Mother Nature...

Mother Nature has certainly thrown as much as she possibly can at us this year.  From freezing cold temperatures lasting days or weeks (unusual for the extended freeze in this area) ... to an unseasonably warm Spring.... to rain that lasts for weeks and causes widespread dangerous flooding.. not just the washing out of a few flower beds... and maybe because of all of these ups and downs it has been hard to remember what beauty we have still been able to bring out of the gardens.

Flowers that thrived this time last year (rananculus) have rotted out this year ... Flowers that didn't do a gosh darn thing last year (snapdragons) are four feet tall and just exploding with color this year.

Starting with the tiniest of seeds in the tiniest soil blocks...

Or bulbs that were planted in the fall... of daffodils I had never even dreamed of...

To the first of the riot of color coming forth in Spring

And now... still hanging onto spring but slowly heading into Summer....  why do I keep saying that I don't have any flowers?

And where are those 27 mums going that arrive this week?

Dahlias and Mums are on their way...

Hmmm ... so I started this post in February and we are now June... time flies when you're having fun!  Below is a peak at my overwintered and brought back to life dahlia tubers...

While this still may technically be Winter, there is much planning (and purchasing) for the later part of the season on this flower farm.  We've just ordered 37 dahlias and 27 mums for our summer and fall flower harvesting.  While those numbers may not sound like much to more established flower farms, this is a huge time and financial investment for us.  I ALWAYS start (or order) more flowers than I have space to put them in the ground... and these babies will be arriving in mid-April at the time of our projected last frost date.  Hopefully that ground will thaw out so we can get some more beds dug!

But this is an investment that we hope will help grow our business. If taken care of properly, we can dig up the dahlia tubers in the fall, overwinter them, and divide them in the Spring, and likely we will have more than we started with.  So those 37 dahlias can be twice (or more) the next year!  The more we learn about growing specialty cut flowers... well we always need to learn more.  This was our first year overwintering dahlia tubers and we're not so sure we were successful.  Our storage area may have gotten too cool and dry.  So for now we have taken them out of their hiding places and have potted them up and are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting to see if there might be some life left in them.  Hopefully these southwestern facing windows will start to warm and work their magic... and hopefully our little munchkins will keep their hands off!

And .. update... first dahlias coming out now....

There's still hope...

I was so excited this Fall by how healthy all of my hardy annuals were looking when I put them in the ground and then again a few weeks later.  And then.... well, we've had a crazy winter with extended below freezing temperatures and vicious winds that have had these snaps looking like this ...

And now, like this...

I see all sorts of lovely branching and green around the base of most of these so I'm still holding out hope that I can salvage some of these beauties and I'll have my first real harvest of Madame Butterfly Bronze. 

Obviously only time will tell, but in the meantime, I've started my next batch of seedlings which include some Chantilly Yellow Cream Snapdragons as well as Peach, Cheerful White and Rainbow Stock.  Remembering these stock from last year and how I excited I was that they did something... and that FRAGRANCE!  Sweet and spicy and oh so intoxicating:

But first, we shall have crocus, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips... after all, it is still January!

So I want to be a flower farmer...

... and this is just one of the reasons why:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEXs9UUgqqg

I came across this video about a year ago and it has set me on this journey.  This certainly won't happen overnight (though most days I wish it would).  We are starting small and just in our own back yard.  This past year I had more flowers than I ever thought possible.... and that was without a real plan and only 380 square feet of dedicated flower beds.

For next year I have many more hardy annuals in the ground ready for early spring and now I've added spring bulbs to the mix.  So far, we have 500 square feet planted and have started to dig a few more beds.  We are still going to be very small, but this year we are going to market!  Looking forward to sharing our flowers with you!

When I told my three year old I wanted to be a flower farmer, I asked him what the first step should be.  His response:  "Plant some seeds in the ground!"

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First Bridal Bouquet

So this weekend I made my first bridal bouquet ever.  My husband's best friend was getting married in the backyard of the California home he shares with his partner.  They were having a do-it-yourself, everyone-pitch-in, low-key backyard bash.  They and their children were the musicians, their backyard was a beautiful venue and they were very much in love and ready to celebrate!

I had tried to reach out to local flower farmers via the Association of Special Cut Flower Growers but to no avail.  I ended up going to the Poway Farmer's Market and taking my chances on using whatever I could find the day of the wedding... and boy was I nervous!  And even though I called the market manager, she wouldn't put me in touch with any of the flower vendors saying they didn't like their contact information being given out.  I was really hoping that I could talk to them in advance about what they would have available and so I could place an order.  

The market opened at 8am and I was there at 7:15 .... but no flower farmers.... and then I got in touch with the market manager again and she said they all must be running late.  All I knew is that I had to have flowers ready to deliver to the bride no later than 2pm and I didn't have a single flower.  FINALLY around 7:45 2 flower vendors showed.... the first had some dahlias and some mixed bouquets... I bought a few too many things from her before I found the other guy... who had more of what I wanted.  He also had some beautiful things under his table but he said they were already sold and if I had wanted some of those then I should have called him in advance...(I told him about my conversation with the market manager).  

I actually had picked some succulents, a feathery leaf of some sort and some salvia leucantha from the bride's yard the day before as I thought it would be a nice touch to include some things from what they already had growing.  They provided nice touches to the rest of the bouquet which consisted of some amazing orange safflower (must grow this next year!), white and orange cosmos, sunflowers, burgundy dahlias, purple gomphrena, solidago, white statice, purple protea, pink strawflower, dark burdundy amaranth, and a beautiful ivory dahlia.  All wrapped in twine with a little bit of silver embellishment to match the bride's dress.

Of course I was running around like a mad woman chasing my toddlers and didn't take great pictures.  But thank goodness others got some great shots of the bride and groom that also featured the bouquet:

I hope they made her happy!  And I was happy to be a part of their special day.  And each of their daughters also carried a bouquet:

But if you want to see the real masterpiece of the day, you need to see the amazing music stand my husband made for them:

Again, these photos do not do this beautiful piece justice... but that's what you get when you are trying to do all of this with two toddlers underfoot!

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Dahlias...

This was my first year growing dahlias and what I've learned is that I have a lot to learn!  I've actually had some absolutely gorgeous dahlias this year... but then, I've also had some tubers that were just plain duds.  So... was the tuber a dud when I bought it, or did the growing conditions contribute to it's demise?

Here, however, is what I did get...

This photo does not do this beauty justice.  Not only has this been my most prolific bloomer, it is the most perfect shade of coral and the blooms last forever!  So... as I think about how to work with my dahlias next year... was this the most prolific because it was at the end of the dahlia patch and got more light and air?  Or is that just what this beauty does?  The fun part will be when I dig it up and find out if I have any new tubers... meaning I'll have more than one of these plants next year!!

So, interestingly, this dahlia was right next to Maarn in the patch.  Same lovely ball shape but much more yellow and pastel in color.  Fewer of these to pick from, but again, such fun!

I don't know that I could ever have enough of these!  I just love the color variation form bright orange to coral to yellow.  Compared to the ball dahlias they do show their age sooner, but these are just WOW in an arrangement!

So my documentation skills were perhaps not the best this year... I finally looked back at what I planted in each location and realized that these are likely "Crazy for Teddy" - a tuber I picked up at the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show - and NOT the infamous "Cafe au Lait" dahila that you hear so much about... in fact... cafe may have been a dud this year.  Oh well!  But Teddy has been so gorgeous and so prolific (even in the middle of the patch) that she is most definitely a keeper!

These little button dahlias are so adorable and last absolutely FOREVER!  I really hope I have many many tubers to divide and store this fall so I have more of these lovely plants for next year.  Super sturdy and such fun color - oh, can you tell that I'm partial to coral/orange - my wedding flowers were these colors!

This pale yellow is such a sweet little flower and it is early October and I'm just getting some of these flowers.  So, is she just a late bloomer or were there other things crowding her out?  Next year hopefully I can work on my spacing and staking to ensure I give each plant her due!

These look a little more pink than how I usually think of Jenna - in my garden she looks a bit more purple but she is also has probably been my strongest performer after Maarn.  Can't wait to see how many more of these plants I can cut from next year!

And Miss Delila is just pure pink fun!  Again early October and I'm getting so much from her.  A little bit larger and more fragile (like Punkin Spice) but so worth the peony/antique rose look and feel in an arrangement.

And Bridezilla - awful name but sweet little flower.  I do see why some growers put little organza bags over the buds to keep the bugs at bay... not sure I am up for that kind of maintenance.  But again, if I figure out more optimum growing conditions, then the bugs should be less troublesome too.

Now, there were some tubers, like I said that were complete duds... Terracotta, Ahoy Matey, Sheer Heaven, Cafe au Lait, Chilson's Pride, Honeymoon and October Sky.  To be fair, I think Terracotta is the only one that didn't come up AT ALL.  Ahoy Matey was such a late bloomer that I think she was soon crowded out by the others.  Will need to do some research to decide if her tubers are worth saving.... Sheer Heaven and Cafe au Lait are big beautiful plants that currently have lots of buds... again, are they just late bloomers or did they get hidden and are just now getting what they need since I've removed the flowers from the bed next to it...  Chilson's Pride, Honeymoon and October Sky are all showing buds too.  In fact, October Sky as a big fat bud on it that I hope I will get to see flower before long.. (of course, it's timed perfectly with an out-of-town trip).

But here are just a few samples of these beauties as the last pickings from the dahlia patch... next weekend they are all coming out to make room for rananculus and anemone corms... stay tuned!

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