Here we are. September 19. Wow. I almost wrote July 19 but stopped myself just in time. I seem to be seasonally challenged this week. Maybe because I have tulips on the brain, or maybe I am just confused by how quickly the flower season has moved. It catches me off guard each year. But, we still have three more weeks of the open flower shed and that is good because the autumns flowers are now rocking in as well as the most amazing dahlias I have grown yet!
The recent heavy rain and crazy wind has ended a number of flowers and I am getting them out of the bed and composting them. I am hoping to get a cover crop on but first the entire bed has to be pulled before I can sow seed. I’m not sure how that is going to work so we will see. One bed of sunflowers is totally gone so I can get seed on that bed anyway. Maybe on Tuesday when I have a farm day.
So you ask, what do I have for flowers this week of September. The zinnias are still going strong, the second flush of lisianthus, sunflowers celosia are all happy and looking good and then we have the dahlias. OMG. I am not going to ever grow tons of them, but each bloom is a study. I love the shape and colors of the flowers, I am just sorry that their season is so short for me, but I enjoy every day of them, believe me.
The sunflowers are still going strong. I usually don’t harvest the flowers if the bee’s are on them, but somehow this fella went for a ride into the flower shed.
I love the flower form of these celosias, The colors are unreal, and they just seem to add a punch to the flower bouquets because they just aren’t normal. Maybe that is why I love them. They are like coral from the reef.
I got a new flower book a few weeks ago by Sarah Raven, who gathers or has photos of herself harvesting flowers in a champagne bucket. Imagine. Anyway, my dear friend BJ came by last week with a champagne bucket for my flowers so here I am posing with it full of dahlia blossoms. Only problem is the silly me has my hands covering the silver bucket. So maybe if I ever have another picture of me posing with flowers in my champagne bucket I will keep my hands off to the side.
My most exciting news this week is that my long awaited new greenhouse is to be delivered and assembled on Tuesday and I can hardly wait. It will be put to full use in flower production next year. Just think, more ranunculus, anemones and hopefully freesia, fingers crossed. And tulips. Can’t forget my tulips.
Until next week and the floral diaries. Allie
PS. I am doing a flower card for the Cornucopia Project’s annual auction that is going to be held on Sept 24-26. Their website is http://cornucopiaproject.org , and the auction site is https://www.32autions.com/cornucopiaprojectauction. You can go to the online auction and get a gift card for yourself for next year, gift it to a friend, and support the worth Cornucopia Project at the same time. Just a thought.