Author: Allie

Are you ready? I’ve got tulips and, they will be available to all on Friday Feb 16! I am telling you now to mark your calendars because if I can’t remember how to send out the new newsletter, or I mess up, you have been forewarned. The time will be from 10:00 till 2:00, here at the farm but honestly I don’t think they will last that long. The varieties will be, drum roll please, Apricot Beauty, Tom Puce and Mystic Van Eijk. All beautiful. if you want my opinion.

I have a lot of transplanting to do this week. All of the perennial seedlings have germinated and put out their true leaves, or enough of them to do it anyway. Many of the cool annuals have germinated and are off the heat. Things are heating up!

The ranunculus and anemones have been soaked and are now trying to sprout before they get transplanted in the soon to be empty bulb crates, then they will go into the greenhouse. I am hauling tulips crates in to grow them, and back out to hold them until Friday. I certainly am getting my upper arm workout, that is for sure.

So tulips now should be pretty consistent. There are still at least 25 crates left to come into the dirty room, it looks like a bunch more but since I haven’t counted them I would say 25 crates, four crates per week… yeah, plenty of tulips to be had.

So, just a reminder, Tulips here at the farm on Friday the 16th from 10-2:00. If you want a bunch of locally grown flowers for your valentine, shoot me an email and I will have them ready for you.

I leave you with last week’s #windowframethursday of Apricot Beauty in bud and full.

Until next week, enjoy Tuesdays snow, and think flowers! Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

With great Phew, I can say that not only does the first batch of tulips have flower buds to be seen, but, I’ve got flowers! I harvested two this morning, probably another half dozen tomorrow, so on and so forth. Soon, there will be plenty of tulips for all, and I will share. Promise.

Tomorrow the next four crates get pulled into the dirty room, getting mighty crowded in there, I also have a big seeding to do for the cool annuals, and I need to get the ranunculus and anemones soaked and sprouted. My ‘free?’ time is getting less and less. I love it though.

It certainly has been so nice to see the sun shine these last two days and it is supposed to be lovely through the week. I think we deserve a stretch of nice weather. A temperature alarm goes off in the dirty room around 10:30 these mornings so the door gets open for four inches for the day, trying to keep the room temp around 65 degrees. We shut it down around 4:00, and yes, the house does get quite refreshing, but it works. Air change is good for our health, that and exercise, which I am getting plenty of these days.

As soon as I have enough tulips to share, in two weeks?, I will let you know, and I will let you know where I will be having them. Just at the farm? Peterborough Farmers Market? Flag Leaf Bakery if they will have me again? Still trying to figure out those logistics, as well as the newsletter, but hopefully, by the time I have enough tulips to go around, I will have that figured out as well.

Each week is getting more and more exciting, but since I have no other news right now, I will leave you with last week’s #windowframethursday. A lone sprig of witch hazel in a bottle. Jujst the color I needed while it was still gloomy out and it was the only flowers I had.

Until next week, start dreaming flowers, because I certainly am. Allie

That Friday is Groundhog day? And we will be halfway through winter? Of course as I say this it is snowing outside, but the days will be noticeably getting longer and there will be flowers. Yay!!!

I am only doing minimal flower growing at the minute. Every two days I water the tulip crates, about every hour I check on the seedling to see if they are germinating, such busy work. No, what I am really spending my time on for Flowers at Lottarock is getting my act together. I’m trying to figure out how to improve my newsletter, which is different from the blog, learning how to do reels for Instagram because that is where the viewers are, so they say, getting my Quickbooks organized, new LLC, have to be even more serious….the rest of my time is spent going to physical therapy, which is making a huge difference in my range of motion and hopefully strength, doing my physical therapy exercises, and wearing my bone stimulator that will hopefully get the stink’n clavicle to start to heal. That, takes up to three hours a day. Boring I know but it is good that I have so many ‘Office’ projects.

I always question my flower growing, especially the tulips. I wonder did I get the number of weeks right for the chilling before I pulled the crates? Are they doing anything? Are there any flower buds? The first tulip crate pull is always the most excruciating, the wait! I must fondle those Apricot Beauty stems daily to see if I can feel flower buds, being careful not to crush them, and I think, I really think, that by the time I write this next Sunday, I might, fingers crossed, be able to show you the first tulips of the season. I am on pins and needles with anxiety…I should know better but still.

The flower farm is still quiet, nestled under snow…inside the lavender has germinated, as has the dianthus, phlox, the start of the delphinium and echinacea and quite possibly the columbine. The next big sowing is coming up soon, but for now it is office work and healing.

Since I have no flowers that I have grown yet, I will share the Witch Hazel ‘primavera’ pictures that I took yesterday. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but I have color in the garden. She (our old cat Fidgit is buried underneath), is blooming about three weeks early, but I will take the color for sure. Enjoy the color. I certainly am.

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

Don’t worry, we are all fine. I was referring to the bitter cold. Luckily, when I started this tulip growing gig we stuck a temperature alarm in the cooler so from my phone, I can tell the temps in the cooler. Too hot, my phone sounds an alarm. Too cold, my phone sounds an alarm. Luckily, my phone has not set off any alarms. Phew. I have the temperature in the cooler set at 41F, which is fine for the tulips and all of the dahlia tubers I am storing in there. The alarm is set to go off at 36F, which is fine for the tulips but getting into the danger zone for the dahlias. Steve and I scoured Keene on Friday looking for an electric blanket that, if I had to, I could cover the dahlias and turn it on low. No luck. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get through tonight, the last of the super cold, and if the alarm goes off, I run down with another heater and plug it in for a few hours. Right now the temp is 38.3, and we should be OK.

I have set up the next row in the dirty room for the next batch of tulips to get hauled in.

Tomorrow at some point week 14-2 will be hauled in and placed on the crates, and I will hook up the light overhead. I want to thank everyone for their offers last week of lugging crates for me. I stubbornly wanted to try it myself and I had no problems. Probably because I had them at my waist. On the other hand, Steve had to move a simple seed tray for me because I couldn’t lift it. But yay for being able to do the tulips!

As you can see, progress is being made. I am thinking two more weeks before I have tulips!

I almost bought flowers at the supermarket on Friday. But then I said no. I will have fresh local flowers available hopefully in two weeks, which are much more superior to the imported flowers that have been sprayed with every chemical cocktail under the sun, that shouldn’t even go into the compost because the are so laced. Yes, they are cheap, far less than what I can grow them for, but you know what? Local flowers will always trump,(bad word) imported flowers if one follows the season and truly cares. Enough of that diatribe.

So, soon, very soon, I will have tulips, then the ranunculus and anemones will be started, the cool flowers will be seeded, and we will be on our way.

The dogs are impatient to do chores, so they can have dinner, so I will leave you here. Hope to see you all soon.

Thank you for your support, Allie. I dream of flowers, do you?

Last week’s arrangement, a winter wonderland, while I wait for Lottarock Flowers.

There are many reasons to say wow about this week. One, tomorrow we are half way through the month of January. How does time fly so quickly? Wow number two, this time last year, to the day tomorrow, I was hauling in the first four crates of tulips, which is on my agenda tomorrow, and the biggest WOW is by Feb. 6, I was harvesting tulips. So fasten your seatbelts all. Farm fresh flowers are only weeks away! I always keep my fingers crossed, but soon, three weeks soon, we will hopefully have tulips.

So after I tidy up and organize the dirty room space, I will start hauling crates. Luckily I only have to do four, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to do it. I will see. The last thing I need to do is drop a crate because in my bull headdedness, but I also don’t want to make my shoulder worse. I will be happy if I can even haul one crate before I ask for help. but…if I can do all of them I would be a happy camper.

Meanwhile, while I wait impatiently for flowers, I am studying marketing, growing, how to do instagram reels, really? updating mailing lists, doing my PT and subsequent exercises, taking the dogs for walks and walking the gardens. I have transferred the business from a DBA to a LCC so I really have to make this work, hence all the marketing homework. Growing flowers is just so much easier and certainly more fun. For me, anyway.

So that is about all the news I have this week from Lottarock. The days are getting longer which makes me happy.

Until next week my flower friends. I dream of flowers. Do you? Allie

You probably thought I had faded off into the void, but here I am, another year of flower growing for you, my flower lovers.

I will say I am not sad to see the end of 2023. That last quarter was a struggle to say the least, but the calendar has turned the page and we are looking towards a fantastic floral year. I have started PT for the left wing and fingers crossed I will be back to fine fettle by the time flowers begin.

Speaking of flowers, seeding begins this week for the perennials, next week the first three crates of tulips get hauled into the dirty room, which means I must do a deep clean before now and next week. If all goes to plan, I should have tulips available for you all by the middle of February.

Meanwhile, both Steve and I are suffering from head colds, so have had a total down day watching the snow come down. Now the garden is safely covered for the rest of the season. That is if the snow stays. I have been walking the gardens once or twice each day just to check on things, checking that I have enough space to put everything when the big plant out begins. I am also digging deep into becoming a better business person…not fun but necessary, as well as flower learning which is far more fun than the business side of things. At least in my opinion.

Happy January everyone. It is good to be back and growing flowers again.

I dream of flowers, do you? These dahlia tubers are dreaming flowers. At least I hope they are.

Until next week. Allie

Happy holidays to all you you, my faithful flower people. I hope each of you have a safe, family, friend and fun filled week of celebrations. We here at Lottarock are celebrating the increasing light, friends stopping by, cheer and family. I mostly want to thank you for supporting this flower farmer with your love for my flowers and especially giving your support during this flower farmers shall we say challenging last few months.

I will be back weekly after the New Year because believe it or not, seeding begins and soon there will be tulips. Yay!

I wish you all the best holiday season. You flower lovers are the best and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. See you in the New Year.

I dream of flowers. Do you? Allie

I hope everyone had their fill of turkey and all the trimmings on Thursday and now everyone is ready for the exciting month of December, decking the halls with fresh and local greens and trees. Nothing speaks more than having a local and natural holiday season. Yes, the decorations don’t last as long, but either does a flower bouquet. At the end, they can all be composted and not filling up the landfill with plastics and more.

My pots and urns are filled with boughs cut from the farm, mixed with red and yellow twigs, adding some dried hydrangea, tying on dried white and red gomphrena flowers, some honesty seed pods and there you go. Beautiful. My gifts are wrapped in paper bags and festooned with dried flower posies…what could be more beautiful.

Since the gardens are all sleeping, and the bulbs are doing what they do without my help, I am going to give you a break from my posts until things at Flowers at Lottarock start rock’n. I will still be happy to do dried flowers bouquets for you, posies for gift adornment, or being creative for you, but since we will all be busy, I will take a bit of time off from doing the blog posts, but in mid January, I will be back. Promise.

That being said, if you do need my florals, contact me at flowersatlottarock@gmail.com. I more than likely will not be checking the website like I should. Bad me. But hey, everyone needs a vacation from a website.

I leave you with pics of an arrangement I did for a thanksgiving table last week. Enjoy.

All grown or harvested here at the farm. To me it reads the end of the season beauty.

Until next year my flower people. Have a safe and fabulous filled December, I will be back in January. Promise.

I dream of flowers, do you? Until next time, Allie

We are on the back half of November now. I no longer have fresh flowers to harvest, but do I have some lovely dried flowers to create many things. My first creation of the week? Check this out.

These are all made on grapevine bases, grown, harvested and made by me. The evergreens are grown by brother Sean, the dried flowers by me. The wreaths are completely compostable, no wire or plastic is involved. No, they won’t last forever, nor should they. Like your garden flowers, they are to be enjoyed, then let them go back to the earth. The wreathes measure about 18″ across, and each is different, but you probably figured that part out already. I will also do holiday table arrangements in your vessel if you like. Love the chance to be creative. So. If you are interested, send me an email at…flowersatlottarock@gmail.com. I only look at the website on Mondays and not always at the comments. I know, me bad, wicked bad.

The cutting garden is officially put away for the season now. The gate is closed. The last of the beds got their protective coat of leaf mulch on Thursday and I have but the rods in for the low tunnels. If I go in now, it is just because I am planing or dreaming of what will be.

Saying that, I am going to try to rest my wing. TRY, to rest my wing. I will still give you flower farm updates until December, then I will give you all a break until Mid January when flower farming starts all over again.

Have a great Thanksgiving with family and friends, remember to let me know if you want a wreath or an arrangement, and I will be back next Sunday.

I dream of flowers. Do you? Allie

Well here we are in mid November, and now I can honestly say the gardens are done for the year. Last Thursday’s freezing rain, and this morning’s low temp of a whopping 24 degrees has just about done it. That being said, I finished up getting all the beds, irrigation, weed mat, posts put away a few days earlier. Everything is safely tucked in now. I just have to get the leaf mulch on the beds because I don’t want any exposed soil, but there are to be some nice days at the end of the week so that is the plan.

But!!! Spring is in the air….look at this!

So at five weeks, growth is starting to happen, and this is so exciting! This is happening faster than my wing healing. Actually anything is happening faster than my wing healing. We turned the cooler system over today from cooling to heating. I hope we did it right. Even with instructions it is a challenge, but the alarm will go off on my phone if we goofed. We will know tonight.

The last floral bouquet went our yesterday. I was asked three? weeks ago if I could do a flower arrangement for a memorial service, so I did a big harvest of beautiful hydrangea blooms, kept them cool, which hasn’t been hard, and created a farewell bouquet.

I had picked the most amazing hydrangeas, blues, blues that had turned a deep purple, whites, and creams. Added some late blooming chrysanthemums rosemary for remembrance, and spirea foliage. If you are up for creativity, I can do it (sorta).

I have had a request for, besides holiday wreaths, holiday bouquets. Sure, why not. My goal this week is to make a prototype of each, with estimated prices, post photos of the next Sunday and we will go from there. The wreaths are going to be all natural, fully compostable with the material grown here or at my brother’s. That is right, at the end of the holidays, you can toss it in the compost, or hang it somewhere and maybe the sprig birds will like it for nesting. No wire or plastics will be used. Stay tuned.

The sky is getting dark, the dogs are getting anxious and I can hear the donkeys calling for their dinner, so I will leave you here.

I dream of flowers. Do you? Until next week. Allie