Author: Allie

This is the longest wave of heat I can ever remember and trying to keep up with the watering is, shall we say, challenging. The plants don’t like the heat nor does the flower farmer. Back when I was living in Queensland, we would have shade cover over the nursery stock. It did break the intensity of the sun and did make the plants, and growers cooler, but I don’t know if that is feasible here. At least not yet. In our future? It is a possibility. I’m certainly glad I am not harvesting in the high tunnel now. Or working in a greenhouse. They just get unbearable this time of year.

The summer flowers are finally hitting their stride. I am beginning to harvest the zinnias and celosia and a marigold or two. The garden phlox is beginning to bloom and blooms are coming in strong for almost all of the flowers now. This is a photo of last Thursday morning’s harvest, and is only part of it.

Even with the extreme heat, the flower shed will be open Tuesdays and Fridays. I am hopeless for posting the openings on instagram, but I do get the newsletter out the night before to let you know of any changes. Speaking of notices, Tuesday July 23 the flower shed will be closed. I will continue to remind you, if I can remember….Then back to our normal schedule.

I am going to go for a swim. Stay cool everyone, and hope to see you in the flower shed soon.

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend, or maybe even week? We certainly did. thank you to everyone who came by to get flowers on the second so we could have a long weekend with friends at the lake. R&R is just what was needed to rest up for mid season flowers.

The summer flowers are coming in and I am harvesting like crazy. The zinnias are just starting as are the celosia and marigolds. I may not have tons of one flower, but each harvest is at least three buckets full. I am shutting down the tunnel for the season now. The crops are almost done and the irrigation seems to have spring some serious leaks. Oh well. We’ll get it all fixed up for next spring.

The peonies are now all gone till next year now. In some ways they are like the tulips, although a much shorter season. I certainly love them when they are here, but it is also nice to see new flowers coming into season. And that season is the summer annuals. Yes, the “dirty flower” season is upon us.

What are dirty flowers you might ask. These are the flowers that make your flower water skanky. All of our favorite flowers are included in this category. Zinnias, yarrow, celosia, the scented geraniums. So when you get your flowers on flower days, remind me to give you a flower preservative packet. It keeps the water cleaner and also has a bit of flower food in it. If you don’t want the packet or run out, just a couple of drops of bleach in the water will help. Change the water every day or two, recut the stems and the flowers will be just fine. if you don’t do anything, well, they will turn skanky. Trust me.

The dahlias are coming along nicely, I am hoping by August? I will start having them available.

Flower farm details are check for slugs and Japanese beetles on my way to feed the donkeys in the morning, and after I feed the donkeys at night. Turn on the irrigation before the sun hits the hoses, harvest very early in the cool or wait until evening. Once a week I will the mobile water tank to water all the new plantings that are not irrigated, as well as top up the donkey water tank cause damn we need rain. Exciting I know.

I leave you with my red, white and blue flowers to celebrate the 4th.

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

June, what a month that was. Memorable in both good and bad. But that’s farming. But July is here and let’s go!

I had lots of special flower orders going out in June, buckets of flowers for a DYI wedding,

Special birthday bouquets, in remembrance arrangements,

And lots of other cool floral projects.

The summer annuals are slow right now, so it is a really good thing that I have some cool annuals in the beds that I can cut from as well as having perennials and bulbs for interesting flowers. It is a good thing I have been planting more perennials in the garden because they are great for filling the gaps.

The flowers in the tunnel are done for the season. They did really well until the big heat of last week, so I am grateful for them believe me, but I will dry it out, harvest the ranunculus and anemones to save for next year and pull everything else. If I can get my act together I will plant it up with some seedlings that I will keep going until winter, then let them go dormant until February and be able to harvest them really early. It is always the big IF.

We/I had a bit of a panic moment this past week. Around eight in the morning the bulb room alarm goes off saying that the bulb room, cooler was up to 53 degrees. I had a senior moment thinking it was the dirty room and ignored the first three alarms. Then I read my phone correctly and it was the bulb room. WTF!?! The air conditioner was no longer cooling. It was blowing air, but not cooling, and the temperature was rising, and I had lots of wedding flowers being held for pick up as well as the regular flowers. After searching online to see what we could do, nothing, I started calling repair people. Apparently window air conditioners are considered disposable and they don’t repair them. You can imagine my panic and language. So. Because it is a 18,000BTU air conditioner not many people cary them locally. Like, nobody. So I went online and ordered one. To be delivered in 4-7 days. More bad language, but what can I do. Around noon, Steve goes down and pounds on it again, and he got it to cool. Isn’t he my magnificent hero. Meanwhile, I have now purchased another. The next morning I get an email from where I ordered the new aircon from and it has been shipped, and will be delivered the next day! Yay! I now am the proud owner of a back up aircon unit in case of emergencies. We think that with all the storms raging through it did something to the controls so we also now have it on its own surge protector.

Now that July is here, I will be doing Japanase beetle patrol as well as slug patrol. Isn’t flower farming beautiful?

Anyway, I leave you with a photo if a tiny posie of the sweet peas that “I’m not growing this year”…

So until next week, have a safe and fun 4th of July.

Almost forgot, The flower shed will be closed on July 5. I will be open on July 2, but not the 5th.

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

It is finally summer, what I wait all winter for, and it is here! yay! And the summer flowers are trying hard to rock in. It is a good thing I have plenty of transition flowers to tide me through until the real summer flowers get here.

The peony harvest is done, but I still have many colors available. The zinnias I really think are going to be a bust this year. Argh, friggin slugs. I had a snake in the garden with a frog in his mouth, I bopped the snake gently and he released the frog. I told them you guys need to work together to help with the rodents and slugs, not eat each other. Let’s get it right please. I need them to do their jobs! Stop whinging Kerwin, lots of the other flowers are doing just fine…Zinnias? I try to remain hopeful.

The bed that I let go to seed last summer is my earliest row to come into flower in the big garden.

Also in the self seeded row is lots of Nigella, most of it has already been harvested, lots of verbena b getting tall more feverfew…it pays to have a messy garden sometimes.

The dahlias are looking OK. I have slug damage, maybe some rodents enjoying that succulent growth, but many of them have had their first pinch, and the week of the 4th when we have houseguests, the rest of the stakes go in and the corralling begins.

In case you are wondering, each pink flag on the stake is a different variety, four tubers per variety was the plan. Not all plans go the way I want them to, but there will be plenty of dahlias. Fingers crossed. I always cross my fingers with big crops like this. Especially this year where everything seems to be a bit more challenging.

But have no fear. There will be plenty of flowers. The yarrow is coming in nicely, the Red Hot Pokers and Eremerus are looking grand,

So I leave you now, a big storm is getting closer and I need to get this out before I lose our dismal internet. The last photo is of last week’s harvest wagon. See. Lots of color and varieties.

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

The official start of summer is this Thursday, not Memorial Day, or the first of June, but Thursday, and the weather is going to match it. We have had such a lovely cool spring, I know, we had some hot days, but those are going to feel mild compared to the three H’s that are coming this week. Yup, the Hazy, Hot and Humid are going to descend so I better enjoy the cool of tonight while I can. This heat will blow the peonies so fast it will be scary, but I have harvested plenty and they are all enjoying their time in the cool. Speaking of which, if it is truly going to be as hot as they say, I will more than likely have the flowers in the flower cave on the open flower days. Just follow the signs.

A riot of colors are being cut from the gardens now. I have almost every color under the rainbow, and it is such a beautiful thing. I don’t know if I will have a riot of zinnias this year because of the slugs, but everything else is looking good. The tunnel is full of color and the perennials and more of the cool self sown flowers are just going out of town.

So what is planned on the farm this week besides keeping up to the watering? Well early in the day I will get the watering done and I got a bunch of perennials that need to go in the ground. The space is all prepped, I just have to get them in. Tomorrow should be cool enough to work in so I will get those planted and mulched. That is the plan anyway. The rest of the week, getting a path wood chipped before 10 each morning. Then trying to stay cool. Harvesting will also happen early or after dinner at night, but honestly by then I am pretty zapped so early morning harvest it will be. Fingers crossed. I have to choose my times working wisely, paths can wait till cooler days if they have to. The third and last batch of the zinnias will also go in the ground. Fingers crossed that these take. They are small but if I don’t get them in the ground soon I will miss the season. Ugh.

I leave you with last week’s #windowframethursdays. I just love this creative outlet, I hope that you all enjoy seeing them.

So until next week, stay cool flower friends.

Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Before I start up with my Sunday afternoon ramble, I want to thank you new subscribers to Lottarock. This is the weekly newsletter that keep you up to what is happening on the farm. This is different from the newsletter that goes out the evening before each open flower shed day, which reminds you of the hours and what will be available in the shed the next day. The blog post, which this is, is much more chatty, and the newsletter to the point. Again, Welcome.

So long tulips, hello peonies. I have been harvesting peonies by the arm load twice a day, and with the warm weather, I check them three times a day, and when I am harvesting them it is by the arm load.

So many colors, shapes and sizes to choose from. I would say so far I have harvested about half of the crop, so there are many arm loads left to harvest. I don’t expect to be running out of peony offerings anytime soon.

All of the seedling are in the ground. Yay. Well, not quite all. I had to do another sowing of zinnias because the first batch was devoured by the slugs. Damn things. I am now setting out beer traps with PBR, (Pabst Blue Ribbon for those of you not in the know). The slugs really go for it so if I have to spend 10 dollars a week buying PBR to get my flowers to grow, so be it. Most of the dahlias have sprouted above ground, so now their irrigation can be turned on. Before I know it I will be putting in more stakes to start trussing them up.

In the harvesting department I am still cutting the anemones and ranunculus, and now added to that is the phlox, some dianthus, as well as orlaya, nigella hopefully by Friday the feverfew and agrostema will be added to the list. One has to love the diversity of what is being harvested now. Speaking of diversity, check out this bouquet that I made just cause i could. Tulips, iris, peonies, daisies, valerian and beauty bush to round it out. It is now sitting in the kitchen going strong.

I participated in a pop up on Saturday that was a lot of fun, and got to meet more flower lovers. I had my normal offerings, buckets of flowers, arrangements and posies, but during all my conversations I started to call the posies starter posies. If you don’t know where to start with your flowers, start with a starter posie and add to it from the many offerings and create your own masterpiece. I think that is a cool way of looking at it. You can also just enjoy the posey as it is. Anyway.

I am running out of things to say, so I will leave you here with last week’s #windowframethursday.

The first of the garden roses, with peonies, honeysuckle and Calycanthus “Athena”

Until next week. Allie

And welcome new flowers. Tis the end of the tulip season. My goodness you all certainly showed your love for tulips this year. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My best year yet. Hopefully you will like next year’s tulips just as much, because the order has been placed.

Things are progressing on the planting end. All of the dahlias are in, all 200? of them? It seems like a lot of them but we all seem to love them at the end of the summer for their vibrant colors and shapes. This week is the big push to get the rest of the summer annuals in. It seems as though I have a slug problem and they are eating every bit of soft plant tissue. I hate slugs, the slimy gross disgusting things they are. I will take a snake any day. Speaking of snakes, I have one living under the weed mat in the garden, he certainly won’t go hungry with all the moles I seem to have, but getting back to slugs… I thought marigolds are resistant to just about everything except Japanese beetles, but may dear, the marigolds have been stripped to just stems. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the root systems are strong enough to support fresh growth, otherwise another sowing will have to happen and that might be pushing it. I might be putting out beer slug traps throughout the garden to trap the buggers.

I have been slowly harvesting peonies. My first harvest is Red Charm.

I suspect that with the warm temps that we are to have this week I will be harvesting peonies about three times a day. I have also just started the Itoh Canary Brilliants which is that lovely yellow. Oh yes, it’s peony time. If you want a special quantity, variety or color you might want to let me know so I can have them ready for you. I have a bunch on hold for a wedding at the end of the month, but if you have a big event or birthday coming up and you want peonies better let me know. Just shoot me an email.

There are more flowers to be had than just peonies, just so you know. The anemones are going strong, the ranunculus are finally rolling in, the little phlox are getting harvested as well as some of the dianthus. Lots of buds showing, so things are looking promising. This is this morning’s harvest from the back garden.

It has been a fun week. I had a big order of flower go out yesterday which is always exciting.

I actually got to do my #windowframethursday this last week. As much as I try, that Instagram post doesn’t always happen, but this time it did. I had lots of fun with this, playing with colors and texture. I won’t show you today’s photo, but it still looks good, the flower cave is a great space to hold flowers this time of year.

I opened up the petals of the tulips to give them a bit more wow factor and so you can see the inside of the tulips. Also with geum and golden mockorange.

So, I guess that is about all the news I have today. As always I look forward to seeing you at the flower shed on open days. Also, I don’t want you to forget that I will be at the DubHub pop up next Saturday from 10-4, or until I sell out. Fingers crossed. There are going to be a lot of amazing artists there so do come along and say hi. (and shop!)

So until next, keep dreaming of flowers, cause I do. Allie

As much as I love them, and as good as they have been to me, this week will be the last week for tulips until February 2025. Even though they are still looking good and holding up, I am ready for a floral change and I will assume you all are as well. That being said, Friday we will all say thank you for your beauty, getting us through the winter and early spring and for bringing us joy.

Don’t worry though, there is no shortage of flowers. The long awaited ranunculus are here, or they should be. I don’t know what they are waiting for. They are joining the anemones, and the very first of the peonies are here. The orlaya is just about ready to harvest and some of the cool flowers are showing bud. The bouquets may still not be big and bodacious, but they will be colorful.

To date, I have planted 275 peonies, 35? different varieties, and am nearly done with the that planting. That will be a huge project off my list. The last of the summer annuals will also go in the ground this week. The big irrigation system is hooked up and ready to used once the seedlings get big enough. Sunflowers, that I wasn’t going to grow, will be planted every two weeks for a filler, and bits and pieces need to get gone. When I take a deep breath, I will then mulch all the pathways to try to keep the lovely weeds under some control. Hopefully the rain gutters will be put up so I don’t have to go so far to fill my flower buckets or to wash them for that matter. It is sooo nice to have two working arms again. I can shovel, hoe, push a wheelbarrow, drag hoses and all that really fun stuff which is why we garden.

I have been invited to join a PopUp at DubHub on Saturday June 8 so put it on your calendar. Lots of really cool artists will be there and I will be there with amazing floral bouquets. I am going to be creative! So please pass the word around. I will also remind you leading up to the event.

I guess that is about all for now, the gardens are calling me. I leave you with images of the flowers I did for a celebration of life on Saturday.

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

Personally I have been enjoying the cooler temps of May. It makes working in the gardens so much more enjoyable than when the temperature are in the 70’s and above. The black flies have been doable, or maybe I should say tolerable, and it has been really pleasant. The spring flowers have been taking their time coming along which isn’t quite so good, but with this coming week’s temperature in the 80’s they will come on really fast. Maybe too fast. It is hard to keep the tulips from blowing open quickly when it is that warm, so Tuesday, the flower shed will be in my floral cave where it is cooler.

It has been a busy week here at the farm. Lots of seed sowing and transplanting. More flowers have gone out into the garden and more beds have been prepped and are waiting for planting. The garden is starting to look like a garden again rather than just long rows of dirt, I mean soil. The anemones are really starting to put on blossoms. Last week I moved them out of the greenhouse to keep them cooler along with the very slow to come ranunculus. I wonder if the ranunculus are ever going to bloom this year. Humph, maybe I added too much fertilizer when I planted them. Lots of lush green foliage but nary a flower bud in sight. At least the anemones are going strong. The plants in the tunnel are looking good, lots of self sown seedling that I am keeping some of, I look at it as the second succession. The first are the seedlings that I planted out, and second succession are the self sown ones. As long as things don’t get too crowded in there I will let it go.

The peonies are full of fat flower buds and some are even starting to show color. If it is true that it is going to be as warm as they are saying this week, I might have peonies before June this year. Won’t that be exciting?

This past Saturday was an event for Music on Norway Pond, and I was asked to do the flowers. Fifteen jam jar posies for the tables, two larger arrangements and a floral crown for the bust outside the door. This is what was created.

I think that they came out pretty well if I must say so.

There will still be tulips until the end of May, or until the peonies really kick in, then that will be the end of that season until next February. I will continue to run the tulip special until the end of the tulip season. I understand that many flower people are buying the two, and then the third they are giving as gifts, or paying it forward. I think that is very generous and let’s see if something special won’t happen on the tulips last days. Stay tuned.

I have a big crazy week coming up, so I will leave you here, with a handful of posies.

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

Here it is nearly mid May, and the weather has been cool most of the month so for the most part spring is taking it’s sweet time which is good because the flowers are coming on slowly so I am able to keep up.

The last of the tulips for 2024 have been harvested. Dare I say YAY? don’t worry, there are plenty to be had yet, so I will continue to run the buy two get one bunch free for a bit longer. I love them, but I am glad to have other flowers to be harvesting. Not in the abundance of of the tulips yet, but just something different. The anemones are starting and are looking good. The ranunculus? They seem to be taking their time slowly, but the feverfew is budding and the plants in the high tunnel are starting to really put on some growth. The perennials are all looking good and OMG you should se the buds on some of the peonies. It looks like Red Charm will be first out of the gate, but I could be wrong. A flower grower should never make predictions on what or for that matter when something is going to bloom. That leads to trouble.

Slowly more things are getting planted out into the garden. I have more seedlings to go out this week and another batch of seeds to get planted. Memorial Day is quickly approaching and that is my deadline to get just about everything in the garden planted out. All of the dahlias are now out of storage and in the dirty room feeling the warmth and hopefully having the buds swell so I know where to do the dividing before they get planted. I just need a bit more time, but don’t we always say that about everything?

Things in the gardens are looking good and I am happy about that. Fingers crossed it will continue to go well.

Since there isn’t much to say, that I can remember I will leave you with two arrangements that I made last week. I am no designer, but a flower grower that likes to have fun and if the odd commission occurs, I will give it a go.

Pardon the typos and grammatical issues. My proofreader is still away…argh.

So until next week, Allie. I dream of flowers