The weather can’t decide what it wants to do, or where it wants to be. Summer? Fall? No, lets try summer again…with added humidity, oh and rain! But no matter what the weather or season it decides to be, the flowers are just stunning. The colors, the depth of colors, everything needed to make stunning bouquets is available now. Not that it wasn’t available before, but the colors and textures right now are certainly something to write about. So I am. (Insert smiley face).
So let’s start with the dahlias. The OMG of flowers. The colors, patterns…you can have the jewel tones, or the pastel tones and just about any flower goes with them. I think they are my most favorite flower next to tulips. Well, OK, it’s a tie. The tulips herald in the flower growing season, and the dahlias are the swan song of the flower growing season.
This is just a smattering of the ones on offer, if I took photos of all of them you would have your socks knocked off they are stink’n beautiful. Do I have a favorite? No, they are all just amazing.
So. Speaking of tulips. Can you hear me sigh deeply? I got yet another letter from my sales rep saying that it was the worst year on record for tulip bulb growers, fusarium infecting the bulbs from the wet and cold year, so I will have no idea what I will get of my tulip order until the day they are supposedly shipped. So. I don’t know what I will have for the spring. Bummer for me. Because I am so small, it is hard for me to hedge my bets. I have tulips that have to get crated and in the cooler by a certain date to be able to offer them to you in February. If I was to order more tulips, that I can figure out the cool time for they won’t get shipped until the date that would push them back into March, so I am going to do the wait and see. I am only starting to have sleepless nights over this, but thank goodness I am not a tulip bulb grower. Jon, my sales rep thinks many will toss the towel in because of their losses. Fingers crossed that I will have some tulips to grow for you this year.
On to happier flower thoughts. The flowers are looking stunning. It must be from all the available water. Everything is still going strong. Some of the beds have been ripped out and have a nice healthy cover crop growing on them, I have been harvesting and drying flowers for use later in the season, thinking dried bouquets, wreaths, gift toppers, you know, that sort of thing. I have perennials that need to be divided and planted into their new homes, and beds extended. The Acidanthera is coming into its own, the Cobea is starting to bloom as is the hyacinth bean, filler and foliages are looking good and it is starting to rain again. It will be a wet harvest tomorrow morning, but everything will be well hydrated.
I will leave you with two images from this week.
Next week I will have Steve take a drone shot of the gardens before I harvest so you can see all the color.
Until next week, may you immerse yourself in the beauty of flowers. Allie