Month: June 2026

Happy Summer!

At last, summer. My most favorite season. My favorite season at the moment. As with the change of seasons, the flowers also start to change. We will slowly go from the cool annuals and many of the perennials, to the summer flowers that include the zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons and oh so much more. It is so exciting to go out into the garden each morning and see what I am in store for.

Right now the campanula is going strong, as well as the yarrow, bupleurum, foxglove and delphinium. I have harvested the eremurus…

The wealth of flowers is mind boggling, in my opinion anyway.

The pansies are still going strong and I am starting to get some really long stems that make them fun to add to arrangements, and the sweet peas, that I’m not growing, are going crazy so I am making kitchen windowsill posies of mixed small flowers that are really charming. They are also good for the bedside table in the guest room.

I have finally been able to track down some litre pots of Viburnum opulus ‘roseum’ which is fabulous for cutting large stems for event work, or small stems for arrangements. I thought I had ordered four plants, which I had room for, but apparently for shipping it was four sets of two, so I received eight plants. With a little scurryring I found room in the partial lilac row that is now full of odd plants. Oh well, I found room for them all. NOW. I am all done buying woodies. No more room and now matter how badly I want it, and how long it has been on my wish list. NO. No more woodies, Kerwin.

Most of the dahlias have emerged now so in another week they will get their feed and pinch to make them bush out. I have also finally pinched the zinnias, it was hard to cut them down and lose the flowers, but it is for the best, and half of the celsoia has been done as well. I will say that by the middle of July, the summer annuals will be going gang busters with bloom.

Besides deadheading the peonies that I left on the bushes, I also need to keep up with the mowing and I want to broadfork the isles of the peonies to see if I can improve the drainage. They are doing well, but I want to see if I can get them to do better, then after that I will sow some tillage radish that will also improve the drainage by opening up the compacted earth with their taproot. Have you ever heard me say I’m bored? Didn’t think so.

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

Well. That was an Intense Week.

Intense in so many ways. Intense heat and humidity that made the peonies go crazy which made for intense harvesting…with intense watering going on early in the morning and evening. But, it seems as though this week is going to be nice so I will happily take it.

I have harvested all the peonies that I am going to harvest.

They are all now safely in the cooler, chill’n until they are needed. If you are wondering, I will more than likely have peonies into July, or until the masses of summer annuals come in. Have no fear, the peonies will be here.

The automatic watering system is now up and running. I have just been using it on manual, but now it is set up and ready. I just have to remember each night to hook up the pipe that delivers the water to the garden, or it all just runs down the driveway, and that is a serious waste of precious water. Next year I am going to get a wobbler system that will water the seedlings that go in until they are large enough to reach the drip tape, that way I don’t have to hand water the 5 rows. I figure it will also be good for when I need to water the cover crop. I also have to change out the drip system in the tunnel, it isn’t working as well as I would like and I need a better system for when the mums go in the tunnel.

You all will be pleased to know that I have ordered the outdoor tulips. The price has gone up yet again, as well as shipping. The most expensive crop I grow by a long shot, but so worth it when they bloom.

What else? The last batch of cutting for the chrysanthemums has happened and the stock plants for their pinch to make them branch. They are looking good. The sweet peas that I’m not growing are starting to flower, and I am finally catching up on the weeding in the gardens. Still hauling water down to the twiggery to water the new mock orange that went in a few weeks back, but they are flushing out which is good. My other plant for this week is to get the twiggery rows weeded, hopefully wood chipped, if my tractor driver is up to it, and the early spring shrubs pruned to make room for next year’s flowers. Need to do that ASAP or I will miss the boat on the flower buds setting in time.

We had a couple of unexpected rain showers on Friday, so this is what I created while it was waiting for the rain to ease up enough so I could get back out.

I really like how the geum is almost a miniature Itho Joker I think.

Steve is back from his adventure so he will have the pleasure? of proofreading again. Yay on my part.

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

What a ride this flower growing season is becoming. The weather certainly is flukey, hot, cold, hot, cold but I am learning slowly to take deep breaths and it will be what it will be. Far easier to say than to be calm but I try.

My high lite for the moment is that the garden is planted. The last of the summer annuals were planted out on Friday. That is a huge yay. So far they are looking good. I have done the pinch on the cosmos and marigolds, tomorrow the zinnias get pinched. If you don’t know, pinching removes the apical meristem that makes the plants grow tall on a single stem, and with this removed the plants will now branch and I will have multiple stems per plant. Harvesting flower stems also does this but this gives me more stems right off the bat.

All of the chrysanthemums have been planted out in their crates, and the last batch of cuttings are being rooted as I type. They are all looking good and by August they will be moved into the tunnel to finish off their growth and flowering.

The 2026 tulips year is officially over, YAY! As much as I love the tulips they make me very anxious. It is an expensive crop to grow, with the increasing cost of the bulbs and growing medium but I still feel as though it is a good crop to grow. Even the outside grown tulips have their risk and their high waste factor but who doesn’t need fresh local flowers in February, March and even April when the weather is so yuck. That being said, I am beginning to pull my thoughts together on next years outdoor tulips so if you have ones from this year that really struck you as a keeper please let me know. I will be honest my note taking was a little sparse on my favorites and the duds.

OH! I guess I should say that the peony season has started. That is right. The peonies have started. Not as rapid as the demand, but it has started.

So now that everything is planted, the chrysanthemums are planted out all I need to do is keep everything weeded, fed, harvested and happy.

Here is part of Saturdays flower harvest from the tunnel. The anemones are coming in strong as are the amazing pansies.

Because I finished getting everything planted out on Friday I gave myself time to play with flowers. More photos of it are posted on instagram if you want to check them all out.

Steve is off on a road trip out west taking photos and having fun so you will have to put up with my editing, or lack thereof. I hope you all have a good week, and until next week,

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?