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So here we are, the last Sunday of August, and by my calculations, weather permitting, we have six more weeks of flower shed days. OMG, where has the flower time gone? It seems as though I was only just stating with tulips back in May but here we are, or here I am counting down the number of weeks left. That is good because I am about ready for a break, and that is bad because I just love my flowers and seeing you all.

But just because there is just six more weeks left, there is no need for panic. Your flower cards are good for two years. If you bought a flower card this year you are golden, if your card is from last year, 2020 and you have a balance left, you might just want to stop in and get some flowers because time is fleeting.

On to the exciting flowers though. There are still a lot of exciting and beautiful flowers to be had. The zinnias, annual asters, sunflowers, rudbeckia are all still going strong. They are growing faster and flowering faster than I can almost keep up with.

The glads and the beautiful fragrant peacock lily are trickling in as well. The perennial asters and soon the hardy chrysanthemums will be coming into flower, as well as the perennial grasses to fill out your flower selections.

I am starting the seeding of the spring hardy annuals this coming week, I have ordered 500 ranunculas, 100 anemones and 50 freesias to add to my early spring offerings, so fingers crossed, there will be plenty of flowers from mid April until mid October next year. I have been fretting about the tulips that will be arriving mid December that will need growing on so they will be available to you by early March. Our builder swears the garage will be finished by then which includes the bulb cooler and flower cooler. I am not as confident, but have come up with a solution, I hope. We will just build the bulb cooler in the corner of the finished basement and wing it with a hope and a prayer, and a good extension cord. Or a lot of prayers. Argh. Friggin’ building inspector.

Enough of that worry. I thought I would add a photo that Steve took on Friday of the “Flowers at Lottarock” so we could all see just how cool it all looks. I have to say, I am pretty damn proud of it. I only wish I was younger so I could really see my dreams from 30 years ago through, but hey, I think I am doing pretty stinking good, and I am my own worst critic.

I hope to see you all soon. I can not tell you how much I appreciate all you support and all your good vibes. Makes all those not so good gardening days worthwhile.

Till next time, Allie

Here I am on the screen porch writing this, hoping for the best outcome with tropical storm Henri. I am not worried about the structures, but I am worried about the strength of the stems with the wind if the wind speeds pick up to what they are supposed to do, 40mph+. So far, knock on wood, this isn’t any worse than many of the storms we have had this summer, but it is early yet, and the flowers are larger and the sunflowers will not like the heavy winds at all. All I can do is wait out the storm and see what happens. I have harvested all I can at the moment.

So besides Henri, you might ask what else is happen at the farm? I am harvesting flowers like a mad woman. The asters are blooming like crazy, singles, doubles, spiders, whites, purples, pinks oh my!

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The asters are only a smattering of the flower sheds offerings here at Lottarock. I have sunflowers, rudbeckia, zinnias, celosia, cosmos, monarda and so much more. Just look at what is in the cooler at the moment waiting for you all to stop by and get flowers.

I have ordered and received seeds for fall planting which I need to start now. ASAP if I hope to get them established enough and in the ground before I lose my overwintering planting window. Never enough time. I am trying to find flowers that will bridge the gap from tulips to peonies and then the next gap from peonies to the summer annuals. It is said that it can be done with the facilities I have, so what really do I have to lose right? I just need to get the lead out and do it.

At the moment I have two concrete walls for by bulb/flower cooler. I told Paul, our builder, I must have two more walls, a ceiling, a door and electricity by Thanksgiving or I am going to be on the hunt to find homes for 60 full bulb crates. He tells me “no problem Allie”. We will see Paul, we will see.

I leave you with photos of the flower garden, taken in the rain mind you, of what they looked like at the beginning of tropical storm Henri. Hopefully at the end, they will be looking the same.

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Until next time my flower friends. Allie

What an August this is turning our to be. Wow. Flowers are coming out of my ears! In other words, the flowers are producing like crazy. Almost all of what I have planted are blooming now, and I am just gob smacked by their beauty. Lisianthus, snapdragons, cosmos, zinnias, monarda, asters, rudbeckia and sunflowers…OMG. Did I add that the dahlias are starting as well? Almost too much for the senses to take in, trippin colors man. Oh to be a flower farmer with lots of flowers and flower people that just love flowers.

All you wonderful flower people that come to get flowers on Fridays know that as soon as the flower shed closes, well not as soon as I would like because there is still lots of work to do, but as soon as I can I hop in the car with my “go cup” of flowers to go to the lake for the weekend to decompress. To my bliss. So every Friday, my flowers and I go on a trip to the lake. And here we are Sunday, with Friday’s flowers at the lake.

Flowers just don’t have to stay home with you, they can travel with you as well. It is embarrassing to say but we were at a wedding two weeks back and yes, I took flowers with me to grace our room for the weekend. In a “to go cup”. Isn’t that the reason that DD and McDonalds make go cups to transport flowers to where you need to be? Works for me. and if you don’t know, I have a collection of “go cups” on hand to get your flowers from point A to wherever point B might be.

To all my flower people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support and for your love of flowers.

Here it is August. The rain seems to eased for a few days and the sunshine is making headway and the flowers are going gang busters because they have had more than adequate water and now sunshine. Buckets and buckets are being harvested every other day.

The sunflowers are starting in, and I have planted a really cool variety or two, They certainly aren’t your usual sunflower but they are interesting, and I will certainly grow variety if nothing else.

The other flowers that are starting to come in are the asters. So far the purples and pink singles, but others will soon start coming in in force. I should also start having a few dahlias rocking in soon. On Friday I had some that were just starting to show color. I can hardly wait to have some of their beautiful blooms to offer.

Despite the days getting shorter, the flower availability is still going strong. So strong in fact that Summerhill was gifted two buckets of flowers for the residents to make their own bouquets. Flowers make smiles and heaven knows that assisted living and long term care residents can use smiles.

As usual, I look forward to seeing many of you this week, and to you flower lovers that I don’t get to see, I miss you.

Till next week. Allie

Here we are. August. What happened to May, June and July? May and June were dry, dry, dry, and July was the wettest on record, and tonight, being the First of August, I will have to irrigate for the first time in a month. Even though showers and flash flooding are in the forecast, the plants are looking dry, so I will turn on the irrigation if only for half of the normal time.

The gardens are just growing by leaps and bounds. The zinnias are going full tilt, the cosmos are not far behind, the lisianthus are still coming in strong and I have the most unusual collection of fillers. I am loving the grasses because the add movement to the flowers and like a garden, a bouquet should have ‘movement’ in my humble opinion. I am growing at least three different types of annual grasses, brizia, green drops and feather top which is just starting to set seed heads, Then I have bubble grass, or bubble something that is a linum, but the flowers seed pods become like little bubbles. I have to read up on it to see when it should be harvested, but it looks as though it will be really cool as well.

The first batch of sunflowers are stating to be harvested, they are way cool as well and will add lots of interest to your vase, and mix them with some rudbeckia and grasses and viola’ a summer bouquet.

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I am off to see if the irrigation is working, so until next week, Allie

What a week it has been. Rain and more rain, but as I write this, the sun is shining and the flowers and I are enjoying every minute of it. While my shoes are having a difficult time drying out this year I haven’t had to water the flower gardens for weeks now, which is a huge time saver. That and I dare not put the irrigation line back across the driveway for fear of a big truck running over it, so there is a silver lining to all the rain.

Speaking of big trucks, for all of you who are navigating our driveway and mud at this moment I thank you for your patience. Now that the garage foundation is in I am hoping that in the next few weeks everything will be regraded, including the driveway parking area and the driveway to the barn. It’s a good thing we don’t have to get hay in ’cause it wouldn’t be happening.

What is happening is that the flowers are going gang busters. Just about everything is in flower or is pretty darn close. The first sowing of sunflowers way back when are getting some big buds as are the asters. Every week is a new week in the floral department.

I read in the July NOFA newsletter that July 30 is International Friendship Day, My thinking is….On Friday, flower day, get a regular bouquet, and then a small bunch, on us at Lottarock, to give to someone who is having a rough time, just moved into the area and is looking for a reach out, maybe a bunch to the local shelter or to just anyplace or person who could use a cheer up, and what better way than through local flowers. Stay tuned to the Friday newsletter that hopefully will be out on Thursday that will give more details.

I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful sunny forecast, I know I am, and I hope to see many of you this week for some beautiful flowers.

Until next week. Allie

Here we are, July 18 and we have had 12.4 inches of rain. It was only last month I was bemoaning the lack of rain and my worries about not having enough water. Well, that thought has gone out the window. The tanks are overflowing, the rivers are overflowing and I feel as though I am going to grow webbed toes if all of this rain keeps up. So far the flowers aren’t complaining too much, I am losing some lisianthus that are too close to the rain tanks overflow and the slugs are becoming abundant for the first time ever, but this too shall pass. Soon, I hope. A few days of sunshine would be greatly appreciated by this flower farmer.

Despite the rain, the flower shed offerings are becoming greater. I have buckets and buckets of assorted flowers and still more that are on deck. The Zinnias are coming in strong, the cosmos are trying to, they are just waiting for a few days of sunshine for those fat buds to pop. The lisianthus are stunning as always, the snapdragons are looking snappy, the grasses add graceful movement to any bouquet that is created. A new flower filler that I am growing this year is the Monarda Lambada and I have to say that I really like it as a flower and a filler in an arrangement.

There are lots of interesting flowers still waiting on the wings. Sunflowers (I would love to see their sunny faces now with all this wet and grey weather), asters, celosia, and keep your fingers crossed that the wet doesn’t affect them, the lovely dahlias. I can hardly wait to see the dahlias, they are so beautiful….

So I leave you with a photo of last Fridays flower shed in all its floral bounty.

Until next week, stay dry and let the sun shine on us.

Despite the week of torrential rain, and mostly gloomy weather the flowers here at Lottarock are really starting to come into bloom. I have buckets of flowers waiting for your selection!

Since the first of July we have recorded over 7 inches of rain. Unheard of for this time of year. Not that I am complaining much, the rain barrels are overflowing which is fabulous, but I would like a day or two of decent sunshine to dry things out a bit and for all those buds to break open. Have you ever met a farmer that is completely happy with the weather gods? We strive for perfection.

The most exciting news on the flower front here at Lottarock is that the Lissies (Lisianthus is their real name but we call the lissies here) are starting to bloom. Yeah! These are magnificent flowers in both bud and bloom and there are lots of shades to choose from.

The other cool flower starting to bloom is the Crocosmia. I love what these flowers add to a bouquet in both color and their form and look great with the rudbeckia, sunflowers, grasses and goldenrod.

It is sad to say that I am stopping the harvest of the beautiful Icelandic poppies. I am letting the remaining go to seed to collect so I can plant many more for us all next spring. But there are so many more flowers to choose from I hope that they won’t be missed.

That seems to be the most exciting news at Lottarock this week, there are lots of really cool flowers to choose from if you are building your bouquet. Some are perennials so their time is fleeting, but that is OK because the annuals are really starting to come into their own. Every week or two is different in the selection of flowers that make it all the more interesting as a flower grower and as flower lovers.

So I leave you with two photos of Shirley poppies that are growing in the beds. They are stunning flowers as you can see but for the life of me I can’t get them to last more than a day or two in a bouquet no matter how I condition them, so I am leaving them in the garden because they are a honey bee magnet and I just love looking at them.

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Until next week. Allie

Happy 4th everyone. Hard to believe that it is already July and the summer is quickly zipping by, although the weather isn’t feeling like July, more like April. One week we are sweltering, the next shivering. God know what the plants are thinking about these temperature fluctuations. Hot, cold, hot, cold so on and so forth. At least we have finally gotten some well needed rain. 3.8 inches! We’re still in moderate drought but improving.

The flower garden is really starting to fill in. The bachelor buttons are going gang busters as is the feverfew and the Icelandic poppies. One of my new favorite flowers to grow. They are amazing. I keep thinking that with each heat wave they are going to peter out but they are still going strong. I do believe the poppies will tide me over until the cosmos and the zinnias really kick in which should be by next week. I am getting a flower here and there so they are close to harvesting. Oh so close. The other flowers are closing in fast on their heals so by Mid July there will be buckets more of flowers to chose from.

I am starting to pull together the seed list for the perennials, bi-annuals and the plants that I am going to experiment to winter over this winter to get flowers to everyone earlier next spring. Lots of planning on where everything will go, as well as other little details but winter is a great time to play with different growing techniques.

As usual, I look forward to seeing you all at the flower shed on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. I leave you with a photo of last Friday’s flower shed door bouquet. Soft and delicate.

Until next time. Allie

It is hard to believe that this is the last Sunday of June. Summer is just zipping by, but the flowers are really starting to fill in and every week there are more offerings to be had. The bachelor buttons are a sea of flowers, and that blue added to a bouquet really makes the bouquet pop.

You might be asking, “But what is new?” Well, the calendulas and rudbeckia are starting to bloom, the grasses are really starting to look interesting, soon we will be having lots of cosmos and zinnias as well. I am hoping that by the middle of July I will be harvesting from everything that has been planted. Well, not everything, because I have some late summer flowers that need to wait their turn.

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Not that I want to jump ahead in the seasons, but I have just placed the remaining tulip order for the spring of 2022. Yikes! The plan is to have 6500 tulips available starting the middle of February on until the natural season ends sometime in May, depending on the weather. I have ordered some stunners so that is something to look forward to next spring. In flower farming, planning for the next season really starts six to 12 months out. Crazy I know, but it takes that long to get crops started and grown to be available in time.

I got the pumpkins and gourds finally planted in the ground last Friday and they made it through the weekend.They are outside the fencing so I am hoping that the local critters will leave them alone.

Speaking of local critters, I have a snake living or hunting under the weed mat in the garden. It startled me when it came out but it had a rodent in his belly so I told it that it could stay and eat to it’s heart’s delight, just give me warning when it appears so I don’t get startled. It needs to live in the lisianthus right now because someone is eating the roots off the very expensive seedlings and killing them. Grrrr. (I refer to it as an it because I don’t know its sex).

I leave you a picture of Orlaya, a new plant for me to grow but I think a keeper. Let me know what you think.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the flower shed, and wish my international friends could visit for a flower fix. Until next time. Allie