and ready. Phew, there is a lot to do. Meanwhile more seeding has to take place and more transplanting.

I am making up small posies to offer on Fridays, perfect little bundles of flowers for the table, hostess gift or by your reading chair. The early spring flowers are tiny flowers, hence posies. I just harvested a handful of fritilaria, the muscari are still going, hellebores are looking good and the tiny narcissus could all grace the posie offerings.

I leave you with warm floral thoughts, and I hope to see you at the flower shed. Well, in truth is is still the tool shed, but soon the flower shed will be like how you know it. Tidy and full of flowers. This photo is the shed door floral treat, which is now gracing the table outside the front door. Look at those bodacious yellow blooms. Talk about swaying to the music!

Until next week. Allie, who is always dreaming of flowers.

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and I thought you would find it interesting as a flower grower what I do every day growing flowers, not just on Earth Day, or the week of Earth Day but every day for the Earth.

First, and although you probably know this, no chemicals are used here at the farm. Not even “organic approved” chemicals. Even though they are allowed for organic certification, any pesticide, organic or not, kills. And that will not happen here. I strive for biodiversity with hedgerows, brush piles and bird houses placed all over. Yes, I fence out the deer, but only in what I am trying to produce. They have free range everywhere else on the property. The hedgerow material gives habitat as well as food sources, and pollinator plants are also planted on the edges. I want the birds and the amphibians to do their work on the insects. If I have to, I will squish, with or without gloves…

Water for all the verge plantings are watered with tank water collected from the roof every rain storm. Even though we have well water, I try to save that for the house, although the large cutting garden is on well water, the beds are all on drip irrigation and are mulched heavily.

Once the flowers are harvested they are placed in clean buckets with clean water. If you don’t want to drink the water, you flowers won’t want to drink the water. I don’t used floral preservative, but you are welcome to especially for the summer “dirty flowers”. Keep your vessels clean, change the water often, cut the ends of the stems when you change the water and the flowers will last.

When I wrap the flower bunches, or bunch the bouquets, they are wrapped with brown kraft paper and tied with raffia. When the flowers have gone by, they are safe to add to your compost pile without any harm. The cups you are welcome to take your flowers home are already recycled, and you are welcome to use the same cup each time you come to get flowers. These McDonalds are already being recycled.

I do everything I can to make this flower farm, and the rest of the farm here sustainable and safe for every critter. Yes, my flowers are more expensive that what you would get at Shaw’s or Trader Joe’s, but remember, they are safe to give, safe to compost and even safe to eat if they are edible, and many of them are. Support your local flower grower, no matter where you live. We are all making the Earth better.

On to what is happening here at the farm. I seem to be behind in seed sowing, but that will get done tomorrow. All of the perennials and biennials have been planted out…self sown seedlings will be transplanted tomorrow to places they need to be versus willy nilly. The last of the forced tulips will be harvested this week and the field grown ones are showing buds! Hopefully the remaining irrigation will be hooked up in the high tunnel before Steve leaves for a photo tour with friends…The narcissus are starting to color up, the peonies are starting to show more than buds and the farm is a happy happening place.

The last two photos are of the tulips that were offered last week, and one more…

So until next week, may you be kind to the earth, support any local flower grower and enjoy the days of sunshine.

Allie. I dream of flowers. Do you?

I can’t say that March is my favorite spring month, but after this last week’s I’m not sure April is much better! After two amazing days, weather wise, at the beginning of the week so we could all enjoy the solstice it has been nothing but rain, or at least it feels like that. It is certainly too wet to get into the garden and get the next succession planted, so I wait.

We are down to the last seven crates of forced tulips, and all of them are in the greenhouse but two. The dirty room has enough space in it I can now spin around with my arms out wide! Well, one arm out wide, and the other one catching up.

It is so nice to be able to walk in and not have to slide in past all the tulip crates. It also looks as though my timing is good for a change and there won’t be a lag in tulip production. Hopefully the rest of the crops will time themselves nicely. Now when the dogs dash to their crates I don’t have to worry about accidents involving tulips.

I planted out the sweet peas that I wasn’t going to grow this year. They are really just for me, but if I have some stunners, I will share. They are an expensive crop to grow just in the labor, and I can’t make up that cost so I will grow for me, and as gifts.

On Friday between flower people I got all of the trees and shrubs fertilized as well as the peonies outside the garden fence. Next up is pruning the hydrangeas and the roses, and hopefully getting the next batch of cool flowers planted out and the perennials inside the garden fence cleaned up and fed. Never a dull moment for sure.

The narcissus are starting to be ready to harvest so soon there will be mixed bunches to offer as well. The orchard is starting to look lovely with all the spring bulbs starting to flower. when you drive in to pick up flower make sure you check out the beauty there.

I have been asked a few times when is the flower shed going to be open in Tuesdays. I would say shortly. I need to have enough flowers available to make it time efficient. When it happens I will let you know here as well as in the newsletter that I hope for you local people you are getting. Until then, the flower shed will just be open on Fridays from 10-2:00.

So I leave you with some random tulip photos taken during the week. Actually the first one is of the tulips that were offered last week. I do post on instagram what will be available the night before the flower shed opens.

The next photos are just random tulips in vases scattered in the kitchen. I hope you feel inspired, and enjoy them as much as I do.

So until next week, may the sun shine and the flowers bloom.

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

What a week this has been. Can’t say that I have enjoyed it, even with all the beauty, and it was hard on this flower farmer who couldn’t do anything to help in the snow removal department. Thank you to everyone who understood about the flower shed day change. It was much easier all around for everyone, and Steve had a chance to get more of the parking cleaned up Saturday morning once the snow had firmed up.

There is a reason that I plant all of the cool crops in the high tunnel. It has no ends and all of the crops can handle the vagaries that the weather can toss it. The ranunculus, second crop, are on the left, the dianthus, phlox, stock, and other cool seedlings are in the middle, and what I have for anemone are on the right. All looking perfectly happy when I watered them this morning.

I seem to be running a bit behind in the seeding department, so tomorrow is a big seed sowing day. I don’t have PT until 4:30 so I have all day to get the job done. Don’t worry, all will be fine. Still sowing cool crops and by the end of April the warm flowers will be sown. I did get the twenty peony roots planted last Monday. The snow was being predicted and I had a very small window but I thought 10 planted before my Ortho appt, and then 10 when I got home, but it went’ so smoothly I got them all in by lunch. That is a huge project off my to do list. Have I told you that I placed next year’s tulip order. That is another huge item off my list. I hope I haven’t done wrong by only ordering 11 varieties instead of the 25 plus that I normally do. I like the variety. If we don’t like it next spring I will go back to the old way for 2026 and just pay the surcharge per bag. Hope you will like what I have chosen. All the forced crates are now growing on either in the dirty room or the greenhouse, the ground tulips are pushing up through and today I can see them through the snow. Don’t wory, still lots of tulips to enjoy this season. Notice I didn’t say spring.

Looking back at my photos from last year my magnolia was blooming! Maybe with the warmer weather this week it will pop. The buds look pretty full and cracking on the Start Magnolia. That will be exciting.

I leave you with two photos.

Remember we are back to the normal flower shed hours now, fingers crossed no more snowstorms. The shed is open on Fridays from 10-2:00 and if you want to se what will be in the offering, check out my instagram account on Thursday where I post the harvest for Friday’s offerings. You will find me at #flowersatlottarock

Until next week when the snow has melted and fingers crossed the narcissus will begin to bloom. Allie. I dream of flowers