Well this is my last post for November. It is hard to believe that this time next week it will be December. How does the time fly so quickly? Probably because I am always so busy.
As of this writing I have all but two rows of the annual beds to get prepped for next spring. If I can get my butt in gear with this colder weather, it will happen. I would also like to get some leaf mulch on the peony beds before Thursday, we will see. The forecast isn’t looking fabulous….
So there has been talk here at the farm about expanding the flowers. You know that I have been adding more perennials to reduce the amount of work while slowly cutting back on the number of annuals, don’t worry, there will still be plenty of flowers, I am just thinking of my body for the future. The next step is to add more shrubs for cutting and now crabapples. Once they get planted the amount of work involved will be nothing like planting ten rows of annuals every spring. Three different varieties of shrubs have been ordered and my wish list for crabapples is on deck. Steve and I paced out the space this afternoon and it isn’t nearly as big as my dreams…hmmmm, it will work out, then I have the lilacs I am going to move into the same area….it will be tight…but it will work.
I have ordered the chrysanthemums for next year’s stock. I was cutting flowers up until the beginning of this week. Just enough for my final bouquet for me before I have to resort to buying flowers (egads!) until the tulips come in, which should be mid February. Here is this week’s bouquet. Check out the dried sunflowers. The birds ate all the seeds and left me with these beauties.
Other material used are the branches of the spirea, and the sea oats with the last of the chrysanthemum flowers.
After Thanksgiving, my next task is to get into the high tunnel and get it cleaned up, composted and getting it ready for the cool flowers that go in early March. If it is a sunny day it will get quite warm in there despite there aren’t any ends on it. Late December I will be starting the fancy pansy seeds that I will hopefully purchase tomorrow that have been selected as cut flowers, yup, pansies as spring cut flowers as well as starting the perennials that I have seed for. Not much rest, but enough.
Meanwhile, I am planning for 2025…most importantly, what am I growing and where the hell is it going to go. I am planing for a very floral year so get ready and stay tuned.
Until next week, I dream of flowers, do you? Allie
PS. Steve doesn’t dream of flowers but he is very patient of my dreams and goals.