Month: May 2026

Yay! The End of May

Strange title you say. Not really in my mind. This has been one of the most challenging flower growing months I think I have ever experienced. Beside the wild temperature swings, the once a week heavy rain, yesterday’s snow and an almost freeze, (of course only a few days after I planted out the heat loving zinnias), I just need to think that June must be better.

I have requests from designers for peonies for weddings and honestly, I am telling them I just don’t know. This week is supposed to be warm, but with cool nights, who the heck knows. The cool flowers like the ranunculus and anemones are doing just fine but everything else is at least a week or two behind. Oh well, gotta roll with the punches.

That isn’t to say that I don’t have flowers. Oh yes, I have some beauties.

I have 90% of the dahlias planted. The were soaked for a few seconds in castor oil, dish soap and water as a vole preventetive, fingers crossed that this works. At the end of the day I am dumping the extra solution in the mole holes. Can’t hurt, I figure.

The greenhouse is nearly empty, still about six flats of summer annuals to go in yet, but getting close. The anemones and ranunculus are doing fine, least the anemones are blooming. In the tunnel we have a lot of blooms happening.

With the rain, and the few days of warm temps the weeds are making their appearance so hopefully by the end of the week, when much of the planting is finished up I need to start going through once a week and get a handle on the weeds.

Meanwhile…

I am getting some design work in. This one is from my design class on Tuesday. I wouldn’t reccommend doing a zoom design class, but…here it is….

I have yet to post it like I am supposed to. It’s one things creating the piece, another photographing it, and then getting it posted for the class to see and on Instagram, well…not quite getting to that part.

I was also commissioned to do create two bouquets for a birthday gift. A large and not quite as large.

I will say, that I do enjoy the design challenge, only working with what I have. I am sure there are more flowers in these designs, but you get the gist.

This week on deck? hopefully getting the rest of the flowers planted out, including the last of the dahlias, weeding, and of course harvesting.

Remember, we are now open on Tuesdays from 2-5:00 and then our regular Fridays from 9-2:00.

Hope to see you in June! Until next week, Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

May? or March

I sit here writing this again huddled by the fire. Raining, which I am not complaining about, but 50 degrees? Good lord, these weather swings are challenging, for the plants and for the flower farmers.

Despite everything Mother Nature has tossed us this month as far as temperature swings, a lot is happening on the farm. I am beginning to harvest some of the perennials which I find exciting, very exciting. As much as I love tulips, I am looking forward to having new and ever changing flowers to work with now. If you didn’t make it to the farm last week you would have seen the first of the bearded iris, geum, centaurea, and anemones, yes, anemones. The crop that I didn’t think I would see a flower out of this year because of the late planting time. I see no flower buds on the ranunculus yet, but they are looking good, which makes me hopeful.

The chrysanthemums have been planted out in their crates and are nestled in the beds the tulips were in. I think I chose the second hottest day last week to get them planted but I was determined to get them done. I thought I had taken a photo of my great effort to share but apparently not. Yesterday I got most of rows three and four planted out. I feel the rest of the seedlings need a little bit more growth to be planted out yet so they will wait. This week I will then plan on getting the dahlias planted out.

My never ending drama with the stink’n voles continues. More plants have been wiped out, argh, so before I plant the dahlias I am going to do Liz Thomas’s tulips dip. I am going to soak each dahlia tuber in castor oil, soap and water solution before planting. It worked beautifully for tulips and I figure why not for dahlias. Yes, it will slow down planting but at least, I hope, it will prevent them from being an expensive vole food.

I have another floral design class on Tuesday so since I now have more flowers than the lovely tulips I thought I better practice. Not that anyone from class is seeing them unless they follow me on Instagram, but I still need to do some practice. I find the bouquets the most challenging but I think I am getting better.

This one I gifted to a very deserving person and they were very grateful. I mean, how many flowers can I have in my house? I don’t have that many rooms!

This arrangement I created on Friday during open flower shed. I gifted it to myself in both the time to create it and that I kept it for me. That and I had finished the task of getting the five new mockoranges planted out in the twiggery. It is a true gift.

The flower sheds summer hours are now here. They are… Tuesdays 2-5 and Fridays 9-2:00, any other time by appointment please.

Now. Here is my thinking, last year I was doing an intentional Tuesday with flowers, where I would create an arrangement, but be intentional about it. I would like to open it up this year that on Tuesdays, you can join me. Letting me know in advance if you would like to join me would be great, just so I have enough flowers harvested and conditioned. You would bring your vase, and the cost would just be the flowers that you use. It is a good time to be stress free, breath deeply and be creative. I hope that some of you will join me this summer.

The robin in the tool shed has hatched her eggs and doesn’t seem to be stressed this year so all is good. Maybe we will see the babies fledge on an open shed day!

I am going to pass this off to Steve so he will amuse you (and me roll my eyes).

Until next week, Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

May’s Mid Point, Week 21

I am not quite sure how we have gotten to mid May already, nor our crazy temperature fluctuations.. I mean really? Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we were getting a much, much needed rain, and we had a fire in the wood stove each day because it never got to 50 degrees. Today, marvelously sunny, breezy and and unreal 80 degrees! Tuesday is to be 90! WTF!

Needless to say farmers are pulling their hair out. These swings are very hard on the plants, especially the ones that go out so small. I am keeping my eyes on the last batch of tulips left in the ground. As soon as they start to show color they are getting pulled. They will all be out of the garden by Tuesday for sure, if not tomorrow. That space will then be turned over to the chrysanthemums that are going to be grown in crates.

You know how I keep saying flower farming keeps you on your toes? Well here are the first anemones.

Now these are early. Like a month early for the greenhouse, and two months early for the tunnel. I have no idea what is going on. It should take three months from planting to bloom. the greenhouse ones were planted out the end of March. The tunnel ones on the right not until mid April and I thought they were going to be a total loss because of the heat. Five days of temperatures in the eighties and they start to go dormant. It looks as though I will have a handful of anemones at the shed on Friday. The ranunculus? Who the heck knows. the pansies are also starting to bloom, but I was sorta expecting that.

I was going to start the Tuesday flower shed this week but seeing the temperatures, the flowers will just blow wide open so I am going to wait until the 26th to start Tuesdays. Mark your calendars, and I will remind you.

I have to say I think the farm is at its most beautiful right now. The crab apples are blooming, as well as the magnolias, lilacs, narcissus and soon the bluebells and camassia, (what the stink’n voles haven’t destroyed). If you come to get flowers please wander around and enjoy the beauty.

I have a busy week ahead of me. Flipping beds, planting out the last of the sweet peas I”m not growing, potting up the chrysanthemums that was on the list two weeks ago, starting to get the annual beds ready for planting, oh yes, I have plenty to do.

I am going to pass this over to Steve, but before I go, here is last week’s tulips of choice and I was able to get a bunch for myself and OMG! They are stunning! Least I think so.

So until next week. Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Happy Mothers Day!

I hope all you mothers out there were treated with fresh, local farm grown flowers for your day of appreciation, if not, I still hope you had a magnificent day.

I was having a creative day today. I was asked to assist in a floral install at the Inn at Hancock. I am glad we did a prototype on Thursday because it got the brain cells churning so this morning’s installation would go smoothly. We had left the framework in place from Thursday so this morning, starting at 6:00 all we had to do was flesh it out. I think all three of us were pretty chuffed at the finished creation.

If you can zoom in on it you will see it better. I am especially proud because every lovely stem was grown here at the farm. All of the forsythia, kiwi, spirea, tulips and narcissus came from Lottarock.

Meanwhile, while I am not being creative I am busy on the farm. No watering this week which is huge! I did get more hardy annual planting done before the rain and of course harvesting more tulips and narcissus. The cooler is getting full again!

The flowers in the tunnel are looking good. I do need to fertilize tomorrow morning, which I have to do before it warms up and the wasps take over. It is a point of contention having to share growing space with wasps. And speaking of sharing space, the robin is back on the nest in the flower shed. I just let her know that we have to share the space on Fridays during the open flower shed.

I do understand that my open flower shed days don’t fit everyone’s time frame but you can always message me to say that you need flowers on a certain day and I will do my best to accommodate but the flowers shed days do work best for me, and the weekends are mine. Soon, soon Tuesdays will be open, just not yet. I will let you know when.

The farm is looking it’s spring finest, I must say, so when you drive in and out I hope you go slowly to enjoy the beauty. It certainly makes my heart swell.

My other creativness was last Thursday’s floral hostess gift. I haven’t posted it yet on Instagram but I will share it here because I can.

I must say I do love being creative when I have the time not to rush…Hah!

I hope you all have a fabulous week, Allie. I dream of flowers, oh you have no idea how I dream of flowers.

The Calendar Says…

The calendar says May 3 but it feels more like April 3, or even March 3, but it is May by the number of flowers that are blooming here at the farm. The orchard is looking beautiful with all the narcissus in bloom, the peaches in bloom, the grass that is slowly greening up, yes, it is a spring sight to behold. On the other had, it seems as though growth has just stalled a little bit. That is fine I guess. I much prefer a long slow spring than one that last a mere week.

The harvest of the field tulips has begun. Normally it seems that I just about harvest all 1500 tulips in a few days, but here we are, slowly harvesting and getting them into the cooler. My timing has been good this year. I have maybe 150-200 of the forced tulips remaining, then onto the field tulips. I think I have some beauties coming in for our enjoyment.

The narcissus are getting harvested, counted, name noted, wrapped and put into the cooler. I still have a few varieties that are just showing bud but most of them are now in the cooler. I try to harvest every morning so everything is at their best. And for the people out there that think narcissus/daffodils are just plain boring yellow flowers, you couldn’t be more wrong, I have some stunners out there waiting to be harvested.

The leujcocium will be ready this week, along with possibly the last of the fritillaria, but other spring bulbs are ready to take over in the love department. Ask any flower farmer what their favorite flower is and their answer will always be the flower that is blooming at that moment.

Everything is looking good and I am pleased. I feel as though I am on top of things, (for the moment I am sure). I am topping up quantities of perennials that the damn voles have eaten, I moved all the remaining camassia out of the garden and tucked them hither and yon. It will make harvesting a royal PIA, but at least I will have something to harvest. I have ordered another ten bareroot shrubs that should be here by the end of the month. Again to fill gaps (sure Allie). The forcing tulip order is in and confirmed, now I just have to get my field tulip order together along with more narcissus and other bulbs. One can never have too many flowers I say.

Somehow I ran out of time last week so I did not do a #windowframethursday, but…I did do table flowers and a large arrangement for the Music on Norway Pond Gala event last night. I think it came out well.

This week on deck is to start transplanting the rooted chrysanthemums into bulb crates and get them outside to grow on until there is space in the tunnel, once the cool annuals are out. The flower tetris never stops, believe me.

Many of you have asked about Tuesdays open flower shed. Not yet. I will certainly let you know, but I need to have enough variety of flowers to offer you, as well as volume to make that work. Believe me, I will let you know, and I will also put it in the newsletter. If you aren’t on the newsletter list, after you read this, scroll down, way down, and you will see where to sign up. I think, the newsletter is the second sign up.

I see that many people sending out newsletters etc. are stating that their piece was not written by AI. None of this is AI generated, nor will it ever be. I enjoy writing my weeklies far too much, and it is rare that I have nothing much to say.

So I will leave you with last week’s tulip offerings. Soon, there will be more.

Until next week, Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?