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The Last Sunday of March

Here is is the last Sunday of March, tomorrow is the last day of March and Mother Nature is having the last laugh. Everything is coated in a quarter inch of ice. Everything will be fine but really? Back in the olden days when I used to work at a nursery in CT when the roses were in full bloom and the forecast was for freezing we would turn the sprinklers on to coat the flowers in ice to protect them from the cold. The would create heat…when the sun came out we would turn the water off and let them melt naturally, the flowers looked like they were made of glass, and by nine in the morning they were as beautiful as ever. So this photo of the ice encased Witch Hazel will be as beautiful as ever tomorrow when all this crap melts.

It has been a very busy week at the farm. I got all of the sixty shrub liners planted by Wednesday, then I moved another twelve big shrubs into the same space to make room for the willow sticks. I wanted to get the shrubs in so they could enjoy the rain, or should I say freezing rain. I am taking a planting pause but not for long because I just got notice that the last 36 shrubs are en route so they will or should be here by the end of the week. I am certainly giving my shoulders and arms a workout this spring.

So I have exciting news! (for us tulip lovers anyway.) I was out in the garden looking for spring and I hear a “Hello? Hello Allison?” And I had this really handsome dutch bulb grower introduce himself. He had been down the road at Wolf Pine Hollow checking on their tulips and because I am a member of the ASCFG he though he would stop by with his catalog and introduce himself. Well, the long and the short of it is I can order tulips in quantities of 100 and not 500. Yes, they will be a bit more expensive but we will be able to get variety!!! Eleven varieties of tulips for the entire spring crop isn’t doing it for me. At. All.

So I am very excited about this. Really excited. So I will get my order together in April and get it out. it will be like the previous years when the tulip varieties changed every two weeks.

All the plantlings that are planted out in the tunnel and greenhouse are looking good. It hardly looks like they are growing but it isn’t like we have been having warm weather lately. Comfortable enough to work in if one is rugged up enough but not big for plant growth. The next batch of cool annuals goes out to harden off tomorrow, but things are looking good.

Oh I forgot to tell you, the tulips in the outside beds are poking up through the mulch! Very exciting. Joining them are the narcissus, I think camassia and bluebells that are just emerging. I can hardly wait to have a wider selection of flowers for all of us to enjoy.

Tomorrow the sweet peas that I’m not growing will be started…then I think I have a week off from seed sowing for a week or two, then the next big batch gets started.

Well I think I have caught all of you up to date with the happenings here at the farm. I leave you with last week’s instagrams #windowframethursday.

I will leave you in Steve’s capable hands. Until next week. Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Welcome Spring

i say welcome spring but honestly today feels like ole man winter has returned and rumor has it we are to get snow tonight. Welcome spring. I just keep reminding myself that it is still March, and New Hampshire to boot.

I has been a VERY busy week here on the farm. Steve and I have finished dismantling the donkey shed and the tidy up involved so we are ready for the next phase of Flowers at Lottarock. The donkey pasture is becoming the woody garden. The first box of liners arrived on Saturday and the fun began. Originally I thought I would get a little tractor in to create the rows for the plant material. Then I thought we have a BCS heavy duty tiller why not till the rows, less impact on the soil, or what ever it is I grow on. Well you know how this is going to go…The tiller wouldn’t start, it had flat tires…so Steve dug in to hopefully get it going, and I dug holes. I mean, how hard could it be? Actually it wasn’t that bad. I got the rows all marked out, and by the time my body crashed I had planted the first twenty shrub liners.

By mid afternoon the tiller was running! To be honest by that time we had both run out of steam, so hopefully Tuesday morning it will have dried out enough to till the rows to get the next twenty planted, because tomorrow another twenty two are due to arrive. Lucky for me they can live in the cooler until we can get them in the ground. That cooler was worth every penny I invested in it.

Speaking of cooler, tomorrow is the day that the last four crates will be leaving the cooler. I can honestly say “Yay.” These last four weeks are some really interesting tulips. Not ones that I ordered I am sure, but subs…some I might try to order for next year. And no, I haven’t even looked at the order form yet for 2026.

Tomorrow another round of seeding happens and the last batch of ranunculus will get soaked. The seedlings that have been planted in the tunnel are looking good, which is good. My numbers seem to be lower this year than in the past…I am going to blame it on the weather…having a real winter has thrown off my schedule, least my mind says so… the schedule hasn’t changed any.

This is the photo I took to show what had been harvested for flower shed Friday. I try to offer up interesting mixed bunches, we also had hyacinths, the last of the pink pussy willows for 2025 and some tiny, very tiny mixed tete e tete narcissus with grape hyacinths.

So I will leave you now with last week’s #windowframethursday. The striped tulip on the left is Purple Passion, I think…

Until next week and all its excitement, Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

My Countdown to Spring

My earnest countdown to spring is underway. Only three days left! So exciting! Spring ushers in on Wednesday. Last week it looked as though we were still in the depths of winter, today, not so much…if fact I can truly believe that spring will be here on Wednesday.

Hard to believe. It is even harder to believe that I haven’t stepped foot into the garden yet. I have surveyed the garden from outside the fence, but it is too wet to go in, and I know that as soon as I get in I will start pecking at it and sighing deeply so I will stay out until Wednesday, so I say.

After tomorrow’s tulip crate haul, there will be only one week left in the cooler. Don’t worry, the forced crates will go on and the field grown ones will meet them so I think my timing is good and there won’t be a flower lull. Speaking of tulips, I got the 2026 availability list the other day. To be honest I am afraid of looking at it. Tulip prices have gone up 25% and who knows what the shipping will be, or if there will be any more tariffs added on. I try to keep my prices low but I often ask myself what will the market bear? Jon had more news but it mostly about placing the orders. When you come to get flowers the next few weeks let me know what you think. I will probably have to get the order in by May 1.

Other exciting news, I got notice that the shrub order was shipped last night so it should be rocking in in a day or two. At least the snow has melted but the soil is still far too wet to begin tilling. A friend is dropping off pots that I can plant some into but I am hoping that I will be able to store them in the cooler for at least a week while I wait for things to dry out. Only 60 are being shipped right now…I guess it is good that the cooler is emptying out of tulip crates.

The greenhouse is filling up with crates of ranunculus that are starting to sprout and the cool annuals. The tunnel is cleaned and compost down so after another deep soaking it can be planted out this week.

Last Friday I got about half of the hydrangeas and roses pruned so that is off the list. I probably have another half day and they will be done. Now that the snow has melted I can get in there and get it done with out my tall boots on. Then fertilizing and mulching all the woodies that are outside the fenced area. My days of leisure are dwindling.

I made a special birthday bouquet on Wednesday. Beautiful tulips, dainty reddish willow stems and the stunning Mt Aso willow. You really get to see the color now than in the photos I posted last week.

I have one more cutting of the pink pussy willows and that will be it for the year but I noticed this afternoon that the other pussy willow is starting to break its scales off so there will be more to be had, just not the beauties you see above.

I leave you with last week’s Instagram post. I am having so much fun doing these weekly posts, it gives me a chance to get creative with the small number of flowers that are available to me.

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

Even as I write this and white stuff is falling from the sky, I know that spring is coming. How do I know this? The stone walls and the rock are reappearing, we have finally gotten rid of all the snow and ice on the driveway, hello mud in the parking area! And as soon as a bit more snow melts this week I am going to be harvesting the Mt Aso Willows.

Not a great shot, they are far more beautiful when the sun is shining, but these pussy willows have the most beautiful silver and pink buds and they will be harvested this week! Something new and different for bouquets and bunches.

This afternoon I hauled out all of the perennial and cool annuals that are ready to the greenhouse for hardening off. Now every evening and morning will be spent taking off and putting on the frost cloth that will protect them from the bitter cold temps…The only seedlings that didn’t go out are the eucalyptus and the dahlia seedlings that are looking as though I should put them up into something bigger. Add that to the list.

The ranunculus look like they are getting ready to sprout, yay and phew. Timing might be al little off but they will happen.

I got a notice from my sales rep that the tulip order sheet will be posted this week. Eeks! I am only halfway through the forced crates and they want me to think about next year already!

Another sign of spring here at the farm? My witch hazels are starting to show color and bloom and anyone coming to get flowers you can be sure that I will be pointing this out to you repeatedly. When the witch hazels bloom it is just so damn exciting. And yes, they bloom when there is snow on the ground and when the temperatures are still winter like.

Another sign of spring? The row markers in the cutting garden have emerged, and if that isn’t exciting I don’t know what is.

What exciting things do I have on deck this week? Pulling more tulip crates, some seeding, watching the snow melt, doing about hourly laps around the property looking for signs of spring, harvesting the pussy willow and enjoying the warmer temperatures. All very important work if you ask me.

I leave you with last week’s #windowframethursday photo…Tulips, grape hyacinths and parsley that had gotten out of control in the dirty room. I think it makes a very nice frilly filler.

So until next week…Oh I forgot. Floret has done an amazing three part video on YouTube called the Beautiful Pursuit. If you have the time, watch it. Thirty international flower growers are interviewed about why they grow flowers and so much more. If you google “The Beautiful Pursuit” it will take you right there. I found it fascinating, and hopefully you will to.

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

Welcome March

We seem to back to winter this weekend, bitterly cold temperatures and wind but warmer temps and rain are on the way. To be honest, I am ready for mud rather than snow and ice. I have enjoyed the winter with snowshoeing and ‘Spare Time” but it is time to move on, bring on the mud and frost heaves.

Tulip crate hauling and tetris continues, I have I think five more weeks of tulips in the cooler yet to come out, three more crates of narcissus and a crate of hyacinths and random muscari so there will be plenty of spring until the real deal spring happens.

The ranunuclus have been soaked and are in the sprouting trays and as soon as I see green they will be transplanted into the greenhouse in tulip crates. The anemones have been soaked and are not waiting to be sprouted, but are in a crate already. I thought I had more corms but damned if I can find them so it will be what it will be for anemones this spring. By mid March I expect that the greenhouse will be full, and I will be prepping the tunnel for the next crop of spring plantings. Seeding continues for the cool flowers but soon, well in a month, the summer flowers will be starting. Time is flying by quickly.

Last Friday was the first open flower shed day that I wasn’t hauling flower buckets down to the shed every time one of you lovely flower people showed up. It turned out to be a beautiful day. After each bucket was loaded I put them on the veranda railing to keep them cool and out of the way until the shed opens, and what happen, a snow squall! but they were fine, Steve and I got them down in the shed for the open shed. It certainly is nice to have them all in one place.

Hopefully on Fridays going forward the days will be warm enough, but not too warm to keep the flowers in the shed.

I look forward to sunny and warmer days…I am leaving you with two photos…

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Hey! It got above Freezing today!

I don’t know about you, but having the temperatures above freezing for the first time in ages is certainly something to celebrate. That being said, and seeing the beautiful temperatures for the coming week I am feeling behind. The life of a farmer.

I am for the most part caught up on my seedling transplanting and another batch of seeds need to be sown this week coming. I must get out into the high tunnel and get that cleaned up really soon because before long that will be planted out. Then I also have to get the ranunculus and anemone soaked and sprouted so they can go into the empty tulip crates. It is always a shuffle here for sure.

The seed rack is full, which adds to some space constraints. If I thought the temps would stay consistent I would move many of the perennial seedlings out into the unheated greenhouse but really, it is still February, even though late February and I still have to get through March…I can cover the flats with cloth which will keep them a little toastier but not enough I don’t think. The twenties they would be ok. The teens, that’s risky…I have been spoiled by the last few easy winters I guess.

The tulips are stunning, the narcissus are beautiful but let me tell you about the hyacinths. One, the vase life is at least two weeks and they have a lovely sweet scent. They look beautiful in arrangements and did I say they have a long vase life? Yes, they are expensive flowers but I think worth every penny. You should try them out when you see them available.

The hyacinths in the above photo were a week old before I stuck them in the arrangement. Four days later, as I write this they still look good. Wicked good I might add.

I leave you with last week’s photo of the tulip offering. Looks like spring I would say.

Until next week, think warmer spring thoughts and I will dream flowers.

Allie

First off, let me thank all of you who braved the bitter cold temperatures and our driveway to pick up the first flowers of the year. Thank you! And it was lovely being able to see you all again after such a long floral break. It’s good to be back in the flowers.

So it is another snowy Sunday, so far, as I write this at 4:11 the farm has been spared the dreaded rain. It has been going back and forth between light snow and sleet which I can deal with, with rain on top, not so much. As our DPW director says, only 33 more days till spring. I say spring is here at Lottarock at least flower wise, winter wise? Not so much.

After digging out tomorrow, I will be hauling out flowers to the cooler, empty crates to the greenhouse for the ranunculus and anemones to grow in if the nighttime temperatures stay out of the single digits for more than a night. Usually by now the corms have been soaked and starting to sprout, but who said this is usual? Or maybe it is a normal winter and we have gotten used to the past few years. I don’t know, but I would like to get them started. Patience. Why lose a crop due to my impatience. I also need to haul in this next batch of tulip crates. New varieties are on the horizon.

On a side note, I am so happy I had my shoulder fixed last March because if I hadn’t, I would not be a happy camper. I wouldn’t be able to clear the snow off the greenhouse and tunnel, I wouldn’t be able to haul tulip crates anywhere and I would be miserable. Go healed shoulder and fitness!

Go Spring!

I will be back next week, hopefully it won’t be snowing. Steve will do his little bit next and I will go out and do animal chores. until next week.

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Outside it is cold and white having a fresh 7.5 inches of snow delivered last night but inside it is flower time. That is right, I have flowers! Better yet? Plenty to go around to erase those winter blahs.

Tulips, narcissus and very possibly hyacinths that I am trialing. I will send out the newsletter giving details on Thursday for Friday’s blooms to remind you all but the flower shed or rather the tool shed at this point will be open on Friday Feb 14, that’s right, Valentine’s Day so get some flowers for a special someone as well as yourself. Anyway, the shed will be open from 10-2:00, or until sold out. Because these are the first flowers of the season I don’t expect them to last long so don’t dally. Oh yeah, wear your boots. We might be shoveled but there are still patches of snow.

Besides flowers happening, so are the seedlings. Germination is looking good for the seeds that have been started and the dirty room is really getting full. It is a good thing I am tall because the paths are about twelve inches wide.

I had a moment of weakness last week and because they had just become available I have ordered another fifty flowering shrub, foliage liners. So sometime in mid March, 90 bare root plants will be arriving on my doorstep, along with the forty willows to root. I hope most of this snow will be gone by then because I have plants to plant. I might have some space in the cooler to hold them, they could possible go out into the greenhouse, but even that is going to be filling up quickly. We will just have to wait and see I guess. At least I know where I am going to plant them.

Soon I will be trudging out to the willows to start harvesting them, and also the lovely yellow stemmed cornus to round out the early spring offerings.

I will send this over to Steve now so he can proof read me and write his little ditty.

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

Well the silly groundhog saw his shadow this morning so we have six more weeks of winter. Duh. I could have told you that. Spring doesn’t happen by the calendar until March 22, six weeks away! Here at Lottarock, spring is here. Very NEARLY.

I have been busy harvesting the first of the narcissus, The first crate is almost completely harvested and the stems are in the cooler. The first crates of tulips are soooo close.

As much as I would LOVE to say, I will have flowers this Friday, I think not. I will however have flowers for Valentine’s Day, and what can be better than local, farm fresh flowers for valentines day? Or any day for that matter.

It will be interesting what imported flowers there will be this year for Valentine’s Day with all the new tariffs. This time of year almost all of the flowers come from South America, especially those long stemmed red roses. Tulips are imported from Prince Edward Island so they will also be affected by the Canadian tariffs. Looks like local might be the way to go! Go Local Flowers!

The dirty room sure is getting full. Right now there are 14 crates of bulbs, and another 5 or 6 come in tomorrow. I hope harvesting picks up soon because I will be out of space after tomorrow’s crate pull! Tomorrow the first set of seedlings get transplanted, so there goes a shelf on the grow rack, and the cool flowers get seeded tomorrow as well. I love a tetris challenge, which is good, because ’tis the season.

I will be sending out the newsletter soon for flower shed times and all that fun stuff.

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

But…spring is slowly happening here at Lottarock. Oh yes. How do it know that? Because the days are getting longer thank goodness, I had a bluebird on the arbor outside the kitchen window the other day and I have flowers. Yup. Flowers.

Here you go, the first crate of Narcissus, don’t know the variety because it is one of the few things I didn’t label. I won’t do that again. I try to name and date everything that is forced and seeded, and in the case of peonies, labeled and dated as well.

Next up in the spring lie up is this. Muscari.

So these Muscari are from the first tiny crate that I pulled at the end of December. Actually looking at my notes it was December 13, so it has been 43 days out. A bit longer than I had anticipated, especially when those narcissus above has been two weeks. Live and learn. But my, aren’t they a feast to behold.

The dusty miller in the arrangement is what I had but out of the high tunnel back in December when I was creating a memorial bouquet. I had needed to condition it because that tunnel hadn’t had water since June? but it still looked good, good enough to harvest anyway. Well when I went to compose this arrangement I pulled out the stems from water and they have roots! Go figure. They were just sitting on the floor in the dirty room, under the workbench totally forgotten. Tomorrow they will get potted up and maybe cuttings taken. I always can use filler early in the season. The branches are ones in my winter arrangement that sprouted so I just cut off the green bits for a bit of height and contrast. Honestly, I am quite proud of it, if I must say so.

The first batch of seeds that went down early January have germinated. Well most of them have anyway. The ones that you are looking at are yarrow and they are ready to be transplanted into soil blocks this week.

So by now I am sure you are wondering what about the tulips? Well, I am not making many guarantees, but if you have a birthday in February, you will be receiving tulips. I will have tulips for my birthday anyway. They are coming along. I still hope to have by the middle of February a decent amount to offer to all.

Now is the time to start paying attention to the newsletters that will be coming out in the next week or two. The newsletter will tell you when and where the tulips and other flowers will be offered and the times. The flower shed is only open on Fridays until May? and the hours will vary. If you know anyone who would be interested in local, farm fresh flowers, have them sign up for the newsletter. Flowers-at-lottarock.com or flowersatlottarock@gmail.com will get them there as well. Better yet, bring them along so they can get the floral experience.

It is so exciting to have flowers again.

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